Why trek Mount Kilimanjaro with us

Along with our mountain partner, The African Safari Trails, (formerly The African Walking Company), we are the leading providers of mid and high specification treks on Kilimanjaro.

Since 1999 we have assisted over 17000 trekkers.

The African Safari Trails delivers remarkable levels of competence, professionalism, excellence and dependability. Their operation is highly tuned and polished, they know exactly what they’re doing.

Over the decades we have led the way in pioneering virtually all of the new routes on the mountain, leading to massive improvements in the trekking experience.

We have also pioneered the use of various equipment on the mountain, notably ALTOX Personal Oxygen Systems, and we’ve been a driving force behind elevating the levels of safety, outfitting, food service and guest experience on the mountain.

We were also amongst the first companies to pioneer employee welfare and the first company to stop the use of casual labour and upgrade all of our team members onto proper salaries.

bringing quality operations to the mountain

We have a genuine proven summit success rate of 94% on our recommended routes on Mount Kilimanjaro, which is truly exceptional.

Official park statistics reveal that the majority of operators on the mountain have summit success rates below 50%, which means that trekking with us can literally double your chances of reaching the top.

We have long since come to understand that the only way to deliver outstanding summit success rates is to provide treks which are interesting, challenging, reliable, comfortable and enjoyable.

The sections that follow are all critical components that lead to these success rates.

we offer some of the highest summit success rates on the mountain

You would be amazed to see the range of people that turn up at the various trailheads of Mount Kilimanjaro. We have literally seen people turn up in tee-shirts and tennis shoes, a plastic bag to carry their gear.

We need to pre-select our trekkers if we are to be able to deliver a great service. We are looking for people who are serious and committed to trekking the mountain.

You don’t have to be young or fit, but you do need to be enthusiastic, focused and ready to spend on those elements which will be critical to your chances of summit success.

Getting through all this blurb is the first part of the test!

our guests are amongst the best trekkers on the mountain

Increasing the enjoyment of a trek has been a huge element of driving such incredible rates of summit success.

It’s important to appreciate that trekking Mount Kilimanjaro is not easy. In fact it can be a real test of endurance and, if you’re not with a good operator, can quickly reduce into a deeply unpleasant and dangerous experience.

We’ve worked really hard over the years to improve the levels of guest enjoyment on the mountain, not by watering the experience down, but simply by minimising the unnecessarily unpleasant aspects of a trek, whether that be preventing you from vomiting your way from camp to camp or simply having staff who are fun to spend time with.

We specifically try to focus on the little things that make the trek an experience to remember for all the right reasons.

enjoyment plays a huge part in summit success

We have an incredible set of trekking teams.

We work very hard to provide the right balance of characters within a team, led by senior guides with prodigious mountain experience, it’s not uncommon for them to have summited well over 100 times.

The crew is packed with a mix of attractive characters who work easily together and provide you with a rich and extremely warm welcome, encouraging you all the way, whilst looking out for your health and welfare at every turn.

Your porters are typically so enthusiastic that they run ahead to get the best spots at the various campgrounds and make sure that everything is ready for your arrival. And always with a smile.

Remember, our staff are all permanently employed, they don’t have to live on the poverty line and beg for work each week. They are able to relax and enjoy their time with their crewmates and guests.

Trekkers with most other operators look upon our camps on the mountain with envy and regret!

our teams are experienced, competent, enthusiastic and friendly

A trek on Kilimanjaro can be an incredibly dangerous undertaking.

We cannot completely remove that risk, but at least by trekking with us you can be reassured by our unrivalled safety record. With over 17000 trekkers, we’ve never lost a client due to altitude sickness.

Our teams are so far ahead when it comes to safety that our guides are often obliged to intervene to literally save the lives of trekkers with other companies.

In 2012 we played a major role in introducing ALTOX Personal Oxygen Systems to the Kilimanjaro arena, which can greatly reduce your exposure to altitude sickness and vastly improve your chances of reaching the summit.

We remain one of only a handful of companies which are able to offer this facility.

an exemplary safety record on a dangerous mountain

We pride ourselves in delivering the best solution for each group of trekkers.

Every single trip is private and tailor-made to select the timing, routing, specification and pacing to maximise your chances of an enjoyable and successful attempt on the summit. The whole experience is tailored to suit your exact requirements, both during the planning stage and every minute of every day on the mountain.

This is in stark contrast to the majority of treks on the mountain, which are mainly set departure groups with 12-20 trekkers and 60-120 staff.

Aesthetics aside, the most important aspect of a private trek is that your guides can lead you at the exact pace that optimises your chances of summit success. They are also able to fine tune other aspects of the operation, notably food service, to match your changing needs and requirements.

We also provide enough guides so that individuals within your group can go at different speeds, take extra rest or even drop out of the trek completely whilst the others go on.

we specialise in private treks, no groups

We only offer the best routes on the mountain.

Many of the route variants that we use on the Lemosho, Shira, North and Rongai trails are ones which we ourselves pioneered and which remain very little used by other operators. So not only are they better optimised for altitude and experience, but they also have much lower traffic.

We completely avoid the busy Machame and Marangu trails.

We also do not offer the extremely dangerous Western Breach routes, which have been responsible for an unacceptable level of casualties over the years. Nor do we offer the ‘camp in crater’ options, which we also feel are far too dangerous.

the choice of route is critical to the experience

Although there are plenty of companies out there which will offer you lower cost treks on Kilimanjaro, we would argue that no one beats us on value.

We understand that it can be difficult for you to directly compare the trek offerings from different companies, so we just have to rely on our reputation, plus the quality and level of detail of the information that we provide here.

Hopefully you can sense the difference.

The fact that we have four different specification levels for every trek also enables you to substantially adjust the pricing up or down.

not the cheapest, but the best value

Since we only operate private treks, we are free to start out on the mountain any day of the week.

This means you are able to choose dates which both suit your diary and avoid the busy weekends, when vast set departure treks from other operators swamp the trails and campgrounds.

Shifting your start date by a day or two can reduce the trekker traffic by a factor of ten times, often leaving your group blissfully alone on the mountain, so this is a really important option.

we can start whatever date works best for you

Most people trekking Kilimanjaro do so in combination with safari, gorillas or tropical beaches, sometimes even heading over to Victoria Falls or Cape Town.

We also happen to be the leading experts in tailor-made safari and other travel across Africa, so you can arrange your whole trip with us.

the world’s leading tailormade safari company

You don’t have to take our word for it.

If you read through ‘post-trek’ sections at the end of the pages for each specific trek you will see detailed statistical analysis from thousands of guest feedback forms.

If you look anywhere on the internet you should find glowing feedback for The African Safari Trails (formerly The African Walking Company).

over twenty years of uncompromising mountain performance