travel guide: mt. kilimanjaro
the ultimate planning & packing guide
originally written October 2021
I felt so overwhelmed knowing where to start sharing about our Mt. Kilimanjaro trek, mostly because I am still processing the experience. Almost two years out from reaching the summit (spoiler alert) and it *still* doesn’t quite feel real. This experience was humbling and exhilarating in so many ways - a truly once in a lifetime mountain top experience that brought me to tears when we reached the summit.
As usual with these types of experiences, when I sat down to try to write this post I found it was *absolutely impossible* to fit into a single one, so this will be two-parter!
Part one: planning, itinerary & packing list. The details and logistics y’all know and love.
Part two: the experience! The recap, the photos, the feels, etc.
As always, if what you are looking for isn’t here, let me know in the comments — happy to answer and help if I can!
BACKGROUND: WHY MT. KILIMANJARO, WHY NOW?
Hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro is something my husband Mark has wanted to do as long as I have known him - truly one of the first conversations I remember having with him was about how he was talking about doing the trip with a friend the summer we met. That trip didn’t end up happening, and he’s had it in his mind ever since.
In early spring 2020, some of our friends reached out because they were considering doing the trek and wanted to see if we’d be interested in joining them. Mark absolutely JUMPED at the chance -- I took a little longer to convince (This was before vaccines were widely available), but we eventually decided to plan the trip for September 2021 with the hope that vaccinations would be widely available and well adopted by the time of the trip.
ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN
Mt. Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa, and the highest single free-standing mountain in the world: 5,895 meters (19,341 ft) above sea level. Kilimanjaro is a volcano, with three volcanic cones: Kibo (the largest, where summit Uhuru Peak and the large Kibu Crater are located) as well as Mawenzi (16,893 ft) and Shira (13,000 ft) . Kilimanjaro is one of the seven highest summits in the world, and is a major climbing destination, with nearly 25k visitors annually.
There are seven official trekking routes by which to ascend and descend Kilimanjaro to Uhuru Peak: Lemosho, Western-Breach, Machame, Marangu, Mweka, Rongai, Shira, and Umbwe (Mweka is only used for descents).
choosing a route
Machame and Umbwe depart from the southwest side of the mountain and take the southern circuit via Barafu and Stella Point to Uhuru Peak.
Shira and Lemosho begin on the far western side of the mountain, and then join the southern circuit at Barafu to Uhuru Peak, before descending via Mweka. Lemosho is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful routes, offering the most diverse terrain areas and stunning views of the mountain from the west.
Marangu (occasionally called the “Coco-Cola” route) begins in the southeast side of the mountain and approaches Uhuru peak via Gilman’s Point. It’s the only trail that has hut accommodation the entire way, and uses the same trail for ascent and descent. Marangu is the shortest route, with a pretty poor acclimatization profile and the lowest success rate for summit. (in short: do not recommend).
The longest route is the Northern Circuit, which begins at the same western start as Lemosho, but circles around the north of the mountain to approach via Gilman’s Point. This route is much less trafficked, and provides very different views.
The Western Breach is seldom used - there was an unfortunate accident in 2006 that killed 3 hikers, and the route doesn’t provide good acclimatization and can be too steep/ unsafe for less technically experienced hikers. (again: do not recommend).
choosing a guide / group:
Since 1991, the Kilimanjaro National Park Authority and the Tanzania Government have held regulations against unsupported hikers. In other words: all trekkers on the mountain must be accompanied by a registered and licensed guide, and doing the trek without a guide and support group is VERY rare.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM A GUIDED TREK:
Guides: Guides are responsible for navigating the group, ensuring permits, and monitoring the health of everyone in the group. In our trek we had one lead and one assistant guide for 4 people.
Gear: Kilimanjaro regulations require all season tents and regulated cooking equipment - as a result guide groups typically provide and carry tents, sleeping pads, cooking equipment, mess tents + tables and chairs, bathroom tent, and first aid equipment.
Food: Specific packages may vary , but in our research the majority of guided treks include 3 hot meals per day with the food carried, provided and prepared by the trekking staff. There were two major dietary restrictions on our trek (tree nut allergy and vegetarian) and I was SO impressed with how well the team fed us - we had no issues with anything, and I was so grateful for the staff’s work to keep us well fed. Meals typically looked like:
Breakfast: oatmeal or cereal, some kind of fruit, toast, eggs, veggies and a breakfast meat. sometimes pancakes / crepes. Hot water for tea, coffee or hot chocolate.
Lunch: typically a soup + bread to start, vegetables and a smaller portion of a hot meal. Examples include a grilled veggie and cheese sandwich (or tuna for the meat eaters)+ veggies and french fries, burgers + a salad (with avocado!!!), plus hot water for tea, coffee or hot chocolate.
Happy hour: the post-hike, pre-dinner time snack was always a high point: usually popcorn or fruit + hot water for drinks or an orange drink the team would pull out at the highest altitude stops to perk you up a little bit.
Dinner: soup + a bread, veggies, some kind of carb (bread, rice, etc) + main and occasionally dessert + hot water for drinks
Porters: Porters are responsible for carrying and setting up gear from camp to camp. This includes gear for the camp, as well as personal gear that you don’t need during your daily hikes (so, sleeping bags, clothing, extra gear, etc.). Generally speaking, the ratio of hikers to support staff is around 1:4, and personal bags carried by porters are limited to 15kg or 33 lb.. If you are looking for more of a challenge, there are a few guided treks that offer more minimal support and have hikers carry more of their own gear — it was not a common option, and we had trouble finding one!
CHOOSING A KPAP APPROVED GUIDE
Porters and guides work extremely strenuous jobs, caring heavy equipment and braving difficult terrain. The Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP) is an initiative of the International Mountain Explorers Connection (IMEC) and a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the working conditions on the mountain. This includes lending porters mountain gear free of charge, advocating for fair wages and ethical treatment (including providing 3 meals a day, limiting weight porters may carry, and ensuring appropriate sleeping conditions), providing support crews with educational opportunities (such as Leave No Trace Environmental Certification, First Aid Certification, and budget & money management workshops), as well as encouraging visitors to choose a trekking company that has verified ethical treatment practices for their porters. KPAP has also been involved in providing COVID relief for mountain staff who have been out of work due to COVID.
Please, please please please, choose your trekking company from the KPAP list of current partner organizations.
TIPPING AND DONATIONS FOR SUPPORT STAFF
Tipping is a substantial component of ensuring ethical compensation for a Kilimanjaro climb. KPAP advocates that trekking groups pay at least 20,000Tsh per day - a basic wage, but not a living wage. A fair minimum compensation is recommended to be at least 34,000Tsh per day (~US $15.00), meaning that climbers are recommended to tip support staff at least $6-10 per day. Guides and specialty porters (those with additional responsibilities like gear coordinator, chef, etc) should be tipped more commiserate with the additional responsibility.
In order to ensure that porters and staff receive the intended amount of tips, there is typically a tipping ceremony on the last day of the trek. Climbers should write down the total amount of tip each staff is to receive and present it to the group with a word of thanks. Porters will then have the chance to review the full tip amount to ensure that they receive the amount in full. (for more information on tipping, please read more from KPAP).
On an eight day trip, each hiker should expect to tip between $200 to $250 total. Trekkers in smaller / private groups should anticipate contributing on the higher range. For our trek, each hiker contributed around $325 total.
BUDGET & PRICING:
One of the most common questions I got about the trip was how much it costs. From our research, pricing will generally range from $2000 to $8000 per person (not including flights, or your personal gear). In considering price ranges, you’ll want to find the balance between “too cheap to be safe and ethical” and “overpriced”. It’s also important to understand the fees groups are required to pay to the National Park, which can be up to $1600 per hiker on each trip.
Conservation fees: $70 per hiker per day in the park
Campsite Fees: $50-60 per hiker per night
Rescue Fees: $20 per hiker per trip
Staff & Porter Park Entrance Fees: $2 per staff per trip
18% VAT Tax on all services
If prices are too cheap, it is likely that trekking companies are skimping somewhere: either payment, food, and equipment for guides and porters, or in maintaining a safe ratio of highly trained guides to trekkers in a group. As I mentioned above, it is extremely important that you choose your group through a verified partner organization.
OTHER KEY COMPONENTS OF OUR DECISION MAKING PROCESS:
Elevation profile of the route: The Lemosho 8 day route had 1 night about 15Kft pre-summit, and a 10K camp elevation post-summit. From what we researched, this route and elevation profile has one of the highest “success” rates of hikers acclimating to altitude in order to reach the summit without severe altitude sickness.
Review of the overall package from the guide groups: A big part of our decision came down to a holistic analysis of the overall packages - routes and elevation combined with cost per person in our group. We looked at:
nights included in hotel before / after the trek,
provision of a private toilet during the trek (I’m going to be honest I cannot recommend this enough),
cancellation policy (#COVID)
whether or not the group was a trusted KPAP partner (this was a non-negotiable)
Of the companies we looked at, Thomson, Ultimate were the main contenders, with Altezza as a budget option comparison.
OUR FINAL DECISION:
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