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Overview
At 5,893 meters (19,344 ft), Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa. It is the tallest free-standing peak in the world, rising more than 4,600 meters (15,500 ft) from its base on East Africa's Maasai Steppe. These facts of geography place the mountain among elite company, fixing its place in East African culture and history and in the imaginations of mountaineers worldwide. Ernest Hemingway ensured the mountain's power to inspire would spread far beyond those frames with his short story "The Snows of Kilimanjaro", which famously describes a leopard frozen on the glaciers. Such a leopard really was discovered near the summit, by a Russian Lutheran missionary named Richard Reusch and nobody knows what that leopard was doing up there.
Mount Kilimanjaro is actually three separate volcanic peaks: Shira, on the mountain's western flank, and Mawenzi and Kibo. Shira and Mawenzi are both considered extinct; Kibo is considered active, but dormant, last burbling 200 years ago. The mountain's highest point is Uhuru peak, on the southern rim of Kibo's crater.
Above the tree line ( (2700 meters (8800 ft)) the mountain is protected within Kilimanjaro National Park. Climbers pass through five distinct regions on their way to the top: the cultivation zone, montane rain forest, heath and alpine moorlands, alpine desert, and the summit ice cap. Each zone has its own distinctive plant and animal life, although the higher one climbs beyond the tree line, the sparser the landscape becomes. Only a few hardy lichens survive near the summit.
Climbing
Kilimanjaro is often described as an easy climb. It is true that one doesn't need any technical climbing skills to make the ascent. But it is not true that the climb is easy and without risk. Weather is unpredictable. Trails can be muddy and slippery in the lower slope forests, rocky and icy near the top. Night time temperatures at higher elevations fall below zero degrees Fahrenheit. Summit day - the final push to Uhuru and back down to a lower elevation camp might see a hiker on the trail for long as 14 or 16 hours. But of all of Kilimanjaro's risks, altitude sickness is the most dangerous. Symptoms can be minor - headaches, nausea, loss of appetite. More serious symptoms vomiting, swelling in the hands and feet, confusion, unsteady gait - might be indications of High Altitude Pulmonary Edema or High Altitude Cerebral Edema, both of which can be fatal.
That said, about 25,000 people attempt to climb the mountain each year, and just about half of them make it to the summit. To improve the odds, climbers should be reasonably physically fit, sensitive to their body's condition, and willing to spend an extra day or two on the mountain becoming acclimatized to the thinner air before making the final push.
Kenya.com will provide you with detailed medical and fitness advice - including a training program - several months in advance of your departure. Your "Kili Kit" will also include detailed lists of the equipment, supplies, and clothing you should bring, as well as advice on tipping porters and guides and the ins and outs of mountaineering etiquette.
Ecological Zones
Depending on whom you ask, there are four or five or six ecological regions on the mountain, all dictated by rainfall patterns and elevation.
Cultivation and Forest Zone
800-2,800 m (2,600-9,200 ft)
Farms and ranches cling to the mountain's lower slopes and eventually give way to the rain forest. Yearly precipitation is 2300 mm or so (90 inches), and this zone supports more plant and animal life than any other region on the mountain. Ferns and mosses drape the limbs and trunks of palms and sycamores and higher up, camphorwood and podocarpus trees soar. Lucky climbers may glimpse red and black and white colobus monkeys up in the canopy and perhaps a shy duiker or dik dik lurking in the shadows of the under story. Leopards are the primary predators. The humid air will be alive with the sound of birdsong. The forest is home to many of the typical Eastern Arc rain forest species, but not all.
Heath and Moorland Zone
2,800-4,000 m (9,200-13,200 ft)
Rainfall diminishes to 1300 mm per year (51 inches) above the tree line; additional precipitation comes from the the clouds and mist which seem ever present. Grasses and low-lying shrubs predominate here. Wildflowers abound. Night time temperatures regularly fall below freezing. Near the tree line forest mammals slink out into the heath, but as you climb, wildlife becomes ever more scarce, with the exception of a few buzzards or eagles soaring above. Heath transitions into moorland where rainfall drops to 500 mm per year (20 inches). Moorland plants such as senecios (also known as groundsels) and giant lobelias which fill the landscape are odd and surreal - straight from the pages of Dr Seuss.
Alpine Desert Zone
4,000-5,000 m (13,200 -16,500 ft)
Precipitation is less than 200mm per year (7.8 inches) and the soil is too thin to retain much moisture - or sustain much plant life. Daytime temperatures can soar to 37C (100F) and night time temperatures can fall below zero. A few hardy grasses and everlastings - a tough, daisy-like plant - predominate. You're unlikely to see any animals here, although the stunning views of Kibo or Mawenzi or the cloud tops below are sure to distract from any creature that manages to wander into such a difficult place to live.
Summit or Ice Cap
5,000-5,895 m (16,500 to 19,340 ft)
Every breath taken on Kibo contains just half the oxygen of a breath taken at sea level. Precipitation is minimal; the thin air offers little protection from the sun's ultraviolet radiation; it is bitterly cold. This is no place to live. A few hardy lichen varieties manage to survive, and given the slow growth rate on the top of the mountain, they have probably survived here for millennia. For the rest of us, because of the thinness of the air, the bitterness of the cold, the weariness of our bodies and our spirits, the stay on the summit must be a brief one.
Climbing Routes
There are half a dozen or so recognized routes to the summit, and probably that many more variations. The Marangu and Macheme routes are the most popular.
Marangu Route
The Marangu or main route (also known as the "Coca-Cola Route") has traditionally been the most popular route to the summit, although the Machame Route now challenges for the title. Accommodation on the trail is provided in mountain huts featuring running water and solar-powered lighting.
The trek to the summit and return to the Marangu gate can be done in five days, however, most outfitters advise adding an additional day on the mountain to acclimatize. If you decide to add the additional day - and we encourage you to do so - you'll spend it at Horombo Hut, either resting, or making a short acclimatization hike. The supplementary cost for the extra day is indicated separately as an option.
Day One - Arusha Town/JRO - Moshi: A guide will meet you in Arusha or at the airport for the drive to Moshi and your hotel.
Day Two - Moshi - Marangu Gate - Mandara Hut: Following breakfast and a brief orientation from your guide, you'll make the 45 minute drive to Marangu Gate. After registering with park authorities and sorting things out with your porters and guides, the climb begins. Four hours later, after having walked through the cultivation zone and slipped and slid through the rain forest, you will arrive at Mandara Hut.
Distance: 12 km (7.5 mi)
Elevation gain: 858 meters (2,815 ft)
Hiking time: 4 hours
Day Three - Mandara Hut - Horombo Hut: The ascent continues through the forest, but only briefly, before reaching the heather and moorland zone above the tree line. All three of Kilimanjaro's peaks are in view, with Mawenzi the nearest. Horombo Hut sits in a saddle of alpine moorland, surrounded by lobelia and groundsel.
Note: If you have added an additional acclimatization day, you will spend it here on Day Four with a mid-morning hike up to Mawenzi Hut.
Distance: 15 km (9.3 mi)
Elevation gain: 1,002 meters (3,288 ft)
Hiking time: 6 hours
Day Four - Horombo Hut - Kibo Hut: The climb continues, this time past the last available water on the mountain - fill up your bottles! - ascending onto the saddle between Mawenzi and Kibo and eventually on to Kibo Hut. This is the alpine desert and vegetation is scarce. Only a few hardy grasses and lichens can endure. You'll arrive at the hut in mid-afternoon, leaving you plenty of time rest before you leave again at midnight for the summit.
Distance: 15 km (9.3 mi)
Elevation gain: 1,015 meters (3,330 ft)
Hiking time: 7 hours
Day Five - Kibo Hut - Uhuru Peak - Horombo Hut: Just before midnight you will begin the climb to the summit. The first six or seven hours are spent scrambling up the scree, in the dark, with nothing but your flashlights to illuminate the the path ahead, toward Gillman's Point on the crater rim. Many climbers stop here, but the summit is just ninety minutes away and soon the sun will rise, if it hasn't already, to boost your spirits and soon after that you will decide to carry on then you will be standing on Uhuru Peak. You will have just a few minutes to enjoy it before you head back to Gillman's Point and down toward Horombo Hut and relief from the altitude induced headache you have likely endured since just past midnight.
Distance: 6 km up (3.7 mi); 21 km down (13 mi)
Elevation gain (to the summit): 1,178 meters (3,860 ft)
Hiking time: 14-16 hours
Day Six - Horombo Hut - Marangu Gate - Moshi: The last day on the mountain carries you past Mandara Hut and on to the gate. You'll receive a certificate noting your accomplishment and take care of a few other details before the ride back to Moshi and your hotel for dinner, and a shower, and a warm, comfortable bed.
Distance: 27 km (16.8 mi)
Hiking time: 6 hours
Day Seven - Moshi - Arusha Town: After breakfast, catch a ride back to Arusha.
Machame Route
The Machame route is known as the "Whiskey Route" to contrast it with the easier, more direct "Coca-Cola Route" (Marangu). It's steeper and longer than Marangu, and accommodation is in tents (pitched, packed, and carried by your porters). Nevertheless, the success rate for Machame Route climbs is higher than Marangu's, although nobody's sure if this is because more experienced climbers are drawn to the route or if the extra day or two it requires on the mountain boosts acclimatization.
The descent is made via the Mweka Route, with the last night spent at Mweka Camp. The trek from Machame Gate to summit to Kibololoni Gate can be done in six days, but climbers are encouraged to add an additional day for acclimatization. The extra day can be spent resting on the Shira Plateau, or it can be used to break up the long Barranco-Barafu hike into two shorter hikes (Barranco-Karanga and Karanga-Barafu), which is recommended. The supplementary cost for the extra day is indicated separately as an option.
Day One - Arusha Town/JRO - Moshi: A guide will meet you in Arusha or at the airport for the drive to Moshi and your hotel.
Day Two Moshi Machame Gate Machame Hut: Following breakfast and a brief orientation from your guide, you'll make the short drive to Machame Gate. After registering with park authorities, the climb begins. Depending on the weather, today's hike through the forest could be drizzly and muddy or dry and shady. Either way, it'll be warm and humid in the forest almost all the way to camp.
Distance: 11 km (6.8 mi)
Elevation gain: 1,200 m (3,940 ft)
Hiking time: 7 hours
Day Three - Machame Camp - Shira Camp: You'll start in the forest, but soon you'll break out beyond the tree line and into the heath and moorland. The climb is much easier than the first day's scramble through the forest. The Shira Plateau is all that's left of an older volcano consumed by Kilimanjaro's formation. Above you is Kibo and below you are the clouds and mist that made the trail through the forest so slippery and treacherous.
Distance: 6 km (3.8 mi)
Elevation gain: 800 m (3,000 ft)
Hiking time: 6 hours
Day Four - Shira Camp - Barranco Camp: The difficult climb to Machame may be one of the reasons the success rate is better on this route; the quick altitude gain, relative to Marangu, gives climbers that much more time to acclimate. Today's hike offers another acclimatization trick - "climb high, sleep low." The trail takes you up to Lava Tower at 4,600 m (15,092 ft), before leading you back down to camp on the Shira Plateau (3,900 m (12,800 ft)). Total elevation gain for the day is just 100 meters (324 ft).
Distance: 15 km (9.3 mi)
Elevation gain: 100 m (324 ft)
Hiking time: 7 hours
Day Five - Barranco Camp - Barafu Camp: Looking up at the Barranco Wall, many climbers decide that today will not be an easy day, but the scramble turns out to be less challenging than expected. The rest of the day is spent crossing scree and topping ridges to the Karanga Valley for lunch before turning up toward Kibo and Barafu Camp. There is no more water on the mountain beyond Karanga Valley; fill up your bottles! The summit attempt begins later that evening. Try to get some rest.
Distance: 13 km (8 mi)
Elevation gain: 700 m (2,300 ft)
Hiking time: 7 hours
Note: If you have decided to add an extra day - and we encourage you to do so - this leg of the hike is broken into two parts, with an additional night spent at Karanga Valley.
Day Six - Barafu Camp - Uhuru Peak - Mweka Camp: The climb begins at midnight, the trail ahead illuminated by the bobbing headlamps you and your colleagues wear. Stella Point is eight hours ahead (and above), and this stretch of the climb is the most challenging, physically and mentally. At Stella Point you'll rest for a few moments and receive the first reward of the morning - sunrise. The temptation to stop here on the crater rim is tremendous. The summit is not far, but the lack of oxygen and fatigue will have taken their toll. Uhuru is reached after another two hours of effort. The stay on the summit will be brief - a few snapshots and quick look at the world below before it's time to make the descent.
Arrive late morning at Barafu for a short rest before descending all the way down to Mweka Camp for a sleep well earned.
Distance: 7 km up (4.3 mi); 12 kms down (7.5 mi)
Elevation gain: 1,300 m (4,265 ft) to the summit; -1,500 m (4,920 ft) Barafu to Mweka.
Hiking time: 14-16 hours
Day Seven - Mweka Camp - Kibololoni Gate: After breakfast continue the descent, down through the moorland and heath and back into the rain forest and down to the Kibololoni Gate. You'll receive a certificate noting your accomplishment and take care of a few other details before the ride back to Moshi and your hotel for dinner, and a shower, and a warm, comfortable bed.
Distance: 10 km (6.2 mi)
Elevation gain: -1,250 m (-4,101 ft)
Hiking time: 4 hours
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