Trekking
ABOUT KILIMANJARO
Mount Kilimanjaro is located three degrees south of the equator in Northeastern Tanzania. It is the tallest mountain in Africa and is the highest free-standing mountain in the world. This immense mountain is made up of three volcanoes: Shira, Mawenzi, and our goal, Kibo, the tallest one in the middle. Of the famous highest seven peaks in the world, this is the easiest to get to and the easiest to climb. It requires no technical climbing experience, and any moderately fit person can summit the mountain. Though Mount Kilimanjaro is frequented by an estimated 50,000 hikers a year, the trek is not to be taken lightly. Sufficient physical conditioning and a lot of preparations must be made in order to ensure a safe, enjoyable experience.
KILIMANJARO ROUTE
All the Kilimanjaro routes we offer are very scenic and offer an exhilarating experience. The success rate for reaching the peak is greatly determined by your ability to acclimate to the high altitude. Spending more days ascending the mountain will give your body more time to adequately adjust to the altitude and low oxygen environment. Trekking Daily travel time varies depending on the route and day. On average you should expect to be hiking for 4-6 hours per day with the exception of “summit day”, which is an arduous 11-16 hour trek. Our guides will purposely set a slow walking pace to ensure group cohesion (“pole, pole”, or “slowly, slowly”) in order to give each climber adequate time to acclimatize and adapt to the thinning air. Expect a lot of uphill and downhill walking, which is why you should make sure you’re sufficiently conditioned before your trip. Each route we use on our Kilimanjaro trek is well defined and screened for safety, but after heavy rains the lower slopes and areas near the summit can become muddy. The guides will help you along the path and ensure you’re safe when you encounter difficult areas. During the day you’ll carry a medium sized backpack carrying the essential items you’ll need for that day of climbing until you reach that night’s campsite. You should only carry essential supplies such as extra layers of clothing, water, snacks, sunscreen, insect repellent, etc. Climate Because bad weather affects your chances of reaching Kilimanjaro’s peak, choosing the right time of year is imperative to your summiting success. Kilimanjaro’s climate varies greatly depending on the time of year. It’s best to plan your climb during the driest months of the year – Jan, Feb and Aug, Sep. But you’ll experience reasonable weather any time between January-mid March and June-October. We don’t recommend trekking during the long rainy season between the end of March and the beginning of June or the shorter rainy season from November to the beginning of December. You should prepare to pass through a variety of weather conditions – from forest terrains and dessert valleys to snowcapped mountain trails and freezing temperatures near the peak.