Tips for Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's Highest Peak

Your bags then have a chance to catch up with you, if for some reason they are delayed. If you do arrive early, we will be happy to help you with your hotel arrangements and additional transfers. The same goes for departing later, pleasecontact the office for details. Being one of the first ever guesthouses in Northern Tanzania, Gibbs Farm offers charming accommodation that is surrounded by lush gardens and a working coffee farm. The Kati Kati Tented  Camp is located in the central Serengeti, strategically positioned to cover the vast plains. Enjoy the well-appointed dining tent, where meals are served and return to a sundowner drink by the campfire.
However, we try to make sleeping on the mountain as cozy as possible for all of our guests, whether they love camping or have never done it. When you climb Kilimanjaro with us, you don’t Tanzania Kilimanjaro Safari have to carry a heavy pack. We know climbing Kilimanjaro is a big investment for our clients, so we want to make your planning and preparation as easy and stress free as possible.

This will lead you through the booking process step-by-step. If you know your budget but don’t know what company to choose within that budget, or aren’t sure which route to take, then drop us a line and we’ll be happy to help. Or you can buy the book, which has a rundown of all the main operators and agencies working on Kili. Your trek operator will probably include airport transfers and transfers to the airport, and that is all most people will require during their trip. One thing that definitely improves in this price bracket from those offering treks below US$2000, is that the safety procedures tend to be superior. This measures the oxygen saturation in your blood which is a useful way of telling how well someone is coping with altitude.
The Rongai route has a reputation of being less scenic, but even if there is not quite as much variety as on Machame, it is still a spectacular route, especially on the later days. The camp beneath Mawenzi Peak is one of the most scenic on the mountain. The extra transport cost makes a Rongai route climb more expensive.

We recommend you bring along a little plastic bag, draw cash and seal it in there. You can then stow the dosh at the bottom of your backpack and forget about it till the necessary moment. You’ll be super grateful come the tipping ceremony that you were well organised and can show your appreciation to the crew for all of their hard work and support. And finally, but not least, there’s the porters, who display astounding strength and endurance as they carry all of the team’s equipment up and down the mountain.
The weather of Kilimanjaro can be dependable and can be changed from time-to-time Mt. Kilimanjaro is big enough to have its own weather pattern. We start the day before lunch in a steady uphill ascent towards the Lava Tower. Today, we will focus on a similar pattern/pace that will happen on the summit night. Once we reach the Lava Tower at 4,640m/15,223ft, we will stop for a hot lunch and rest before we slowly descend to Baranco, our most spectacular campsite, situated at the foot of the Kibo Peak. As we descend to Baranco, the southern ice-fields will come more clearly into view. Sleeping at a similar height as we did the night before, gives excellent acclimatization after reaching a new height record for the trip at the Lava Tower.

On summit day the path is mostly scree and loose rock and dust and patches of ice and snow. Summit night is a long night, leaving at midnight to climb nearly 1300 metres to the top for dawn, and then all the way back down to  the forest line in one day. Most people are really exhausted, but also elated by the experience and the magnitude of the challenge.
Located just a few hours’ drive from the town of Arusha, Tarangire is a popular stop for safaris travelling through the northern circuit on their way to Ngorongoro and the Serengeti. The park extends into two game controlled areas and the wildlife is allowed to move freely throughout. If you are traveling from December to April, the annual wildebeest migration in Serengeti National Park is definitely not to be missed. A longer trek through the Ngorongoro Crater Highlands is also a beautiful way to explore northern Tanzania at a leisurely pace. Day-trips from Arusha to Mt. Meru and the Momela Lakes, located in Arusha National Park, incorporate short forest hikes and canoeing trips as a break from standard vehicle game drives. Having conquered the summit of Kilimanjaro there is nowhere better to go than on safari in Northern Tanzania.

As with any trek, bring basic toiletries like toothbrush and toothpaste, but not so much that you struggle to carry the weight you’ve packed. Waterproof/windproof pants and shell, even if you are hiking in the dryer seasons – the weather can become cold very quickly. Alpine Ascents International is an authorized mountain guide service of Denali National Park and Preserve and Mount Rainier National Park. Environmental Reponsibility Leave No Trace principles are fundamental to our program, and we encourage all who climb and trek with us to understand proper wilderness practices. We help facilitate this effort by passing on Leave No Trace training and literature to every Alpine Ascents climber.
There is an option for a spectacular sunrise balloon ride. We enjoy a game drive in route to Seronera, where we fly back to the local airport in Arusha for a farewell lunch at the Arusha Hotel and then prepare for late-night international departures. Today we climb to 15,100 ft. at Lava Tower while crossing a ridge and viewing the plains far below. Here we eat lunch and admire the ancient glacier ice of the Breach Wall before dropping to our 12,900-ft. Moir Camp is tucked away at the end of a large gorge, below a giant lava flow. We travel through the upper range of the moorlands zone, crossing the large Shira Plateau, and ascend gradually on easy terrain.
Diamox is a common medication for altitude sickness or “mountain sickness”. While I am no doctor, I know  that this medication greatly helped me during my climb. There are many ways to prevent altitude sickness while climbing Kilimanjaro, and being prepared with Diamox was the best thing that I ever did. I started taking Diamox a few days before I climbed and continued taking it throughout the duration of the climb until I came off the mountain.

The gear used by the porters is mostly substandard and is often not at all fit for the trek. If you can spare some of your gear it would be greatly received by your porters or guides. Professional guiding crews make Mount Kilimanjaro climbing expeditions strikingly different from other popular mountaineering trips. Each member of the climbing crew receives special training and certification according to his/her role in the team. Most Kilimanjaro climb crew members dream of becoming chief guides someday, yet only a select few succeed. Apart from good English, this position requires years of training, perseverance, and dedication.
You are probably thinking these sound like very pleasant temperatures, and you are right. We tell people, “if you leave the US in the summer months and travel to East Africa, you are going to a cooler climate.” This is surprising to most people, but very true. Safari, and the time you spend in Arusha during these months, can be wonderful in terms of weather – never as hot and steamy as you probably imagine tropical Africa to be. Similarly, if you are on a trip during our winter, you will find the weather to be as much influenced by altitude as latitude.

Bonner Paddock, who was born with cerebral palsy, is the protagonist of the novel. How he overcomes his anxiety and physical hurdles to reach the peak’s 5,895m height. Paddock, who has cerebral palsy, reached the peak of Kilimanjaro after only a few months of training. Paddock climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in under 8 days despite having a weak lower body, spastic leg muscles, little sense of balance, and no climbing expertise.