Hiking Tours Kilimanjaro — Our Trekking Routes

First and foremost, we love giving back to the places we visit and we love it even more when you do too! Embrace a truly life-changing journey and conquer the roof of Africa while doing some good for your favorite charity. We can help any person or group with their charity Kilimanjaro climbs, just get in touch with us to get started.

One thing we need to highlight before we go any further: Mount Kilimanjaro is not a technical climb and no special mountain climbing experience is needed. In fact, out of all the Seven Summits (the highest mountains on each of the seven continents on earth), Kilimanjaro is the only one that can be said to be truly “walkable”. Below are our recommendations on how to prepare for the climb, as it will be challenging but 100% achievable and preparation is the key.

Mt. Kilimanjaro is truly one of the great trekking experiences on earth. But there are several factors that make this a tough but totally achievable climb. The walk itself is strenuous on your muscles and joints, regardless of the number of days you choose. The higher you go, the thinner the air gets and acclimatization is imperative to a successful climb. Nearing the summit, you’ll have roughly half the amount of oxygen per breath than you normally would have. We deliberately include acclimatization days on our climbs to give us the best possible chance for our bodies to adjust and for us to reach the summit. Lastly, the days leading up to the summit push aren’t overly difficult but the last day before summiting is tough both physically and mentally. A midnight start with an ascent over 1500m and a descent of nearly 3000m totalling 16-18 hours is a challenge.

So, as the saying goes, failure to prepare is preparing to fail. We would recommend a minimum of 2 long hikes a week (we recommend increasing this dramatically to almost daily as you approach your date) leading up to your climb with a weighted backpack to help with leg strength and endurance for the long haul of Kilimanjaro. For more specific training information, reach out to our professional team.

Don’t skimp out on expensive equipment as you will suffer the consequences on the mountain. Our best piece of advice is don’t turn up with brand new walking boots, ensure they have been the same ones you have been training in and you are certain you will be comfortable. Next is your head. For the hot temperatures, ensure you have something that provides solid sun protection. As we near the summit, a woolly hat or even a balaclava is highly recommended. A four-season sleeping bag, trekking poles to assist your knees on the way back down, a comfortable daypack, and sunscreen are also high on the priority list.

Good question. Each route has its pros and cons. We offer 5 options (please see our selection below): Lemosho Route, Northern Circuit, Rongai Route, Machame Route, & the Marangu Route.

Lemosho: The Lemosho route is known to be one of the most scenic routes on Mt. Kilimanjaro. This is an eight-day trek, allowing extra time for acclimatization, in turn, making this a very achievable climb. With an overall success rate of 95%, the Lemosho Route is hailed as one of the least crowded and most accessible routes on Kilimanjaro.

Northern Circuit: This relatively new route ascends the more scenic and tranquil western slope of Kilimanjaro and crosses nearly the entire mountain before the summit. This is easily one of the most picturesque paths and tranquil journeys up Africa’s highest point, as there are almost no other groups on the northern face.

Rongai: The upside is: there are very few climbers on the same path as you, adding to the vast, open wilderness and the incredible scenery. The downside? Because of the route profile, it isn’t as easy to acclimatize BUT, as we mentioned before, we do add an extra day to aid acclimatization.

Machame: Due to its high success rate (90% for a 7-day trek), it is one of the better routes to aid acclimatization. The views on this route are incredible and you also get the added challenge of the Great Barranco Wall. If your goal is solely to reach the summit, this should be your choice.

Marangu: The Marangu Route is considered to be one of the easier paths to the summit, given its gradual slope and direct path. Being only 6 days long, it can be slightly more challenging to acclimatize because the paths are more direct than others.

Another good question to ask. Simply put, the area surrounding Kilimanjaro is under monsoon conditions during April and May, and one shorter season in November. We take this into consideration as our tour availability ranges from January through mid-March, mid-June through October, and then December. Outside the monsoon season, the weather is typically dry and clear.

Tanzania has three major international airports: Dar es Salaam (DAR), Zanzibar (ZNZ) and Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO). The latter is the most convenient for Kilimanjaro, sitting only 42 km away from the mountain town of Moshi and 50 km from Arusha. In addition to flights to Tanzania, you may consider flights to Nairobi in Kenya, which is only a 5-hour shuttle bus ride to Arusha or a 1-hour plane ride to JRO. Note, however, that by choosing to fly to Kenya you may need a multiple-entry Kenya visa (if you are flying out of Kenya, too, for example, and spend longer than a fortnight in Tanzania), which can cost as much as $122 USD – thereby reducing or eliminating any saving you may have made in airfares.

In deciding which flights to book, you should take the full trip into consideration. For example, if you would like to spend a couple days in Zanzibar after the climb, it might be best to book one-way tickets from your home to Kilimanjaro Airport for the climb, from Arusha to Zanzibar after the climb, and then from Zanzibar back to your home.