Kilimanjaro cliMbing gUide

Kilimanjaro Camps

There is no doubt Kilimanjaro is a popular mountain, rare is the moment you have to yourself. Kilimanjaro Camps are vast sprawling affairs and as you lay in your tent the murmur of voices coming from every language around is strangely soothing if not quite the mountain wilderness many of us crave.

On most routes (baring Marangu) you will sleep in a modern well-sized dome tent, typically 2 people sharing a three / four person tent. In addition your group will have a toilet tent with a simple thunder box toilet and a mess tent where meals are served.

Kilimanjaro Food

Supplying your body with continuous calories is an important factor in successfully Climbing Kilimanjaro. While an average person on a typical work day burns around 2,500 calories, a hiker on Kilimanjaro can burn 6,000 to 8,000 calories a day! In order to keep well fuelled, you have to eat.

Our chefs will serve large, healthy Kilimanjaro Food to keep you happy and well-fed on your Kilimanjaro Climb. You’ll have hot meals at breakfast and dinner, freshly prepared with locally-sourced ingredients. We prepare all our food to strict hygiene standards, ensuring it’s delicious and safe to eat. Our menus are designed to be nutritionally-dense, with plenty of variety to cater to the energy demands of the trek.

Kilimanjaro Altitude Sickness

High altitude trekking comes with obvious risks.

Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) (aka altitude sickness or altitude illness) and its severe variants, High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE) and High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE), are your biggest concerns on Mount Kilimanjaro.

The greatest challenge travellers face when Climbing Kilimanjaro is altitude sickness, which causes a third of climbers to turn back. While Kilimanjaro is a non-technical climb, the extreme altitude, low temperatures and occasional fierce winds mean all hikers must be physically fit, properly equipped and well acclimatised. The single biggest success factor on any Kilimanjaro Trek is allowing yourself ample time to adjust to the elevation. All routes have rangers and rescue facilities to assist those affected by Kilimanjaro Altitude Sickness.

Kilimanjaro Rescue

In the rare case when a climber gets ill or seriously injured on Mount Kilimanjaro, a helicopter evacuation may be required.

The cost of medical evacuation from the mountain is expensive, which is why the right travel insurance is mandatory for all climbers. When purchasing your insurance, be sure that the policy covers emergency evacuation up to 6,000 meters above sea level and any associated medical treatment.

We put your safety as our number one priority, read more about Kilimanjaro altitude sickness in our in-depth guide.

Kilimanjaro Success Rate

For many, Climbing Kilimanjaro is the experience of a lifetime.

It’s also a fairly big investment and you, therefore, need to understand your chances of actually reaching the summit and which routes give you the best chance at doing that.

• All climbers, all routes 45% (we estimate this figure is closer to 65% today)
• All climbers, all 5 day routes 27%
• All climbers, all 6 day routes 44%
• All climbers, all 7 days routes 64%
• All climbers, all 8 day routes 85%

Kilimanjaro Tipping Guide

In addition to paying the company you book with, you will also need to tip your team of porters. Porters to carry your gear, a cook, someone to carry (and clean) the toilet, a waiter/assistant cook, our main guide, and then our assistant guide. It takes a lot to get to the summit; you aren’t doing this alone after all!

You’ll be tipping a specific amount per day to each porter, a bit more to the cook, and then a bit more to the guides. Breakdowns usually look something like this:

• Main guide – $20 USD per day
• Assistant guide – $15 USD per day
• Cook – $12 USD per day
• Waiter – $5-10 USD per day
• Porters – $5-10 USD per day (each)