When I planned my trip to Tanzania, finding out how to hike Kilimanjaro was at the top of my list.
Not only is it the tallest mountain in Africa AND the world’s largest free standing mountain, but it’s also a walk up. Which means it doesn’t take any special climbing skills to do. Anybody in good physical condition has the chance to hike Kilimanjaro, as long as you can withstand the altitude and can afford the tour. So if you’re trying to find out how to hike Kilimanjaro, you’ve come to the right place. So let’s get started
But first, let me warn you, this isn’t just a hike. It’s an experience. And a truly life changing one (in the most non cheesy way).
How to Get To Kilimanjaro
We first flew into Dar es Salaam and then grabbed a flight to the the Arusha airport (ARK) .From the Arusha airport, we were picked up by a shuttle and driven to our hotel. When you book your tour company for hiking Kilimanjaro, it is likely that your hotel stay before and after the hike will be included in the price, and they can also seat up a shuttle for you at the airport.
Choosing a Company & Route to Hike Kilimanjaro
We went with Climbing Kilimanjaro, who I couldn’t recommend more. We had a group of 7, 3 guides and multiple porters. And to say that these guys were our heroes would be an understatement.
There are also 5 different routes to choose from when hiking Kilimanjaro and we chose the 7 day Lemosho Route. I looked into multiple different routes but this one kept coming up as the most scenic. If you’re interested in seeing pricing/descriptions of all the different routes, you can find them here.
The Day Before Hiking Kilimanjaro & Gear Check
The day before the hike, the guide will come to your hotel to go through a checklist of items you need for the hike. They want to make sure that you are prepared, and if you are missing anything you will be able to rent it from them. Here is a list of items they recommend bringing on the hike:
Kilimanjaro Gear List:
Top Base Layer (I recommend merino wool)
Bottom Base Layer (again, merino wool is a must)
3-4 Short Sleeves (I just brought sport bras) all of mine are from Vouri, here’s a discount code if you are interested.
1 Pair of insulated trekking pants – on summit night I wore these under merino wool
1-2 Pair of long sleeve hiking shirts
1-2 Pair of hiking leggings (I ended up bringing a pair for each day & 1 pair of sweat pants to sleep in). I use Vuori or Lululemon.
1 Down Jacket – I SPLURGED on this one from Arc-teryx because being warm was my priority.
1 Fleece Jacket – I have this one from Arc’teryx
Sleeping Bags (we rented)
Sleeping Pad (we rented)
Trekking poles (we rented)
Hat with brim for the sun
Beanie
Sunglasses with high UV protection
Warm gloves or mittens (buy really thick ones like these, your hands will be freezing)
Hand warmers
Lightweight gloves
Quality Hiking socks (I only wear Darn Tough)
Sunscreen
Wet wipes (there are no showers but they do give you a bowl of water to wash off with each morning).
Diamox (helps with the altitude, get this from your doctor before you leave)
Aquaphor (this was a life savor for my lips).
You will basically put all of this in a large duffel bag that the porters will carry for you (up to 15kg). You should also bring a day pack where you will hold everything you will need for hiking during the day (like extra snacks, water, jackets and sunscreen). I have this one.
Day 1 of Kilimanjaro: Lemosho Glades
Day one of the Kilimanjaro hike was really easy. In fact, if there was one thing that was difficult… it was keeping a slow pace. The guides really want everyone to hike slowly so that they acclimate better and have a higher rate of success for summit day. I’m a speed walker by nature though, so this was painfully difficult for me.
My favorite thing about day 1 was the camp, which had these interesting monkeys I like to call skunk monkeys, but the actual name is the Colobus monkey.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served each day of the Kilimanjaro trek, so if you thought you were going into this losing weight, think again! There is tons of food prepared for you every day. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten so much soup.
Hiking: 3-4 Hours
Altitude: 9498′
Day 2 of Kilimanjaro : Shira Plateu
On day 2 of the Kilimanjaro hike, we had a very early wake up where the porters brought us coffee and tea. I would later realize this is how we would start every morning. We were also brought bowls of water to wash off in at the beginning and end of each day (as a make shift shower). There was a lot of incline on the way to the plateu and I remember it being the hottest day of the trek. Make sure to bring a ton of sunscreen!
The campsite itself was one of my favorite sunsets and sunrises we saw of the whole Kilimanjaro trek (look at Kili in the distance!)
Hiking Time: 6-9 Hours
Sleeping Altitude: 11,500′
Day 3: Moir Camp
We woke up to the prettiest sunrise of the whole trip on this day, coming out right behind Kilimanjaro. Hiking wise, this day was pretty easy and relatively flat. It was a lot of hiking through large open areas with stellar views.
Hiking: 5-6 Hours
Sleeping Altitude: 13,650
Day 4: Barranco Camp
On day 4 of hiking Kilimanjaro, we finally hit the alpine zone, along with our first day of rain. And boy was I glad I splurged for a Gore-Tex raincoat. I specifically remember dancing our way up to Lava Camp (at about 14,300 we were feeling a little drunk). The altitude makes you feel a little goofy without any additional calories. The volcanic landscape up here made for some really cool views, and then we dried off our clothing and took shelter at camp. Some people actually had some cell service at this one, which made for a fun FaceTime.
Hiking: 4-6 Hours
Sleeping Altitude: 13,044
Day 5: Karanga Camp
This was definitely my favorite day of the Kilimanjaro hike because it’s the day we got to climb the Barranco Wall! I thought this was one of the most fun parts of the trail, although probably not for the porters. This is also wear the famous kissing rock is located (kiss for good luck) and I thought the views here were some of the best as well.
Hiking: 3-5 Hours
Sleeping Altitude: 15,100′
Day 6: Barafu Camp & SUMMITING Kilimanjaro
This was probably the coolest spot I’ve ever camped, with our tents above the clouds I felt like I was in heaven. Until that early wake up call of course. Because if you haven’t already guessed it, this night is summit night.
And I say summit night because you start at 11PM or midnight. So if you’re one of those people that doesn’t have an easy time napping (like me), it means you will be summiting on no sleep.
The goal is to reach the peak right at sunrise, but due to differences in hiking speed and acclimatization, there are several hours after where hikers may reach the summit.
We started hiking Kilimanjaro at 11pm in the darkness with our headlamps illuminating the way. And we went slow, probably too slow for my liking because I was freezing, but necessary because of the altitude. This had to be the coldest I’ve ever been in my life. While I had a lot of warm layers on and my torso was feeling okay, my fingers felt like they were going to fall off. I had high quality mittens on AND hand warmers, but nothing seemed to help them warm up. So if there’s one item to splurge on, it’s mittens. Later on someone from another group told me they saw their pee freeze in thin air.
The hike to Stella Point is 6-7 very cold, grueling hours. And it’s at this point where the porters really become your heroes. They will give you water when you need water and pour gummy snacks in your mouth when you’re too tired and stupid to move. These guys deserve every cent of that tour money. I just kept my focus on the stars and the line of headlamps going up the mountain.
Once the sun came up, I was a little warmer and the hike was a lot more tolerable. I will say when you reach Stella Point, you will be disappointed that it’s not the summit and that you still have 1-2 hours to go. I specifically remember walking the slowest I’ve ever walked in my life, while doing some sort of meditative breathing exercises that I made up in my head.
And when I reached the summit and that colorful sign I’ve seen photos of a million times, I cried. Because as easy as days 1-5 were, day 6 is the most debilitating journey…. in the most beautiful way.
Because of the altitude and the cold, your time at the Kilimanjaro summit is short lived, but it’s an experience that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. I’ll never forget the feeling of standing up there and I’m so glad that I got to share it with 2 of my good friends, and a few new ones.
The walk back to camp from the summit was a blur. It was a lot of loose rock and scree. I was sunburnt and wind burnt and delusional. And to be honest I had never-ending diarrhea. But I would still do it again in a heartbeat.
We made it back to camp, soaked our feet in our water bowls and laid in our tents for what seemed like a lifetime.
Summit: 19,341′
Sleeping Altitude: 10,448′
Day 8: The End!
After about 3-5 hours of hiking, we had lunch and a few celebratory beers. It was sad saying good bye to our group and our guides, but lucky for us they have Instagram!
Are you trying to hike Kilimanjaro? Feel free to ask me questions below!
I will also be writing up a post on our full Tanzania trip soon!
