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CLIMBING MOUNT KILIMANJARO TIPS

Kilimanjaro Packing List:

Packing for a trek up Mount Kilimanjaro requires careful preparation, as the weather can vary dramatically from base to summit. The key is layering and ensuring you’re prepared for both the cold, high-altitude conditions at the top and the warmer weather at the lower elevations. Here’s a detailed packing list to help you prepare:

TRAVEL DOCUMENTS

  • Valid passport and visa
  • Airline ticket
  • International health card with immunizations (Yellow fever)
  • Travel insurance
  • Medical insurance
  • US$ cash / Travelers Checks / Credit Card

ESSENTIAL ITEMS

  • Duffel bag – large enough for all climbing gear and clothing. To be carried by the porters. An extra bag to be left at the hotel with extra gear
  • Small luggage lock – to lock zippers
  • Day backpack – between 20 – 35 litres. Large enough to carry your water, camera, raincoat, lunch pack, snacks & warm clothing
  • Sleeping bag
  • Ski-pole / walking stick
  • Water bottle / containers
  • Kilimanjaro map (Can be bought at Park gate)

HIGH ALTITUDE GEAR

  • Waterproof, breathable & windproof jacket (outer wear like Ventex, Gore-Tex or Jeantex)
  • Waterproof, breathable & windproof pants (outer wear)
  • Polar fleece (middle layer)
  • Thermal underwear (under layers)
  • Mittens or warm gloves
  • Glove liners (if necessary)
  • One pair thermal (polertex) socks
  • Balaclava
  • Gaiters
  • Thermal water flask

HIKING GEAR

  • Shorts
  • Hiking pants
  • Regular underwear
  • T-shirts
  • Raincoat or Poncho

FOOTWEAR

  • Water resistant semi-stiff hiking boots – mid weight boots work great
  • Shoes for overnight camps – i.e. sneakers, running shoes, etc.
  • Socks – several pairs for the climb
  • Liner socks – to keep your feet dry and limit the risk of blisters

EQUIPMENT

  • Sun hat or similar (with a brim)
  • Collapsible ski stick (optional but highly recommended)
  • Water bottles – two or three (total capacity at least 4 litres)
  • Head lamp, good strong one with spare batteries and an extra light bulb
  • Water purification tablets
  • Sunglasses, good quality dark lenses for the climb, with a securing strap
  • Flashlight (torch) with spare batteries

PERSONAL ITEMS

  • Toilet kit (soap, tooth brush, toilet articles, wet wipes, etc.)
  • Towel
  • Sun screen and lip protection, SPF 30+
  • Ziploc bags, to protect camera, binoculars, etc. from dust
  • Toilet paper
  • Money belt for passport and valuables

MEDICAL AND FIRST AID SUPPLIES

  • Headache tablets
  • Altitude sickness-Diamox (if not allergic to sulpha)
  • Diarrhoea – Imodium
  • Nausea – Valoid
  • Malaria – Prophylaxis
  • Water purification tablets
  • Painkillers
  • Muscular sprains
  • Abrasions blisters and cuts – Plaster, bandages
  • Antiseptic cream – Betadine
  • Flu and colds
  • Eye drops
  • Insect repellent

OPTIONAL ITEMS

  • Camera, extra lenses and film (ASA 200 film recommended)
  • Binoculars
  • Powdered sports drinks for the climb (ex. Game or Isotonic drinks)
  • Pocket knife
  • Notebook & pencil
  • Plastic bags to keep clothing dry (masking tape)
  • Energy snacks and sweets
  • Video camera, tapes, battery packs and tri-pod

Equipment that we provide at no charge

  • Tents
  • Warm and comfortable sleeping pad
  • Eureka mess tent
  • Tables / chairs
  • kitchenware is provided (plates / mugs / spoons / knifes)

Kilimanjaro Gear List:

  • Sleeping bag and liner
  • Sleeping bag
  • Hiking boots
  • Duffel bag/Backpack
  • Binoculars
  • Rucksack / Daypack
  • Sweater/pullover
  • Raincoat/Poncho
  • Fleece pants
  • Hiking poles (Set)
  • Rain pants
  • Gaiters
  • Warm jacket
  • Torch/Flashlight
  • Gloves
  • Balaclava/Scarf
  • Hat
  • Water Bottle
  • Sunglasses
  • Long underwear
  • Socks
  • Batteries

 

Kilimanjaro altitude Sickness: 

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, while an incredible experience, comes with certain health risks due to its high altitude. The most common and significant illness that climbers face is Altitude Sickness (Acute Mountain Sickness, or AMS). This condition occurs when the body struggles to acclimatize to reduced oxygen levels as you ascend to higher altitudes.

  • Acclimatize prior to the climb: Easier said than done if you live at sea level but if you are able to spend time at high altitude prior to the actual Kilimanjaro climb, this is the very best way to avoid altitude sickness. Climbing Mt. Meru prior to Kilimanjaro is also an excellent option.
  • Start the climb in the best possible health and with an excellent level of physical fitness: If you are fatigued, unwell or stressed, you are more likely to suffer from altitude sickness. If you have any pre-existing health conditions that you think may make you more susceptible to AMS, we recommend that you consult your doctor before booking this trip.
  • Take it easy on the trail and in camp: You will perhaps get sick of your guides telling you to Pole Pole (Slow down), but they are right! If you overdo it by pushing too hard, you are likely to pay for it later.
  • Drink plenty of fluids: Getting up in the middle of the cold night may be an unpleasant experience as altitude dehydrates you. The better you hydrate, the quicker your body is able to acclimatize. You should also avoid all alcohol. Leave it for the celebration after your climb!
  • Eat well: Even though you may lose your appetite, you should eat as much as possible at every meal. This will give you plenty of energy and help you to feel great. The route is unpredictable, so feed yourself properly!
  • Sleep well: Sleeping well in a tent is an acquired skill. Spend a few nights out in your tent and sleeping bag prior to your climb so that you have your routine nailed, and become used to sleeping in a sleeping bag on a hard surface.
  • Relax and think positive: Although the vast majority of people suffer only mild altitude sickness (which is like a hangover), please don’t think that every headache or cough is terrible. By relaxing and enjoying the climb, you are far more likely to have any trouble.

 

Kilimanjaro Guides:

The metamorphosis from porter to guide is a lengthy one. Having served one’s apprenticeship by lugging luggage as a porter, a few lucky and ambitious ones are eventually promoted to the position of assistant guides on Kilimanjaro. These gentlemen are probably the hardest working people on the mountain. While they still essentially remain a porter, in that they have to carry their fair share of equipment, they are also expected to perform many of the duties of a fully-fledged guide – including, most painfully of all, the escorting of trekkers on that final, excruciating push to the summit. Their reward for all this effort is a slightly higher wage than a porter (Ts54, 000-60,000 per six-day trip), a commensurately greater proportion of the tips – and, perhaps most importantly, the knowledge that they have taken that first crucial step towards becoming a guide, when they can leave all this hard graft behind and wallow in the privileges that seniority brings.

 

Kilimanjaro Foods:

During your climbing time, you will be provided with breakfast, lunch and dinner each day prepaired on the mountain. The food, specifically selected to help your climb are:

  • High energy carbohydrate foods that are easily digestible.
  • The primary carbohydrate of the meals are rice, potatoes and pasta.
  • Fresh fruit and vegetables accompany every meal.
  • Meat is served on the mountain but not in large quantities because it is not easily digestible at high altitude and nor does it keep well on the mountain.

We resupply the team with fresh food throughout the climb.

Water is collected from mountain streams and treated with water purification tablets. Water is provided only at the campsites so you need to carry enough water, usually about 3 liters, to stay hydrated while you hike.

You may want to bring some supplementary “comfort” foods, such as candy, gum, chocolate, health bars or powdered energy drinks. We can accommodate vegetarian and vegan diets. For those with special diets, please contact us to discuss what we can or cannot do. Note that food selection is limited in Tanzania, so although we will try to please all clients, in some cases clients will be asked to bring their specific food items to us, which our cooks will prepare.

 

Kilimanjaro Porters:

Guides and porters are compulsory for all routes on Kilimanjaro. The importance of having competent, high quality guides cannot be overstated when it comes to climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. All weather adventure has the best local guides, all of whom are fluent in English and have received extensive training in first aid, mountain rescue, flora and fauna, and history. It is not allowed to climb Kilimanjaro without a guide.

The porters do not only transport your gear and the supplies up and down the mountain. Arriving at every camp site long before you, they will have already erected your tent on your arrival. In the evening they will also boil drinking and washing water and the cook will prepare dinner of a quality that has surprised many previous clients.

 

Kilimanjaro FAQs:

  • How long does it take to climb Kilimanjaro?

We have a policy never to run trips less than seven days because it’s too dangerous to try and go to nearly 6000 metres in any less time. Of course, probability will always dedictate that some people do, but on the whole those people suffer more and are putting their health at risk from potential altitude sickness.

  • What is the Weather like on what the weather like on Kilimanjaro?

Expect warm early days to be 18 – 20 degrees Celsius, cooler days up higher around 14 degrees C and summit day to be as cold as minus 5 with a wind-chill of minus 15 degrees C. The mountain doesn’t experience a wide temperature range from season to season, so it’s much the same throughout the year.

  • How hard is it to climb Mount Kilimanjaro?

The terrain on Kilimanjaro varies during a period of seven or eight days and the days vary in terms of hardness. You are traversing the mountain over about 38 miles, ascending from 2000m to 5895m and back down, passing through cultivated farmland, equatorial forest and alpine heath, across a lunar-like volcanic desert and up to a glaciated summit. It is not a technical climb and there are no precipitous drops along the way, no rock climbing or specialist equipment needed, but it is high! And the weather and temperature variance will make it tiring on your body.

  • What experience do I need for Mount Kilimanjaro?

Kilimanjaro is non-technical but it does offer a full mountaineering experience. Experience in hill walking is a benefit but not absolutely necessary, since this is a supported climb. You will have however be outdoors constantly and living in tents so any sort of experience with camping will be useful and a good level of training is expected, especially on the thigh and calf muscles.

  • What support will you get on Mount Kilimanjaro?

The staff will carry your main bag plus all the tents, kitchen equipment, food, fuel, tables and chairs. They will cater for all the group needs, providing excellent meals and putting up the tents. The guides will also brief you daily on the climb and they will assist you all the way to the summit and back down again. They have been working for us since 2001 and are fully trained and very experienced.

  • Kilimanjaro Private Toilet Tents:

Once you decide on a Tour Operator for your Kilimanjaro climb, you will have the option to add on additional things to make your climb more comfortable and adding a private toilet to your climb will be one of those options. In this post I hope to shed some light on the bathroom situation on Kilimanjaro to help you make the decision on if you should add a private toilet to your climb.

What is a private toilet anyway? It’s a portable camping toilet brought up the mountain for private and exclusive use by you and the other members of your group. The porters will set up the private toilet close to your camp each night in its own ‘royal tent’. There are two main reasons climbers opt to have a private toilet:

Cleanliness – Private toilets are for exclusive use by only your private group. So it has way less traffic than the public outhouses at the Kilimanjaro camps, and naturally it smells much better than their public counterparts (“better” being a relative term here!)

Convenience – Depending on the location of your tent and it’s proximity to the camp outhouses it can sometimes be a challenge to get to the outhouse at night when there is no light or in foggy conditions which often occur on the mountain. Having a private toilet also means a lot less waiting for others to finish using the outhouses.

The public toilets at each of the Kilimanjaro camps are essentially outhouses where a wooden structure has been built to cover a hole in the ground to capture human waste. The public Kilimanjaro toilets are comparable to the toilets that you would find at many remote national parks in the U.S. and similar to the experience of using a port-o-potty aka portable toilet. There is no running water and thus no flushing. Due to this, the smell can be pretty awful, as you might expect.

  • Kilimanjaro Tipping:

This is a “compulsory tradition” on every Kilimanjaro climb. We recommend giving a tip of between US $ 200 to US $ 250 per climber to the mountain crew at the end of the climb. The exact tipping amount depends on group size and how many days were spend on the mountain. We recommend giving the tip to the main guide who will then distribute the tip among the mountain crew.

The average recommended tip per group per day:

  • Chief guide – US $ 20 per chief guide per day from the group
  • Assistant Guide – US $ 12 per assistant guide per day from the group
  • Cook – US $ 8 per cook per day from the group
  • Porters – US $ 6 per porter per day from the group

It is recommended not to pay your porters any tips until you and all your gear have descended from the mountain.