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Need tips for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro? We’ve got you covered!
Kilimanjaro has been called ‘The Roof of Africa’, and there is a good reason for it.
Mount Kilimanjaro is the tallest African mountain and the world’s tallest freestanding mountain. However, it must be noted that this bucket-list climb is no walk in the park.
For many, it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and they must be prepared for it. Preparing for a trek like this means more than just getting fit; if you have been searching for a place to find all the information you need, we’ve got you covered.
If you’re going to climb Kilimanjaro, you’ll need to up the ante during your workouts. And you should do so in a focused way, concentrating on stamina and leg strength. In How should I train for Kilimanjaro? we discuss the ideal physical training schedule for climbing Kilimanjaro.
While you certainly don’t need to be a fitness guru to summit the mountain, we do find time and again that many folks rock up having not done any training beforehand. They then really struggle with the physical demands of the climb.
You can make your climb so much more enjoyable and doable by putting in the time and effort in the months beforehand. We want you to really enjoy this experience, and so really do encourage you to take this piece of advice to heart. Try to start your training at least two months prior to your climb. Even if you’re already very fit, put in some trekking time beforehand to get your body used to this specific form of exercise.
Technically, you can climb Mt Kilimanjaro any time of the year, but should you? Nope.
If you go during the wet seasons (March to May and November ), your success rate will plummet, and you may not even reach summit day. The terrain is muddy, making the climb difficult, and storms are frequent, meaning you’ll spend most of your time cold and wet.
Instead, swap the bad weather out for the clear, sunny skies of the dry season. Between January to February and June to October, you’ll have the best conditions to climb Mount Kilimanjaro successfully.
The only downside? You won’t be the only one on the trail. It’s the most popular time to summit Africa’s highest mountain.
When you start your Kilimanjaro climb, we advise that you don’t go blaring out of the gates. Instead, set a reasonable and sustainable pace for yourself. And don’t be worried if your pace doesn’t fit in with that of everyone else. Helpfully, the lead trek guides always set a relatively slow pace, as they want you to grow accustomed as gently as possible to the ever-higher altitude of the climb.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: climbing Kilimanjaro isn’t a race. Everyone tackling Kilimanjaro brings their own unique set of circumstances, mental world and physical history to the challenge. Never fuss yourself with what others are doing, or how fast they’re doing it. Focus on your own steps, and take it pole, pole (slowly, slowly), as the locals say.
Climbing Kilimanjaro is a rare opportunity to take time for yourself – time to take life a little pole, pole. We advise keeping a journal on your trek in which you jot down thoughts and reflect on what the trek and challenge mean to you. Kilimanjaro inevitably teaches you things about life, yourself, and what’s important to you.
Altitude sickness is your number one enemy on Kilimanjaro. It stops most people from reaching the summit and could be your undoing if you climb too quickly, as oxygen is needed at extreme altitudes.
During your trek, your guides often say “pole.” It’s Swahili for “slowly, slowly.” The reason? The slower your ascent, the more time your body will have to acclimate to the high altitude as oxygen levels drop. If you go up too fast, you risk getting sick and being forced to descend to save your life.
So take it “pole pole.” Enjoy the scenery, don’t rush, and before you know it, you’ll be standing on top of Africa’s highest peak!
Altitude sickness can strike from anywhere around 3,000 m. On Kilimanjaro, this is when you’re trekking through the moorland zone, usually on day two or three of your trek. On Kilimanjaro you’re aiming to climb all the way up to 5,895 m above sea level to reach the summit at Uhuru Peak. So it’s very likely you’ll experience at least mild altitude symptoms at some point during your trek.
Taking medication for altitude sickness
The symptoms associated with altitude sickness include sleeplessness, interrupted sleep, nausea, dizziness and headaches. While you cannot prevent altitude sickness entirely (through medicine or otherwise), you can alleviate some of the symptoms through medication as well as proper nutrition and hydration. Diamox (acetazolamide), for instance, is a commonly used drug to help treat altitude sickness.
The best advice we can give for any medication that you may decide to take, is to visit your doctor before heading to Kilimanjaro to discuss the adventure ahead. Be sure to discuss the fact that you’ll be heading into an area of extreme altitude. Your doctor can then advise you as to the best precautions and possibly medicines for you.
Your team is there to look after you
It is important to remember that you will experience at least a mild symptom of altitude sickness. And thats okay! This is very normal, and to be expected. You will probably experience a headache, maybe some nausea, or being unable to sleep. Your team on the mountain are there to look after you. Climbing with a reputable operator means that they are highly experience and know how to spot the signs of severe altitude sickness.
One of the fascinating facts about Kilimanjaro is that it has five different climate zones. When you start the hike, you’ll trek through a humid rainforest. It’s home to wildlife, pesky mosquitoes, and high temperatures.
But the further up you go, the colder it becomes, and soon, you’ll need to ditch your shorts for insulated layers to survive the freezing ice caps of Kilimanjaro. When packing, opt for layers.
It’s one of the best tips for climbing Mt Kilimanjaro that’ll make your life 10x more accessible and help you quickly adapt to the different climate zones on the mountain.
Do you know what Kilimanjaro does not have? 24-hour pizza joints and cafe shops to satiate your hunger pains.
While your chef will care about whipping up three nutritious main meals, you must bring a few high-calorie and high-energy snacks to conquer the mountain.
Your saving grace will be things like:
Tip: Keep your snacks in the pockets of your backpack’s hip straps. It will make it 10x more straightforward to reach for your beef jerky and help keep the effects of high-altitude trekking at bay.
Hands down, drinking lots of water is one of the most essential tips for climbing Kilimanjaro. The high altitude and physical exercise means you’ll sweat and become dehydrated – fast.
To avoid this, bring a three-litre water bladder. It straps to the back of your pack, and the nozzle locks onto your front strap. When you get thirsty, bite down on the nozzle, and voila! You have water without needing to stop or take your bag off.
But you can bring more than that.
After day one, you’ll refill your water from nearby streams. You should carry water purification tablets (iodine pills) to purify the water and rehydrate sachets (if you don’t like the iodine flavour).
Lastly, you’ll need a one-litre Nalgene water bottle. This will help you reach the recommended water-carrying capacity of four to five litres and help you on summit night.
Due to the freezing temperatures at the top of Kilimanjaro, your water bladder valve freezes over, so you won’t be able to drink from it. The water bottle doesn’t have this problem and will keep you hydrated as you push to summit the mountain at sunrise.
Visiting your doctor before you board your flights and touch down in Tanzania. The lowland jungle is rife with mosquitos, and malaria is a real risk here, so bring antimalarial medication if you can.
The further up you go, you might need the help of altitude pills to acclimatize, and unfamiliar bacteria can knock out your immune system.
A visit to the doctor can help you prepare for any health hiccups and get you to the summit.
Tip: Stock up on any other specialized medication or toiletries you need before leaving home. Refrain from assuming everything will be readily available in Tanzania.
This shouldn’t need to be said, and yet every year people head to Kilimanjaro in swanky new boots that aren’t properly worn in, and blisters happen. A really bad blister can ruin your trek, so be sure to wear in the boots you intend to wear on the trek. A good rule of thumb for breaking in boots is to hike 100 km in them before heading to Kilimanjaro.
As noted in our Kilimanjaro packing list, we highly recommend that you wear or carry your trekking boots on the plane when you travel to Tanzania. That way if your luggage goes missing, you’re not without this most important item. Most other items can be borrowed or bought last minute if necessary, but worn-in boots are irreplaceable.
It’s a good idea to also wear the socks you intend to use when you trek Kilimanjaro beforehand. You want to ensure your socks are comfy and suitable for the hike. This means considering things like fabric (in terms of wicking and warmth), seams, sock liners and more.
And did you know you should pack more than one kind of sock for Kilimanjaro? To learn more, please read The 3 kinds of socks you need for Kilimanjaro.
Self-care is your number one priority while trekking Mt Kilimanjaro. Without it, you might push your body too hard and have to turn back. To avoid this, make this tip for climbing Kilimanjaro your mantra: Take time to rest.
During the day, take a break if you need one. Remember, you’re not on the mountain trying to break a world record. You’re there to accomplish climbing Kilimanjaro for yourself. So look after yourself.
At camp, use only what is necessary. Lie in your tent, relax, and eat dinner even if you don’t feel hungry. Your body needs the calories to recover and have enough energy to get you up the mountain.
Take this advice to heart: deciding your reason for climbing Kilimanjaro is essential. Your reason is your motivation, and without motivation, where do you start? The days of hiking will take a lot of work, and for a successful climb, you’ll need to stay motivated.
There are some critical tell-tale signs regarding altitude sickness; if you ignore them, let’s not go there. We want you to be safe, and to do that, you need to listen to and respect your body. Don’t try to push yourself further than you know you can go.
Swahili is a centuries-old language that developed along the East African coast between 500 and 1,000 AD. Swahili came about through the mixing of Arabic (spoken by traders) and the Bantu languages of the region. Today, Swahili also includes words derived from English, German and Portuguese.
A great way to dive into your Kilimanjaro experience is to come to the mountain having learned a few Swahili phrases. Everyone appreciates it when someone else makes an effort to speak their language, even if it’s just a few greetings and pleasantries
– Basic Swahili phrases
So here are a few Swahili words and phrases you can learn now:
Jambo – Hello
Jina langu ni … – My name is …
Nafurahi kukuona – Nice to meet you
Habari yako? – How are you?
Niko vizuri – I’m well
Tafadhali – Please
Asante – Thank you
Choo – Toilet
Nimechoka – I’m tired
Kitamu! – Tasty!
Lala salama – Goodnight
Kwa heri – Goodbye (to one person)
Kwa herini – Goodbye (to more than one person)
So yes, wet wipes. Glorious wet wipes. They are your friend. Because you aren’t going to be having any showers on Kilimanjaro. While you’ll be able to splash your face and wash your hands at camp with water carried by the porters, you won’t have a chance to get any other parts of you clean while on the mountain. A large pack of wet wipes will afford you some sense of cleanliness and decency after a long and sweaty day of hiking.
On this note, please be sure to dispose of your wet wipes carefully efficiently. Everyone on the mountain should be abiding by the no trace policy. This means that you will leave the mountain, including all trails and camps, exactly as you found it. Please dispose of your wet wipes, and any other litter you may have, in the bins provided to you by your team at each camp.
Our final tip has to do with tips.
Everyone who completes a Kilimanjaro climb always raves about the invaluable help and support of their mountain crew, which consists of guides, porters and a cook. The lead guide not only literally leads you up the mountain, but he’s also there to encourage, advise and ensure your safety. Then there are the other guides who also encourage you, look after your health, and share their knowledge and stories of the mountain and Tanzania. And there’s also the cook, and sometimes an assistant cook or waiter, who prepares those all-important warm and hearty meals to fortify both body and spirit during the trek.
And finally, but not least, there’s the porters, who display astounding strength and endurance as they carry all of the team’s equipment (from water to tents, food and personal belongings) up and down the mountain. While we as trekkers huff and puff under the weight of a little slack pack, they shoulder 20 kg and take on the rocky terrain with smiles and good humour.
At the end of every Kilimanjaro climb is a tipping ceremony. This is an important tradition that involves singing and dancing. It’s a wonderful moment of group togetherness that marks the end of the adventure before everyone heads their own way. During the ceremony trekkers tip the different crew members to show their thanks and appreciation. It’s not at all compulsory for you to tip, and yet we’ve never met any trekker who doesn’t very much want to tip the crew. As mentioned, the crew are bastions of strength during an expedition that is for most of us a great challenge and occasion.
Tanzania has a cash economy, and you won’t have time before this ceremony to withdraw any banknotes, so you need to have the money you want for tips on you before you begin your trek. This means working out how much you’ll need and withdrawing it all the day before your Kilimanjaro trek begins.
You can tip your mountain crew in US dollars or Tanzanian shillings.
Please note that your US dollar notes need to be untorn and unmarked, and also printed after 2013, otherwise the banks in Tanzania won’t accept them. So be sure to check every note before you get on that plane!
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