Which route gives the best chance of summiting?

The longest one you can afford. Route length matters far more than route name, because the determinant is acclimatisation. Lemosho over eight days and the Northern Circuit over nine acclimatise best. Machame over seven is a good balance. Marangu over five has the lowest summit rates of the popular routes, whatever else you may read.

Do you publish success rates?

No, deliberately. Operators inflate them and nobody audits the numbers, so a published figure tells you nothing except how confident the marketing department is. What we will tell you is that adding a day buys more summit chance than any amount of training.

How fit do I need to be?

Fit enough to walk six hours a day for a week and then do ten to fourteen hours on summit night. That is a real requirement but not an athletic one. Altitude tolerance matters more, and is largely unrelated to fitness — very fit people fail and unremarkable walkers succeed.

What about the porters?

Porter welfare on this mountain is a genuine and ongoing problem, and the cheapest quotes are cheap for a reason. We pay proper wages and will show you the rates if you ask. Tips are on top of that, not instead of it.

Can I combine a trek with a safari?

Yes, and it is the usual shape — trek first, safari afterwards, because the safari is the rest. A few days on the northern circuit or on Zanzibar after coming down is the best recovery there is.

Mount Kilimanjaro — safaris, wildlife and when to go

Mount Kilimanjaro

Mountain

Africa’s highest point at 5,895 metres, and a walk-up climb that still defeats a good number of the people who attempt it.

Kilimanjaro is a walk, not a technical climb, which is exactly why it is dangerous to underestimate. You need no ropes and no mountaineering skill. You do need to handle altitude, and the biggest factor in whether you reach Uhuru Peak is how many days you spend acclimatising.

Route choice matters more than fitness. Marangu is the shortest and has huts, but its short profile gives the lowest success rates. Machame is the popular scenic option. Lemosho and the Northern Circuit are longer, quieter and give much better acclimatisation — and correspondingly better summit odds.

We do not quote success percentages, because operators inflate them and no one audits the numbers. What we will tell you is that an extra day on the mountain buys more summit chance than any amount of gym work.

From our guides

Add the extra day. The cost difference between a six-day and an eight-day route is much smaller than the cost of not summiting.

Why come here

The highest point in Africa, and the highest free-standing mountain in the world
Five climate zones in under a week of walking
No technical climbing required
Combines naturally with a northern circuit safari or Zanzibar

The wildlife

Limited on the mountain itself — colobus and blue monkey in the lower forest, four-striped grass mouse higher up, and the white-necked raven that will steal your lunch at Barafu.

When to visit

January to mid-March and June to October are the dry windows. April, May and November are wet and the routes are harder work. Full-moon summit nights are popular and correspondingly busy.

Mount Kilimanjaro through the year

January

Weather

Cold at altitude, generally clear. Some snow on the summit

Wildlife

Not applicable — this is a trekking destination

The migration

—

How busy

Moderate

Price season

High season

Our rating

One of the two good windows.

Safaris visiting Kilimanjaro

See all

Mount Kilimanjaro seen across the plain.

Kikuletwa Hot Springs Day Tour

Chemka · near Moshi

1 day from US$70 per person

Explore itinerary

7 Days Kilimanjaro — Machame Route

Machame · Shira · Barranco · Barafu · Uhuru Peak

From US$1,279 per person

Explore itinerary

Things to do

Experiences here

Climbing Kilimanjaro

Africa’s highest point, on foot, with the route choice that actually determines whether you get there.

Coffee farm and waterfall

The Chagga farms on the slopes of Kilimanjaro — picking, roasting, and a waterfall to walk…

Mount Kilimanjaro, answered

Build Mount Kilimanjaro into a route that works.

One park is rarely a trip. Tell us how long you have and what else you want to see, and we will put Kilimanjaro in the right place in the right week.

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Mount Kilimanjaro

From our guides

Why come here

The wildlife

When to visit

Mount Kilimanjaro through the year

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December