Marangu, Machame, Rongai and Lemosho, from five to eight days. Route choice is mostly a question of how much acclimatisation time you want.
Kilimanjaro has seven established routes to the summit and two more that exist for other purposes. The ones people climb are Lemosho, Machame, Marangu, Rongai, Shira and Umbwe, with the Northern Circuit the longest of them. Mweka is used only for descending. The Arrow Glacier approach to the Western Breach has been closed, reopened and restricted more than once, so check its current status before you book it. They differ in how many days they take, how well they acclimatise you, how busy they are, and whether you sleep in huts or tents. The seven offered here are the ones we recommend climbing.
The eight-day Lemosho route starts in rainforest on the mountain's western side, where there is a fair chance of seeing wildlife in the first hours. It is the longest approach offered here, and those extra days are why it gives the best summit odds of any route on this page.
Marangu is the oldest route up the mountain and the only one with huts: dormitory bunks, a dining hall and a roof, instead of tents. The slope is gradual the whole way, it is the least expensive route, and it is the only one here that can be walked in five days.
Five days is also why Marangu has the lowest success rate on the mountain. The six-day version adds a night at Horombo to acclimatise, and that one night changes the odds a great deal.
Machame is the busier southern approach, camping the whole way. Its six-day version reaches higher ground on day three, which starts your body adjusting earlier than the other short routes. The seven-day version splits the leg from Barranco to Barafu, so the day before the summit is a short one.
Places Kilimanjaro
Known as the “Coca-Cola” route, the Marangu route is a classic trek on Mount Kilimanjaro. It is the…
Places Kilimanjaro
The Marangu route is one of the most popular routes to the summit of Kilimanjaro.
Places Kilimanjaro
Six days on the Machame route, camping throughout. The shortest Machame itinerary, with a steeper daily…
Places Kilimanjaro
Seven days on Machame, with the Barranco to Barafu leg split over two days, so the day before the summit…
Places Kilimanjaro
The Rongai route is the only route that approaches Kilimanjaro from the north, close to the Kenyan…
Places Kilimanjaro
Eight days on the Lemosho route, starting in rainforest on the mountain's western side, with the longest…
Seven routes are offered here and the choice comes down to four things: how many days you have, whether you'll camp, how much scrambling you want, and how much the summit matters.
If the summit matters most, take eight-day Lemosho. Two extra nights over the standard Machame schedule is the single biggest thing you can do for your odds, and days on the mountain matter far more than fitness.
If you want the usual first-climb recommendation, take seven-day Machame. Good acclimatisation profile, varied scenery, the Barranco Wall, and a night at Karanga that leaves you something in reserve.
If you won't camp, take Marangu, the only hut route on the mountain, and take the six-day version with its acclimatisation day, not the five.
If you want quiet, or you're climbing in a marginal month like November, take Rongai. It is the only northern approach, it carries a fraction of the traffic, and it sits in the mountain's rain shadow.
Cheapest is never the right basis for this decision. The five-day Marangu has the lowest summit rate on the mountain, and a failed climb costs more than the day you saved.
Altitude, not fitness, decides who stands on Uhuru Peak. Marathon runners fail on five-day schedules and unremarkably fit people in their sixties summit comfortably on eight-day ones. The variable that matters is how many nights you spend going up.
Walk slowly. "Pole pole" is the method, not a pleasantry. A pace that feels absurdly slow at 3,000 metres leaves you still walking at 5,500.
Drink three to four litres a day whether or not you feel thirsty. Dehydration produces symptoms that look exactly like altitude sickness and makes the real thing worse.
Headache, nausea, dizziness, loss of appetite and breathlessness at rest are the warning signs. Tell your guide at once instead of pushing through quietly. They're trained to assess this and can't assess what you hide. Descent is the only reliable treatment, and turning back is a decision, not a failure.
Discuss any medication, including acetazolamide, with your own doctor well before you travel. Not with a guide, and not on the mountain.
Dry Shoulder Green Long rains
One of the two best months. Warmer than the northern-summer season, quieter on the trail, and more likely to give snow on the summit, which most people find makes the summit morning better.
The other pick of the year. Clear, relatively warm, and quiet. Many guides prefer January to mid-March over the busier June-to-October window for exactly these reasons.
Good in the first half, deteriorating in the second as the long rains approach. Book the early part of the month, not the end.
The long rains. The forest zone is genuinely miserable, the Barranco rock is slick, and the summit is usually in cloud. Prices fall sharply. Not a sensible first climb.
Still the long rains and still not recommended for a first attempt. Experienced trekkers who don't mind wet forest will have the mountain close to themselves.
The dry season opens. Conditions improve through the month, the trail isn't yet crowded, and nights begin to get properly cold.
Dry, clear and busy. Machame and Marangu carry serious traffic. If you want space in this window, take Rongai or Lemosho.
The busiest month on the mountain. Excellent conditions and the coldest nights of the year. Book several months ahead, and further for dates near a full moon.
Dry, clear and slightly quieter than August. One of the strongest months overall.
The last of the main season. Good conditions early, with the short rains arriving toward the end of the month.
The short rains, usually afternoon showers, not all-day rain. Often perfectly climbable and much quieter. Rongai, on the mountain's dry northern side, is the sensible route this month.
Variable early and busy late. The first three weeks are quiet and often fine. The holidays fill the trail and the rates rise.
A Kilimanjaro climb is carried by a crew that outnumbers the climbers several times over: guides, assistant guides, a cook, and porters who move camp, water and food up the mountain ahead of you every single day.
Park fees are set by TANAPA, charged per person per day, and are the largest single component of the price of any climb. They are identical for every operator. Quotes differ only in what's left after those fees, and that money pays the crew.
So a quote far below the others is being funded by somebody, and on this mountain it's usually the porters. Lower wages, heavier loads, or simply fewer of them. It is visible on the trail, and it's worth understanding before choosing on price alone.
Tipping is customary and is a real part of crew income, not a bonus. Guideline totals are discussed at the briefing. Bring the cash in small denominations: there's no cash machine on the mountain or at the gate.
Weigh your own daypack honestly. A porter carrying your camera bag on top of their own load is the difference between a hard day and an unreasonable one.
Layers, not bulk. A base layer, a fleece, an insulated jacket and a waterproof shell will handle everything from the rainforest to summit night. Summit night is well below freezing on the crater rim and colder with wind chill.
Broken-in boots. New boots on Kilimanjaro is the most common self-inflicted injury on the mountain.
Walking poles, genuinely. The descent from Uhuru to Mweka is thousands of metres of downhill on tired legs and poles take a great deal of it off the knees.
Three to four litres of water a day, carried in a bladder and a bottle. Bladders freeze on summit night, so carry a bottle too and keep it inside your jacket.
Most kit can be rented in Moshi and the quality is generally fine. Boots are the exception: rent anything but those.
Cash in small denominations for tips, brought with you. There is no cash machine on the mountain or at the gate, and tipping is a real part of crew income, not a bonus.
A summit certificate is issued at the gate: gold for Uhuru, green for Gilman's or Stella Point.
There are two climbing seasons and two to avoid, and the choice between the good ones is mostly about temperature and traffic.
January to mid-March is warmer, quieter and more likely to give you snow on the summit, which most people find makes the summit morning much better. Nights are cold but less brutally so than in the northern-summer window. This is the season many guides prefer.
June to October is the main season: driest, clearest and busiest. Machame and Marangu carry serious traffic in August. If you want solitude in this window, take Rongai or Lemosho.
Mid-March to May is the long rains. The forest zone becomes genuinely miserable, the Barranco rock is slick and the summit is often in cloud. Prices drop sharply. It isn't a sensible first climb.
November and December are the short rains, usually afternoon showers instead of all-day rain, and often perfectly climbable. Late December is busy again over the holidays.
Check the moon. A summit night on or near a full moon is much easier to walk and the crater views are extraordinary. Those dates book out.
Tell us your dates and we will put something together.
