Credit card rules - an update

Thursday 6th September 2007

In an amendment to an earlier news bulletin, the Kilimanjaro National Parks Authority have clarified what the latest rules are regarding the paying of park fees at the gates.

To sum up the situation so far, until recently trekkers would have to pay their park fees at the gate in either cash or travellers’ cheques. (Usually the agency that the trekkers were climbing with would sort all this out, so trekkers would not have to worry about a thing at the start of their walk except climbing the mountain.) Recently, KINAPA started accepting credit cards - and in the previous News item we suggested that from next year only credit cards would be accepted.

Now, however, it appears the rules are even stricter than that: KINAPA apparently only accept a certain form of credit card issued by the Moshi branch of the Stanbic bank. The situation is rather fluid at the moment, and it is hoped that in the near future the Arusha branch may also be able to issue these cards. But for the moment that is the situation.

As I’ve already said, this will neither mean nor have much practical effect on trekkers, the majority of whom book their trek abroad before they arrive, and who will find that the agency they booked with will have sorted their park fees out already. But for those who wait until they arrive in Tanzania before booking their Kilimanjaro trek, and who are asked by their agency to pay their park fees at the gate, they should note that travellers’ cheques and cash are fine for the moment, but from the start of next year their agency will have to pay with a special credit card. They will not, as yet, be able to pay with their own credit card.

Unless, of course, the rules change again! Watch this space.

Banker cycles to Kilimanjaro >>