General Kilimanjaro updates

Telecommunications

Page 76: Mobile phones

If you’re staying in Tanzania for a while, it makes a lot of sense to invest in a Tanzanian SIM card. You have to pray that it works in your phone, of course - try to get your mobile unlocked before you arrive; it’s possible to have it unlocked out in Tanzania but it’s easier at home - but the SIM card itself is very cheap (Ts500-1500) and it will save you a lot of money, whether phoning numbers in Tanzania or abroad. It’s also much cheaper to sen text messages using a Tanzanian SIM card too, rather than relying on the mobile phone that you brought from home. For example, currently one African operator charges Ts420 per minute to phone Europe (about US$0.25), much less than the European suppliers charge; and text messages are subject to the same price differential.

Telephone codes

On the subject of telephones, I've been told that the telephone codes in the book are not obvious enough. So to summarise:

The telephone code for Dar es Salaam is tel 022

The telephone code for Nairobi is tel 02

The telephone code for Arusha is tel 027

The telephone code for Moshi is tel 027

The telephone code for Marangu is tel 027

Apologies to those who had trouble finding them.

Route changes

Page 238: As we suggested in the last edition of the guide, the Machame Route is now at least as popular as Marangu. This is according to KINAPA chief Nyamakumbati Mafuru, following a discussion I had with him in September 2007. This will come as no surprise to those who have climbed it recently.

Page 248: As reported in the News section of this site, one of the old porters’ paths has now finally closed. The path appears at the start of Map 11, page 248. It has always been off-limits to trekkers.

Page 267: The Western Breach route to the crater floor is, alas, still closed, with no sign of it being open again anytime soon.

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