WELCOME TO CLIMB MOUNT KILIMANJARO!

The most widely accepted figure for the height of Africa’s Highest Mountain is 5895m (19,341ft). This is the figure you will find printed on the certificates handed out to those who successfully reach the summit, Uhuru Peak. Surprisingly, however, there is significant evidence to say it’s wrong. In 1999 a team of specialists from Karlsruhe University in Germany, using GPS technology, revised it down to 5892.55m (19,332.5ft). And in 2008 a team of 19 boffins from 6 countries, using GPS and gravimetric observations, revised it down still further, to 5890.79m (19,326/5ft). 

But let’s stick with the original of 5895m. That’s the figure that the cartographers of the Ordnance Survey came up with when they surveyed the mountain in the 1950s, and has been the accepted figure ever since.

Incidentally, the mountain does have two other main peaks. Mawenzi, the ‘second summit’, is 5149m high (16,893ft); while the third ‘summit, Shira Ridge, is 3962m high (12,999ft). 

You can find out more about the mountain’s appearance by following this link: What does the mountain look like>>

The mountain’s main claim to fame is that it is the highest Mountain in Africa. For that reason, it is often called the Roof of Africa. This also means it is one of the so-called Seven Summits – the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. It is also said to be the highest free-standing mountain in the world. In other words, it’s not part of a mountain range but stands all by itself in the heart of the East African plains. It is also one of the world’s highest ‘walkable’ mountains, where no technical climbing skills are required to reach the summit. 

Africa’s highest mountain is in northern Tanzania, right against the border with Kenya, in East Africa. Don’t make the mistake, as many people do, of thinking it’s in Kenya. It’s not: it is wholly within Tanzania. Though it’s an easy error to make. After all, some of the best photos of the mountain were taken from a vantage point in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park. (I’m thinking in particular of those images of the mountain with elephants in the foreground.) The Kenyan Tourist Board is not above putting pictures of the mountain in its brochures either – a practice which infuriates the Tanzanians.

I’ve even read a children’s book about a well-travelled koala bear called Bingo that places Africa’s highest mountain in Kenya. But suffice to say, it isn’t. So don’t fly to Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, and expect to climb the mountain from there; if you do, you’ll just have to buy yourself an onward flight or take a 6-8 hour bus ride to take you across the border into Tanzania. (That said, fly into Tanzania’s main airport, Dar es Salaam, and you’ll find yourself even further away from the mountain than if you flew into Nairobi – a bus from Dar to Moshi or Arusha, the two main towns at the foot of the mountain , takes pretty much the whole day, leaving around 6am and arriving late afternoon in Moshi or at dusk in Arusha.)

Which does, of course, then beg the question: What airport should you fly into….

The mountain has it’s own airport (Kilimanjaro International Airport, IATA airport code JRO). Currently around seven airlines fly into JRO, including KLM, Kenya Airways, Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian, Qatar Airways, Flydubai (partners with Emirates) and Rwandair. Your trekking company will then transfer you to a hotel in Moshi or Arusha, and from there (usually the next day) will take you to the mountain to begin your trek. (If you arrive without booking your trek, then a taxi from the airport to Moshi/Arusha is US$50.)

You can also arrive overland, of course, with the mountain town of Arusha connected by bus to Kampala in Uganda and Nairobi in Kenya, as well as Tanzania’s largest city, Dar es Salaam (from where buses travel to/from other neighbouring countries).

For details on how to travel to the mountain, please visit our Travelling to the mountain section.

The latest figures that have been released by the park authorities show that, in 2016, there were 47,232 people who tried to climb Africa’s Highest Mountain. The table below summarises how the visitor numbers have changed since we wrote the first edition of the book back in 2001: 

Kilimanjaro visitor numbers

As you can see, there has been a fall in visitor numbers of approximately 20% since the heyday of 2012; but over 47,000 climbers per annum on any one mountain is still a significant figure.

So where are all these people coming from? Well, we’ve written a post about just that: which nationality climbs the mountain the most?

The percentage of people getting to the summit varies according to the route, the duration of the climb and the trekking company that they used. But we reckon that, as a rough guide, about 75% of people make it to the summit. Some companies claim a summiting success rate well above 90%, and for some routes that may be true. It’s worth noting, however, that KINAPA, the park authorities, reckon that actually only 65% of people make it to the summit, with about a third more making it to the Crater Rim. (Uhuru Peak, the highest point on the mountain, is the highest point on the rim of the crater, but you actually reach the rim at Stella Point or Gillman’s Point, which are slightly lower, and about 45 minutes/90 minutes away from Uhuru Peak respectively).

We, however, are sceptical about these figures from KINAPA. Fo a start, they also say that less than 1% (0.53% to be precise) fail to get to the Crater rim, which just seems ludicrously low, as anyone who has been on the mountain, and has seen people being taken off the mountain without reaching the rim, can testify. We also know that some unscrupulous guides and companies will tell KINAPA that someone got to the top even when they didn’t, in order to:

a) boost their ‘success rates’, which look good when it comes to advertising their climbs;

and b) secure a certificate for their client saying they got to the top, which may persuade the client to give a bigger tip at the end of the trek and to leave a more positive review online as well.

So while KINAPA may be the park authorities, we think that their statistics for people reaching the summit are anything but ‘authoritative’.

Ideally, we say that you should book at least six months in advance – and preferably a year before you want to trek. On this website you can find our timetable for booking and preparing for your trek.

By booking early you give yourself more time to prepare and train for your trek. It also increases your chances of getting exactly the trek you want, with the route you want, the dates you want and your preferred choice of hotel too. That said, when we were booking climbs we often had people who booked their trek just a few days before it was due to start. If you are fit enough and have the right gear, there is nothing wrong with this approach, as long as you are fully aware of the challenge that awaits you and know about the dangers too.

Not any more. In 1991 the park authorities made it compulsory for all climbers to sign up with an agency. They in turn will provide you with a crew (consisting of a guide and his assistants, a cook and several porters). You can thus no longer turn up at the foot of Africa’s highest mountain with a rucksack of food and clothes and hope to climb all by yourself. The choice of which agency to sign up with is thus the most important decision you’ll have to make. Which is why we provide a lot of advice on this website about finding the right company for your trek – and an extensive review of all the major ones in the guide book.

It’s a good question, particularly if you want to reach the summit on an important day such as your birthday. The easy way to work it out is this: you will normally reach the summit at dawn on the penultimate morning of your trek. So, for example, for a seven-day trek you would reach, after a very testing summit night, the Uhuru Peak at dawn on the sixth day. The rest of that day – and the morning of the last day – will be spent descending back down the mountain to the exit gate.

Here’s an example. Your birthday is on the 10 March and you want to do a seven-day trek on the standard Machame Route. So you need to book a trek running 5-11 March. That way, you’ll spend five days (5, 6, 7, 8, 9 March) walking to Barafu. You will then walk through the night (beginning at about midnight), reaching the summit at dawn on the 10 March. You then spend the rest of the 10th March walking down to Millennium or Mweka Campsite. The final day is then spent walking to Mweka Gate, from where you’ll be transported back to your hotel.

The policy on this varies from company to company and on the severity of the injury/illness. However, usually the injured/unwell party will be accompanied down the mountain by an assistant guide while the rest of the party continue their ascent.

Usually, if you’ve had to descend, you will return to the previous campsite before deciding on a suitable rendezvous point to meet up with your fellow trekkers on their descent. However, the guide may decide that the most appropriate action would be to evacuate you off the mountain altogether. If this is the case, you will accompanied on your descent either by one of the assistant guides, a summit porter or, if he deems it necessary, by the guide himself. In order to ensure your safety, the guide will probably want you to descend as quickly as possible without risking injury.

As extra insurance, any decent company will also provide every trek with a couple of oxygen bottles. Do note, however, that once you’ve been administered oxygen it is no longer safe for you to continue to ascend as the 99% oxygen inspiration de-activates the body’s triggers which accelerate its Haemoglobin production. In other words, oxygen is there to help you get off the mountain safely – it should never be used as a means of assisting a climber to the summit.

While you are descending, the guide will contact the base in Moshi or Arusha to update them on the situation. As such, by the time you reach the exit gate there should be a car waiting for you to take you back to your hotel. Usually your transfer back from the mountain to the hotel will be included in your package, even if you have come off the mountain early. However, you will still need to pay for any extra nights accommodation you require.

There is no law that says you must buy insurance for climbing the mountain. But some companies will certainly insist that you have some of insurance for your trek. And even if they don’t, it’s certainly a good idea to have some, and not just for the mountain either. North Tanzania isn’t particularly crime-ridden, but thefts, pickpocketings and muggings do happen. But even if you don’t have anything worth nicking, you’ll still want medical cover: there are several diseases you can catch when you’re not on the mountain, and plenty of ways to injure yourself when you are. 

For more information on what insurance is suitable, including links to several UK and US companies that offer cover for the mountain, please visit our What insurance do I need for my trek?