About Henry

I am a little obsessed with Mount Kilimanjaro. Since writing the first edition of the Kilimanjaro guide in 2001 I have climbed the mountain more than 30 times and occasionally leads treks up the mountain myself. And when I'm not in Tanzania researaching for the next edition of the guide (the sixth edition was published in 2024), I can be found living near Hastings, England, updating this website (which was first published in 2006), writing about the national trails of England, answering Kili-related emails and putting on weight. Friends describe me as living proof that virtually anybody can climb Kilimanjaro.

89-year-old woman climbs Kilimanjaro!

An 89-year-old woman from Phoenix, Arizona, has become the oldest to climb Africa's highest mountain. Anne Lorimor, a former university instructor, reached the summit earlier this month after a nine-day trek. Anne climbed for Creating Exciting Futures, her own charity that she founded to support disadvantaged youth. This is actually not the first time [...]

July 30th, 2019|Categories: Records and amazing feats|

The plastic bag ban in Tanzania – an update

We've had a lot of emails from our climbers asking about the ban on plastic bags in Tanzania. This follows the recent announcement by the government. You can find out more on this by reading our post on the ban on plastic bags in Tanzania, The ban was due to take effect on 1 [...]

June 6th, 2019|Categories: Uncategorized|

Tanzania bans plastic bags

Penalties for those arriving in Tanzania with plastic bags We have been advised that Tanzania is, from the start of next month, banning plastic bags from entering the country. This does of course have huge ramifications for Kilimanjaro trekkers, many of whom use plastic bags to keep their clothes and other items separate in [...]

May 11th, 2019|Categories: Uncategorized|

Climbing Kilimanjaro without porters

Climbing Africa’s highest mountain unaided Can you carry your own bags up Kilimanjaro?  By coincidence, over the past few weeks we’ve received several emails on a very similar subject. All of the correspondents want to climb Kilimanjaro. But none of them want all the fuss that goes with it. In other words, they want [...]

April 24th, 2019|Categories: Uncategorized|

Is it possible to climb Kilimanjaro independently?

Can you climb up Kilimanjaro without a crew? It's a question readers still ask me regularly each year.  Is it possible to just turn up at the foot of Kilimanjaro with a rucksack full of camping gear, food and warm clothes, and head up the slopes to the top? In other words, can you [...]

April 3rd, 2019|Categories: Uncategorized|

Climbing Kilimanjaro in the rainy season – is it worth it?

Climbing Kilimanjaro during the rainy season Whether to do it, how to do it, and what to expect April and May is traditionally the low season on Kilimanjaro. Very few people climb at this time.  There's a good reason for this, of course. These two months correspond with the mountains main monsoon season. And [...]

March 31st, 2019|Categories: Uncategorized|

LGBT in Tanzania: advice for gay travellers to East Africa

Homophobia in East Africa Can being gay really stop you climbing Kilimanjaro? I was prompted to write this article after being contacted by a gay travel agency from California. This agency was looking to organise a climb on Kilimanjaro for later this year with Kilimanjaro Experts. They had the usual fears and questions that every [...]

March 11th, 2019|Categories: Advice|

Mount Meru: a guide

A guide to climbing Mount Meru Why everyone should climb Kilimanjaro's little brother Mount Meru, which overlooks the city of Arusha from the nort, is used by many trekkers as a warm-up trek to Kilimanjaro. In other words, it acts as an hors d’oeuvre to the main course of Kilimanjaro, which lies about 60km to [...]

December 31st, 2018|Categories: Uncategorized|
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