Best Kilimanjaro Hiking Tours 2023
We offer three expedition styles to climb Kilimanjaro: private climb tours, open groups tours and Kilimanjaro charity challenges. Whichever you choose, our experienced team will help you achieve your goal of climbing Kilimanjaro: Africa’s highest mountain.
Kilimanjaro Private Tours
Private trips to climb Kilimanjaro are your own personal tailor-made adventure, giving you total flexibility and the highest chance of success. Just choose your date, route and any of our tailor-made options. Perfect for a group of friends or a charity group or a couple looking to celebrate a special birthday or anniversary. Upgrades to private climbs start from $300+ per person depending on the size of the group.
Kilimanjaro open Group Tours 2023
If you want the company of others while you climb Kilimanjaro then an open group is perfect for you. Our group climbs run every week during the main climbing season from June – October and December – March. They are limited to a maximum of 12 to 15 climbers to make sure you get the best chance of summit success. Particularly popular are our open group full moon climbs which run every month.
Kilimanjaro Charity challenges tours
We do not offer the complicated sponsor funded climbs, just great value, tailor-made challenges so that more of the money you raise goes to charity. We also offer our charity climbers special low deposits so that they can get on with fundraising for their chosen charity while our PR team offers a helping hand to promote their charity challenge.
Join the thousands of climbers who have stood on the Mount Kilimanjaro Summit Guided by Climbing Kilimanjaro Team
Click here for our 2023 Kilimanjaro Tours Dates
Click here for our 2024 Kilimanjaro Tours Dates
Kilimanjaro Hiking Tours and Trips Itineraries
We really do mean it when we say you can “create your own adventure” but to see the best parks in the time you have available Climbing Kilimanjaro have created a “Best ” itinerary for everything from 1 day up to 6 days . If there is another itinerary you would like just let us know.
Machame route
The Machame route has the highest success rate on the mountain and as a result is one of the most popular Kilimanjaro routes. Its high success rate is largely due to the fact that it offers excellent acclimatisation, allowing you to “walk high, sleep low”. The route takes you through five distinct climatic zones and offers some of the most dramatic views of the surrounding areas
Lemosho route
The Lemosho route starts to the west of Kilimanjaro, is a little longer and for the first three days relatively quiet. On day 4 it merges with the busier Machame route. The route in is our favourite for scenery, with great views across the Shira plateau.The summit success rate on 8 day climbs is comparable with the 7 day Machame route.
Northern Circuit route
The Northern Circuit route, which we have introduced new for 2015 is often called the the “grand traverse” of Kilimanjaro at it covers the mountain entirely from west to east. It is a very quiet and remote route and over 9 days the summit success rate is good as you have plenty of time to acclimatise. Of course the length of the climb and the cost are its disadvantages.
Rongai route
The only northern approach route to Kilimanjaro, the Rongai route offers the closest to a wilderness experience. The trek in is through a remote and barren landscape where the rainforest has sadly been lost to agriculture. For those looking to get away from the crowds on Kilimanjaro’s popular routes, though this offers a much quieter trail.
Marangu route
The Marangu route won the nickname the “Coca-Cola” route because it so commercialized that you can get coke all the way to the top. This by itself explains why its our least favourite route but this is compounded by fact that it has the lowest success rate (42%) of all the routes because people try to do it in 5 days. Overall we only recommend this for those who hate tents and prefer huts.
Umbwe route
The Umbwe Route is the most challenging and strenuous route up Kilimanjaro due to the steepness of ascent through rainforest and the rapid altitude gain over the first two days. Both these factors lead to the Umbwe route having the highest incidence of altitude mountain sickness and therefore the lowest summit success rate
Click here for our 2023 Kilimanjaro Tours Dates
Click here for our 2024 Kilimanjaro Tours Dates
Our Climbing Kilimanjaro Tours packages includes the following:
- Complimentary meet and greet on arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport
- One arrival & one departure private transfer per group between Kilimanjaro Airport and your hotel in a private vehicle with driver
- Breakfast and dinner is included on the first and last night at the hotel
- Arusha Hotel accommodation – 2 Nights’ shared, 5 star accommodation at the Mt Meru Hotel in Arusha town
- Hotel accommodation includes storage facilities for excess luggage during hikes
- Return transfers between the hotel to the start / finish point of a climb
- All Kilimanjaro National Park gate fees, camping / hut fees and climbing permits
- Kilimanjaro National Park rescue fees (Kilimanjaro Rescue Team)
- Chief guide carries a Pulse Oximeter, used to take blood-oxygen level readings of clients twice a day
- Emergency oxygen (for use in emergencies only – not as summiting aid)
- Complete First Aid kit (for use in emergencies only)
- Qualified mountain guide, assistant guides, porters and cook
- Salaries paid to the mountain support crew as per KINAPA (Kilimanjaro National Park Authority) guidelines.
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as hot drinks on the mountain
- Food of premium quality and of a bigger variety on the mountain
- Hot lunch is prepared at the lunch stop and served with table, chairs (and inside mess tent in case of bad weather), except on day 1 of the hike where climbers are provided with a packed lunch. (Not applicable on the Marangu route as all meals is served at the camps in designated mess halls)
- Superior quality camping equipment (tents, sleeping mats, camp chairs, camp tables, mess tent & cutlery for meals) – not applicable on the Marangu route as all meals are served at the camps in designated dining halls
- 10cm thick self-inflating sleeping mattress (not applicable on the Marangu route)
- Water for washing up daily
- Porter to carry your duffel bag, with maximum weight of 15kg / 32 lbs, from one camp to the next camp
- Kilimanjaro National Park certificate for your successful summit attempt
- Complimentary 3 liters of mineral water (per hiker) for the first day on your climb and 3 liters of purified water per person per day from night 1 on wards
- Complimentary Flying doctors membership (Emergency Helicopter evacuation in case of emergency – T & C’s apply)
- Porter to carry your daypack during the summit attempt
- One hot water bottle per hiker for their sleeping bag each night
Our Climbing Kilimanjaro Tours packages excludes the following:
- Flights and airport taxes
- Items of a personal nature
- Compulsory tips for guides, porters and cook (average tip is anything from US$250 to US$ 350 per hiker – depending on the number of days and number of hikers in the group, as well as the route chosen)
- Entry visa for Tanzania (US$50 per passport holder for most nationalities / US $ 100 per visa for USA passport holders)
- Vaccination requirements (Yellow Fever – only compulsory if you travel to Tanzania via a Yellow Fever infected country, Meningitis & Hepatitis A remains optional, but comes recommended)
- Optional but highly recommended travel and medical insurance.
- Personal hiking/trekking gear – you could rent some of the gear in Tanzania
- Optional live tracking service – subject to additional cost, depending availability and booking in advance
- Snacks, personal medicine and sports drink
- Meals and drinks not specified
- Private portable toilet for the group extra $150
