• Duffle bag or rucksack for your main gear with lock (to be carried by porter). Maximum 15kgs.

• Daysack of about 30 -40 litres for carrying your daily needs, with waterproof cover.

• Bag to leave in the hotel with travel clothes (suitcase is fine)

• Sleeping bag rated down to -10° Celsius or more if you get cold easily (available for hire)

• Sturdy hiking boots with ankle support, and a sole that does not bend too easily. Gore-Tex lined fabric boots are not quite as warm as leather and are not fully waterproof in very heavy rain.

• Shoes or sandals for wearing around camp

• Gaiters

• Waterproof windbreaker and trousers, preferably breathable, with a hood and big enough to accommodate several layers beneath

• Fleece tops or jumpers, or lightweight down tops

• Down or synthetic jacket or a heavy duty fleece

• Base layer, long sleeved top and long johns

• Balaclava and Buff

• Warm hat and sun hat

• Warm gloves or mittens and thin liner gloves. Make sure gloves are windproof or waterproof.

• Sun hat, high SPF sun lotion, high SPF lip screen and good quality sunglasses

• Trekking clothes – trousers and shorts, shirts and T-shirts, jumper or mid-layer fleece, underwear and several pairs of hiking socks

• Water bottles and/or camelback (take a protective cover for the mouthpiece) and water purification tablets (optional, iodine-based is fine). The Park only allows hard Nalgene water bottles, no disposable ones.

• Head torch with spare batteries

• Trekking poles (available for hire)

• Personal wash kit including a nail brush, moisturising cream, after sun, a small towel, tweezers, nail clippers, wet wipes (Femfresh for women), soap and a small shampoo.

• Variety of waterproof bags – for dirty clothes, sleeping bag and keeping clothes dry
• Personal first aid and hygiene to include ibuprofen to help with altitude, paracetamol for high temperatures, plasters, antiseptic cream, Immodium, strepsils, some toilet roll and prescription medicines. Also, ear plugs are useful.
• Passport, insurance papers, spending money, air tickets, spare batteries for digital cameras, reading books and maps, diary, pen
• Power pack for phones, and any electrical items.

Schedule

• Feb 19

  Arrive into Tanzania. Fly into Kilimanjaro airport.

• Feb 20

  Day in Moshi, meet the Tanzania staff and have time for hiring equipment or relaxing in the hotel. This is a good day to hydrate fully for the start the next day.

• Feb 21

  Transport to Machame Gate (1 hour up to 1790m). Registration (sometimes it can take a few hours or so for this process). Trek to Machame Camp through beautiful montane forest on good path. Camp overnight at the edge of the forest.

• Feb 22

  Machame Camp to Shira Plateau uphill through thinning forest and onto a huge volcanic plateau. Camping is more exposed here with great views of the summit massif.

• Feb 23

  Shira Camp to Barranco Camp traversing two valleys skirting the base of the summit massif. High desert environment with amazing rock formations, quite exposed to the weather, dropping into the Barranco Valley right beneath the Western Breach. This day ascends a maximum of 700 metres but the net height gain is only about 100 metres.

• Feb 24

  Barranco Camp to Karanga Valley, starting with a scramble over the Barranco Wall and over a further two valleys to get to this open campsite with great views of the Heim Glacier. Another up and down day but no net gain in height, which is all good for acclimatisation.

• Feb 25

  Karanga Valley to Barafu Camp, heading upwards towards the open rock and colder temperatures. Barafu means ‘ice’ in Swahili and the camping is amongst the rocks. Early dinner.

• Feb 26

  Summit day. Night-time ascent on rock and scree, snow and ice, to the crater rim and the summit. Expect cold temperatures with windchill. The final slope to the crater rim and Stella Point has loose scree and is very slow. From Stella Point it is a further 45 minutes up the escarpment to the summit of Uhuru.
  Descend in sunlight to Barafu for early lunch, and then walk down to Millennium Camp, normally arriving mid-afternoon.

• Feb 27

  Millennium to Mweka Gate. Descend through the lush forest to Mweka Gate where you sign out and pick up the summit certificate. Legs will be tired! Meet Castro at the gate for transport back to the hotel, arriving normally at about 2pm. The gate is where tips are handed out and you say goodbye to the mountain staff, although sometimes this is done at the hotel. A hot shower and an afternoon relaxing.

• Feb 28

  Day Trip or depart home.

Kilimanjaro Trip Prep

Kilimanjaro Machame Route

Kilimanjaro Itinerary

Kilimanjaro Equipment list

Kilimanjaro Details