MOUNT KILIMANJARO

Kilimanjaro is a trek, not a technical climb — no ropes, harnesses or mountaineering experience are needed. The difficulty is altitude and duration: you walk 5-7 hours a day for a week, and summit night is a 12-14 hour effort. Anyone with good general fitness who trains with regular hill walking for three months beforehand can realistically summit.

It depends on your time and experience. Lemosho over 9 days gives the most gradual acclimatisation and the finest scenery. Machame over 8 days is the most popular. Rongai over 8 days approaches from the drier north side. The Northern Circuit over 10 days is the longest and quietest. Marangu over 7 days is the only route with sleeping huts, and Umbwe over 7 days is the steepest, best kept for climbers who have been at altitude before.

The biggest single factor is how many days you spend acclimatising on the mountain, which is why we recommend the longer routes and build every climb with time to adjust. Your guide checks every climber's health each day and will turn someone around if their health requires it — reaching the summit matters less than coming down well.

Our climbs are costed per route and group size. For two climbers together, per person: Marangu (7 days) USD 2,050, Umbwe (7 days) USD 2,210, Machame (8 days) USD 2,540, Rongai (8 days) USD 2,600, Lemosho (9 days) USD 2,920 and the Northern Circuit (10 days) USD 3,250. This covers park and rescue fees, camping equipment, meals on the mountain, guides, cooks and porters. It excludes international flights, personal gear hire and crew tips.

January to early March and June to October are the two dry seasons and by far the best windows. January-March is warmer and quieter; June-October is the most reliable weather but the busiest. We strongly advise against April, May and November, when heavy rain makes the trail difficult and the summit far less likely.

Mild altitude symptoms — headache, poor sleep, loss of appetite — are normal above 3,000m and affect most climbers. Serious altitude illness is uncommon on properly paced routes. Every guide carries a pulse oximeter and performs twice-daily health checks, and all crews carry bottled oxygen. The best prevention is a longer route and a slow walking pace.

Layered clothing for temperatures from +25C in the rainforest to -20C on summit night: base layers, fleece, insulated down jacket, waterproof shell, warm hat and gloves, and broken-in waterproof boots. A four-season sleeping bag is essential. We send a full kit list on booking and can arrange quality gear hire in Moshi.

A typical climb runs with roughly three support crew per climber — a lead guide, assistant guides, a cook and porters. All our crews are paid above the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project minimum, carry no more than 20kg, and are provided with proper mountain clothing and sleeping equipment.

Yes, and we recommend it. Most climbers add three or four nights on the northern safari circuit afterwards, or a week in Zanzibar to recover. Doing the climb first and the safari second works best — you arrive at the mountain fresh and unwind properly afterwards.