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Kilimanjaro Trek - Kit List & Itinerary

Weather and conditions while trekking on Kilimanjaro

In equatorial latitudes days will be generally warm, sometimes cloudy with occasional rain, and evenings can be cool enough to need a jumper. The climate is quite consistent on the equator with the year being split into raisy season and dry season rather than our definition of seasons. Long rains are generally March, April time and the short rains are generally October. However global climate change has meant that these 'seasons' cannot be relied upon; droughts are common, as are flash floods, and the glaciers of Kilimanjaro are in retreat which means that soon the rivers will dry up completely.

On the mountain you need to be prepared for cold conditions at night especially and very changeable conditions during the days. The lower slopes can be warm and even muggy, but we have experienced heavy rain in the forests and on the Shira Plateau.

Further along on the Barranco route there may be rain and even hail, or just as likely strong sunshine. Prepare your daysack with a variety of clothing to cope with all eventualities.

Final camp at Barafu is cold - Barafu means 'ice' - and quite often windy. In good conditions the camp is fine and comfortable.

On summit day you may encounter some snow on the ground but this will be temporary and may be accompanied by some rain and/or hail. Starting at midnight will mean initially cold, and the coldest time of the whole trip will be between 5 and 7 am close to Stella Point. Going slowly with lots of breaks means the body will find it hard to generate heat, and you can expect an ambient air temperature of minus 1 or 2. Warm clothing is a must, along with good hats and gloves and a headtorch. The summit itself can be windy and you may find interesting ice scultptures on the ground called penitentes (larger ones are seen on Aconcagua in South America). It can get very hot and sunny and you will need to bring good skin protection and sunglasses. Sometimes it is very cold up there and your time will be just a few minutes, other times it can be up to forty minutes taking snaps and calling home (your mobile phone will work with roaming access).

The descent is obviously quicker and by that time of day (around 11am to midday) it will be hotter. It is also very dusty and tiring on the knees so expect things to be exhausting and frustrating on the loose scree. Back at Barafu and onward to Millennium everything will get more comfortable and you will feel the thicker, warmer air and of course the greenery. The next day to the Gate is very pleasant, a lovely walk through the forest with beautiful flora.

Equipment List for climbing Mt Kilimanjaro

Travel Clothes - Loose fitting and comfortable for the flight. You will be able to store these clothes in Moshi at the hotel. You can wear your boots on the flight to save weight and also in the event of your bag being lost enroute.

Bags - One duffle bag of about 65 litres for your main gear which is carried by a porter, plus a day pack of around 20 litres for carrying during the day. Also bring a light bag for storing clothes in at the hotel while you are on the mountain.

For sale: Adventure Alternative duffle Bag, 65 litres, with compression straps and carrying handle, in blue. Tough cordura material with a lateral zip across the top. £20.00 or 30 euro + £5.00 p&p - contact us if you would like to purchase one.

General Clothing

2/3 T-shirts Underwear 2 shirts 1 pair of shorts 2/3 pair socks

Hiking boots 1 pair of trousers Trainers or sandals for campsite Jumper/warm top Sunhat

Mountain Extras

Fleece jacket, thick Gloves Thermals, top & bottom Warm hat

Sunglasses 3 pr hiking socks Goretex jacket or shell jacket Waterproof trousers

Hardware

Sleeping bag, 3 season Headtorch + spare batteries

2 x 1lt water bottles or Platypus Trekking poles (optional)

Personal

Towel (small) Shampoo/soap Shaving kit Deodorant

Toothbrush/paste Brush/comb Scissors/mirror Nail brush

First Aid

Suncream Moisturiser Lypsyl

Aspirin & Nurofen Plasters & Germolene Immodium

Prescribed medicines Tweezers Sore throat tablets

Documentation & Miscellaneous

Passport Spending money - in dollars preferably, but euro or sterling acceptable Camera Books

General kit Information for climbing Kilimanjaro

• Make sure boots are broken in and with good ankle support. Goretex hiking boots are fine.
• Adventure Alternative supply tents, mattresses (thick foam mattresses), crockery, cutlery and all group equipment
• On the mountain or on safari there is no real opportunity to wash clothes at all.
• Common first aid complaints are  - headaches, dehydration, stomach bugs, diarrhoea, sunburn and occasional mouth ulcers. These are mostly caused by feeling run down and can be prevented by looking after yourself at all times. A personal first aid kit is useful to cover these minor ailments.
• Keep your money somewhere safe in a money bag. Do not bring large wads of notes with you. If you take sterling cash with you make sure they are Bank of England notes. You can change these in Moshi easily. You will need to bring some money (around $40 or $50) however for porters’ tips which it is best to change into local currency and hand to our manager Castro at the gate after the climb is over.
• If you wear contact lenses take plenty of saline and comfort drops- it can get dusty.
• For the mountain, work on a layering system which gives you versatility - Tshirt or thermals, shirt or warm top which could be polartec, a good thick fleece and good heavyduty waterproofs. Gloves and hats are vital.
• Digital cameras will cope fine with the conditions if you keep them warm on summit morning, otherwise batteries can run down.
• Your sleeping bag can be a normal 3 season bag unless you feel you get cold very easily in which case you can add in a sleeping bag liner which can be either silk or fleece material. Remember that sleeping bags work on trapping layers of air so wearing clothes in your bag doesn't help.
• Thermals can just be longjohns, and a skinfit warm top with long sleeves. It may not be cold enough to warrant these but they are always useful.
• Take rain jackets but try to make sure they are breathable fabrics. A good GoreTex (or similar) jacket is more or less essential for Mount Kilimanjaro.

Itinerary for climbing Mt Kilimanjaro

Day	Itinerary
Day 1	Depart UK or Ireland pm, or depart am on Day 2 to arrive same day
Day 2 Advertised Trek Date	Arrive in East Africa (either in the morning if you left on Day 1 pm, or in the evening if you left on the morning of Day 2). Pick up from airport and transport to Moshi and Keys Annexe Hotel. These are comfortable ensuite double or twin rooms. The arrangement is Bed and Breakfast. You can pay extra for certain breakfast extras like omelette. There is an internet café here, it is very safe and there is a swimming pool and a nice restaurant.
Day 3	Rest day in Moshi. Team brief, equipment brief, preparation. Time to go shopping, have a nice meal and rest after the overnight flight.
Day 4 Day 1 of climb	Meeting porters, registration with park service. You travel to the head of the Machame trail through cultivated coffee fields and small forest of ferns. The trail head is on the edge of a rain forest at around 6,000 feet, and the hike to around 10,000 feet to Machame Camp takes about five hours. We arrive at about 4pm.
Day 5 Day 2 of climb	Crossing a small valley after the Machame hut our route ascends through heathland and moorland littered with cacti towards the Shira plateau where the Shira hut is our destination at 12,460'.
Day 6 Day 3 of climb	Trek to Barranco Camp which is only about 100 metres higher than Shira Plateau, but the route involves an ascent to Junction - just below Lava Tower at around 15,000' - and then a descent into the Barranco Valley. This is a long day of 7 hours but very important for acclimatisation, climbing high and sleeping low. Vegetation is much more sparse and becomes quite rocky and exposed. Can get cold and windy on the long walk up to Junction.
Day 7 Day 4 of climb	After breakfast a steep climb for about one hour on the Barranco Wall, which is a bit strenuous and will involve using your hands to pull up on some easy sections of scrambling on rock. Then descend to Karanga Valley for the camp. This is another day of climbing high and sleeping low. Total walk time is about 2 to 3 hours and height gain is nothing.
Day 8 Day 5 of climb	From Karanga Valley an ascent to Barafu Hut which takes about four hours and is the final camp before going to the summit. The walk is not hard at all but you may feel the altitude so it is advisable not to rush about too much. Barafu Camp is quite rocky, set on a spur with great views of the walk to the top. You arrive around lunchtime and then rest for the remainder of the day, have an early dinner and go to bed early in order to prepare for a night climb of Kilimanjaro.
Day 9 Day 6 of climb	Awake at midnight for summit day. Gear needs to be packed and hot tea drunk  before heading for the top. The total time is between 12 and 15 hours. Leaving at 1am, the crater rim is reached by around 8am and the summit by 10.00am normally. With around 40 minutes on the top it then takes about 2 to 3 hours to descend to Barafu and then there is an hour long lunch and a further 2 hours to Millennium Camp where the porters will have brought all the tents and be preparing dinner. The walk is not hard but it seems interminable in the dark. Walk slowly and the guides will look after you very well. Around 5am the sky will lighten and dawn will come, an unbelievably stealthy approach with fabulous colours. For sure you will feel encouraged and warmed by the sun. The final scree slope to the crater rim - which is called Stella Point - is frustrating, one step up and two steps back in the loose dust, but determination will win out and from the crater rim there are stunning views of the crater and the eastern glaciers to the right of you and the northern icefields ahead on the other side of the crater. In the middle you can make out Fort Wrangler Glacier. The final walk to the top itself takes 45 minutes and fresh views of the Heim Glacier and Rebmans Glacier are very inspiring. The famous summit ‘furniture’ of the signboard announcing your position at the highest point in Africa is a clear photo opportunity and your mobile phone will work. We will have orange juice and biscuits for people. The descent is back down to Barafu Hut and then an overnight at Millenium camp on the edge of the forest at around 12,000'. The descent is long and people with knee problems should consider bringing poles, it is long and slow and dusty for the first two of three hours to the Hut and then there is a nice lunch. After lunch the walk to Millennium is another 2 hours (max 3) along easy ground and back onto grass and heather. Summit day is very long and tiring and climbers should be aware that problems are caused by quite a big jump in altitude in one day, lack of water at this height and possible bad weather. You may arrive down at camp in the dusk; the porters and cooks will have gone down and put up the tents and prepared food for your arrival. It is a hard day, but with determination and some good luck it can prove to be one of the best days of your life when you do eventually stand on top of mount kilimanjaro. Some people question descending all the way to Millennium when physical tiredness might edge towards a night at Barafu. However the issue of water at Barafu is real; it takes nearly an hour for the porters to collect it. More importantly, and concerning issues of altitude, it is better to descend as far as possible on this day so that everyone feels better. It may be harder on the feet and knees but it is better on the overall welfare and health.
Day 10 Day 7 of climb	Continuing down the Mweka or Umbwe route in lush green forest and thick jungle, you eventually reach the gate after about four hours and drive to Moshi. A shower and a good meal awaits ! At the gate you need to sign out and fill in your details for receiving your certificate (gold for the summit, green for Stella Point) and our staff will be there with vehicles to head back to the hotel. Arrive normally around 3pm. Overnight in hotel.
Day 11 Travel home or go on a Safari	Moshi, and onward travel. Car to the airport can be arranged easily. Remember to leave your international ticket with the office so they can confirm your flight home 72 hours before departure. Depart evening time for arriving home on Day 12 or you can take a morning flight and arrive back same day. Or some people stay on for a four day / three night safari in Tanzania which we offer (see below). Or you can fly to Zanzibar for a beach holiday.
Day 12	Arrive home

Additional trips after climbing Kilimanjaro

We offer a four day, three night safari package taking in the Ngorongoro Crater and part of the Serengeti Parks. We have all the vehicles, staff and equipment for this safari. There is a choice of accommodation from staying in Twiga Camp or a luxury Lodge. Because of distances this is the best number of days to see the animals. Ngorongoro is rightly famous as the densest population of animals in a specific area, in this case a remarkable perfectly formed crater.

Or you can take a flight down to Zanzibar and relax on the beaches of this ancient spice island. Flights are regular from Arusha and take about 45 minutes. They are small aircraft so people generally opt to leave their climbing clothes and equipment in Moshi in our office, where they can also be laundered, to be picked up on return. This element of your trip is self organised however we can help you with information and bookings.

Trek Kilimanjaro - Visas for Tanzania

Visa for Tanzania is $50 for UK passport holders and $100 for Irish. If you are flying into Nairobi and taking the coach you need to buy two visas for both Kenya ($50 for all) and Tanzania.
Getting visas is very easy, just buy them at the airport on arrival, no need to send your passport to the Embassy in London.
For information your hotel in Moshi is Keys Annexe Hotel, and if you are arriving into Nairobi then we can arrange your accommodation for you according to your budget.