Mount Kilimanjaro Trek

While in Tanzania you’ll be accompanied by your experienced trekking trip leader, who’s there to keep you informed about Tanzania and make sure that everything runs smoothly; a qualified trekking guide, who’ll provide additional local knowledge of the flora and fauna and a team of walking guides and porters! Each Camp you stay at will also have a team of people ensuring you are well fed and catered too.

Established in 2003, the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP) is a legally registered Tanzanian not-for-profit organization. Their mission is to improve the working conditions of the porters on Kilimanjaro. Active Adventures fully supports this project and adhere to their guidelines and values.

The lodge on the first night will provide private twin-share rooms with ensuites and every other night you will be in a Twin-share
tent with a mattress (3 inch foam) & pillow provided. Each campsite will have a mess tent and toilet tent as well.

We recommend bringing enough clothing to only have to do laundry where necessary during your trek. Fast drying clothing is recommended while walking (see our recommended packing list), and the cold mountain air makes it hard for things to dry. There will only be opportunities to do laundry at the lodge n Arusha so we recommend hand-washing only the vital items you need while on trail.

You'll need one piece of luggage plus a daypack. Your main piece of luggage can be anything from a backpack, to a sports bag with wheels or a suitcase and a good quality trekking daypack 25-30 litres (2000 cubic inches) is required for the days on the trail.

Included in your trip fare are the services of our group porters who carry your overnight gear, including your sleeping bag, leaving you to walk at your own pace with your day gear in your daypack. Porters will carry a maximum of 20 kilograms (44 pounds) per person, equivalent to around 50 litres of space - this does not include your sleeping bag.

We’ll give you an Active Africa porter bag to put your gear into to give to your porter (in Arusha).

Once you've booked your trip, you'll have access to a gear list in your portal on exactly what to bring along. The gear list is carefully thought out to provide you with everything you need to be warm and happy, or cool and relaxed, whatever the weather! So it is best to bring everything we recommend along, if you don't bring everything you need, we can't guarantee your comfort. The most important items are:

A good, comfortable, well worn-in pair of hiking boots for your trek as you’ll use them most days. We recommend boots with good ankle support and a solid tread/sole. We’ll be hiking over rocky and uneven terrain so we want you to be prepared with suitable equipment.

A waterproof, windproof and breathable rain jacket and rain pants. A jacket that’s not too light (it won’t keep you dry and you’ll get cold), not too heavy (or you’ll get too hot while hiking) and with a decent hood. If you don’t already own a waterproof jacket, we recommend chatting to your local outdoor retailer and adding one to your kit.

A good quality, custom made, 4 seasons ‘super-down’ jacket, with 800 loft/fill is suitable for conditions on the trail, it will need to be of mountaineering standard as it can get very cold on the trail, especially as you trek further into the mountains. We provide one for you so no need to bring your own!

Hiking poles to help protect your knees on the descents, assist over rocky and uneven terrain and give greater support when carrying a backpack. We provide these for you so no need to bring your own!

Yes we provide a good quality, custom made, 4 seasons ‘super-down’ jacket; a warm down sleeping bag with an inner sheet included, rated to -26°C (-14°F); and a set of hiking poles. The jacket has 800 loft/fill which we know is suitable for conditions on the trail. 

Yes included in your trip fare are the services of our group porters who carry your overnight gear, including your sleeping bag, leaving you to walk at your own pace with your day gear in your daypack. Porters will carry a maximum of 20 kilograms (44 pounds) per person, equivalent to around 50 litres of space - this does not include your sleeping bag.

We’ll give you an Active Africa porter bag to put your gear into to give to your porter (in Arusha).

Trip prices are based on shared arrangements (typically two guests per room), unless otherwise stated. For solo travellers, we’ll pair you with another person of the same gender to share rooms and if there’s no one suitable to share with, there’s no forced single supplement. However, if you specifically request your own rooms, you can opt to pay the single supplement. Solo travellers who book within 90 days of departure, where there are no other solo travellers willing to share, will be required to pay the single supplement. 

For Family Vacation bookings, families consisting of four guests traveling with children aged 17 and under will be automatically assigned one shared room. However, the following alternative rooming allocations are available:

• Families consisting of four guests with all children aged 13 and above are welcome to opt for additional rooms as per advertised double occupancy adult rates.
• Families consisting of four guests with at least one child aged 12 and under are automatically assigned a shared room. However, families can opt to pay the adult rates for all guests in their family to have an additional room.
• The same principles apply for families consisting of more than four guests.

Rooming preferences are subject to availability and must be communicated in writing at time of booking. Automatic assignments as per this policy will be applied in the absence of any specification provided by guests. Any request for additional rooms during trips will be at guests’ own expense and subject to rates made available by the accommodation provider at the time. All minors (guests aged 17 and under) must be accompanied by at least one adult.

Your ‘Kibo’ trek begins at an altitude of 1,400 metres (4,600 feet) at Arusha, and will take you up to 5,895 metres (19,340 feet) at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. Unless you’ve travelled to and slept around this altitude in the past there’s no reliable way to predict how well you’re going to cope. While most people experience some mild symptoms, these are usually limited to a few days while your body adjusts and acclimatises.
Generally, very few people on our trips are badly affected by altitude, as we make sure everyone takes it easy in the beginning and gets into the swing of things slowly.
There are some things you can do when you arrive like avoiding dehydration, eating light meals, get plenty of rest and don’t over exert yourself -all these things might assist with your acclimatisation. There’s also a medication, acetazolamide (Diamox®) which you can take to help speed up acclimatisation, we strongly recommend that you discuss this with your doctor (see “Suggested Contents of Medical Kit” below).
While on the trek, if you do feel any adverse effects (headache, nausea or loss of appetite, dizziness/light headedness), please be sure to let your guide know so they can help take care of you. Often - paracetamol (acetaminophen), having something to eat and drink and resting up is all you need to do to alleviate the symptoms. along with drinking water and taking it easy.

We strongly recommend seeing your local travel doctor for a full medical checkup prior to travelling to Tanzania for the ‘Kibo’ trek. Trekking in general, especially at altitude can expose you to health risks and pre-existing medical conditions might get worse at altitude.
If you’re taking any regular medication, it’s essential you see your regular doctor well before the trek and get adequate
supplies for the trip. It’s also recommended that you get a letter from your doctor listing your regular medications and stating you’re carrying them for your personal use. This is also useful if you need to get replacement medications if you’re unlucky enough to lose your medication.

We carry comprehensive first aid kits and all our guides have received in depth emergency first aid training. However, our guides cannot dispense prescription medication to clients. We expect clients to bring a personal first aid kit with supplies to deal with common problems including blisters, cuts, grazes, aches and pains, travelers diarrhea, coughs and colds and altitude illness. Medications will need to be prescribed by a doctor, taking into account individual allergies and regular medications. We have provided a list of suggested items to discuss with your doctor.

Suggested contents of personal medical kits
Plasters & Dressings
Blister prevention tape, dressings etc
Strapping tape
Small bandage
Iodine swabs/solution or other antiseptic
Cough lozenges
Acetaminiphen/Paracetamol and/or ibuprofen
Acetazolamide (for prevention & treatment of altitude
illness). Suggested dose:125mg twice daily commencing 24
hours before going to altitude > 2500m
Oral rehydration solution (ORS)
Loperamide
Azithromycin (broad spectrum antibiotic, good for travellers
diarrhoea). Suggested dose 500mg once daily for 3 days.
Ondansetron (or other anti-emetic)
Antihistamine
Any regular medication (if required)
Spare prescription glasses (if required)