Everything you need to plan a climb, in the order you’ll need it: routes, timing, fitness, kit and costs.
Read the guide
Our own routes, groups of eight at most, and a 97.6% summit success rate, explained with evidence rather than adjectives.
See why
Every climb we run, with prices from, and the scheduled departures you can join.
See the climbs
Seven support series from Superlite to VIP, and what each one includes.
View prices
Up and down in a day or two if you are already acclimatised, or acclimatise first: permits, plans, maps and a price calculator.
Plan a speed climb
Training, health requirements, visas, vaccinations, insurance and flights: what to sort out, and when.
Start preparing
Height, peaks, temperatures, route lengths, wildlife and records, all checked against our own data.
Read the facts
Every route on one map, from our own GPS tracks, with distances, crowding and acclimatisation compared side by side.
See the map
Steep and direct from the south, leaving little time to acclimatise. 46.3 km round trip.
More about Umbwe
The busiest camping route, climbing from the southern rainforest onto the Shira Plateau before traversing beneath the Southern Icefields. 56.7 km round trip.
More about Machame
The quietest start, from the western forest onto the Shira Plateau. The standard route joins Machame beyond Shira 2; TK Lemosho, our own variation, takes the quiet northern circuit and summits from School Hut. 64.7 or 66.4 km round trip.
More about Lemosho
Starts high on the Shira Plateau, reached by vehicle: only for climbers already acclimatised, for example after Mount Meru. Seven or eight days, or joined to TK Lemosho.
More about Shira
The hut route, and the only one that comes down the way it goes up. It has the lowest success rate of the main routes. 66.9 km round trip.
More about Marangu
From the north, near the Kenyan border. The Rongai most companies run crosses the Saddle to Kibo Hut; TK Rongai, our own, climbs over the Mawenzi ridge and summits from School Hut. 68.0 or 72.2 km round trip.
More about Rongai
4,566 m, above Arusha: the best acclimatisation before Kilimanjaro. Three or four days, sleeping in huts.
More about Mount Meru
Every package is a guided Kilimanjaro climb on routes of our own design, for your group alone on any date you choose, or as part of a small scheduled group.
Our standard climbs include airport transfers, hotel nights before and after, all park fees, a full mountain crew and a briefing in Arusha. Groups are never larger than eight, except by special agreement.
We designed these routes to avoid the crowds, acclimatise you properly and save your strength for summit night. They are why most of our climbers choose us.
The quiet western forest and Shira Plateau, then the northern circuit instead of the crowded south. No height lost and re-climbed before the summit, and the summit from School Hut.
Kilimanjaro’s quiet northern side, with the climb-high, sleep-low day over the Mawenzi ridge that the conventional Rongai lacks.
Starts from Machame Gate on the southern side and reaches Moir Hut on day three, then follows the TK Lemosho route to the summit.
We run every official route, and we will tell you honestly what each one is like. Prices are our Advantage series, per person, for a group of eight.
| Route | Length | Gate to gate | From | Our view |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Machame | 6–10 days | 56.7 km | USD 2,198 | Popular and scenic, but busy, and it loses height before the summit. |
| Lemosho | 7–10 days | 64.7 km | USD 2,548 | A beautiful start that joins the Machame crowds from day three. |
| Rongai | 5–10 days | 68.0 km | USD 1,914 | Quiet, but with no climb-high, sleep-low on the usual schedule. |
| Marangu | 5–10 days | 66.9 km | USD 1,858 | Huts instead of tents; the lowest summit success of the routes. |
| Umbwe | 6–10 days | 46.3 km | USD 2,205 | Steep and fast: hard on acclimatisation. |
| Shira | 7–10 days | 55.9–53.3 km | USD 2,548 | Only for climbers already acclimatised, for example after Meru. |
All the routes on the map 👉 · Which route is best? 👉
You don’t need to climb on these dates: they are for climbers who would like to join others. Green means open; use Join to send us your details.
Choose how you climb, from carrying everything yourself to sleeping in a real bed. Prices are per person, from.
This is for our standard Advantage series; the cost of every series is on our prices page.
Pick a route and dates, or join a scheduled group. Not sure? Tell us about yourself and we will recommend one.
A USD 150 deposit, by card, holds your climb. Ask us for a payment link.
Train, buy or hire your kit, book flights to JRO and get your visa. We guide you through it.
Land the day before your climb starts. We meet you at the airport and brief you in Arusha.
Yes, any day of the year, at no extra cost.
Most of our climbers do exactly that. Tell us when you want to climb and we will plan it, with your group alone. If you would like company, ask us to open your climb so others can join.
No. Groups are there for those who would like company.
The scheduled departures above are for climbers who would like to share their climb with others. A solo climber joining a group pays the same per-person price as two climbers sharing. A private solo climb costs more, and so does a solo booking on dates you choose with fewer than 60 days to go, because there is no time left to find others to join.
Never more than eight trekkers, except by special agreement.
Small groups let the guide watch every climber closely, attend to individual needs and talk with each person every day. For a larger party (our biggest was 41), we add chief guides and split the group into smaller teams while walking; everyone comes together in the mornings and evenings.
For most climbers, TK Lemosho over eight days.
It has the best acclimatisation and the least crowding of anything we offer, and it is the route we recommend to most climbers. How to choose the best route 👉, or tell us about yourself and we will recommend one.
It is the best acclimatisation you can give yourself.
Climbing Mount Meru (4,566 m) before Kilimanjaro gives your body a head start on the altitude, and Meru is a wonderful climb in its own right. Meru climbs run from one to four days, from USD 198 per person. Climbing Mount Meru 👉
Yes. Many climbers add one after the climb.
We run private safaris to the Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire, planned around your climb. Tanzania safaris 👉 · Day trips from Arusha 👉
Tell us your dates, your group and the kind of climb you have in mind, and we will plan it with you.
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