Tents you can stand up in
Our sleeping tents are two metres high and held up by inflated air beams rather than poles, so the fabric stays taut and well away from you, however long the night.
Luxury Kilimanjaro tours: our VIP climbs
Real beds with proper mattresses, cotton sheets and duvets. Walk-in tents you can stand up and dress in. Your own bathroom, en suite or in a separate tent, with a bath and warm water. We know what every operator on the mountain provides, and nobody else climbs Kilimanjaro like this.
Two series, Hemingway and VIP Eco, with the same guides, routes and care that have taken around 14,000 climbers to the summit since 2004.
- 2 mWalk-in air-beam tents
- 15 cmDual-density mattresses
- En-suiteBath tent and private toilet
- USD 7,311Hemingway, from, per person
BedMade to a standard mattress size and carried up the mountain by our porters
What “VIP” usually means on Kilimanjaro
Plenty of operators sell a VIP climb. Too often it means a sagging dome tent you can barely stand up in, a low camp bed whose frame bruises your shins, and wet tent fabric draped across your face while you sleep. Some charge more for that than we charge for ours.
Travel professionals booking for VIP clients ask us for the same things every time: the most exacting oversight, the best guides, the safest timings, the best chance of the summit, comfortable equipment and excellent food. We built our VIP climbs to meet that standard, not to borrow the label.
The difference, plainly
| Typical “VIP” | Our VIP climbs | |
|---|---|---|
| Tent | Dome tent on poles, which sags | Air-beam tent, held taut |
| Headroom | Barely room to stand | Two metres: stand up and dress |
| Bed | Low camp bed with hard edges | Full-size bed, 15 cm mattress |
What you will notice
Everything here is carried up the mountain by our crew and set up before you arrive at camp.
Real beds
Made to standard mattress sizes, with 15 cm dual-density foam mattresses of the quality you sleep on at home. A double is two singles pushed together.
Cotton sheets and duvets
Good cotton sheets, duvets and pillows, with sleeping bags added higher up the mountain when the nights turn very cold.
Separate bathroom / en suite option
An en-suite bathroom annex or separate tent with a private toilet and a small bath: generous warm water you pour over yourself from a jug, in the Victorian manner.
Food worth climbing for
Cooked fresh on the mountain by our highest-ranked chefs, because a good appetite is part of good acclimatisation.
Why a bath and not a shower? We tried showers in our early years. Nobody used them. Water pressure on a mountain is feeble, and standing naked outside your tent while the water cools quickly is nobody’s idea of luxury. A bath with warm water poured from a jug is simply better.
See the difference for yourself
The same camp, three levels of comfort: our standard Advantage series, VIP Eco and Hemingway.
Sleeping tents
Bathrooms
Hemingway, VIP Eco and Advantage compared
Every series includes airport transfers, a pre-climb briefing, mountain transfers, all park and forest fees, staff wages, porters for your overnight gear, and mess tents with tables and chairs.
| Advantage | VIP Eco | Hemingway | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walk-in sleeping tents, two metres high | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| Beds with 15 cm dual-density mattresses | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cotton sheets, duvets and pillows | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| En-suite or separate bathroom, with a bath | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| Private toilet | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| World-class trained chef | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| Personal porter for your day sack | – | – | ✓ |
| Meet and greet at the aircraft, visa help, VIP lounge | – | – | ✓ |
| Hotel before and after | Outpost Lodge | Four Points | Gran Meliá suite |
| Climbers to porters | 1 : 3–6 | 1 : 8–12 | 1 : 13–26 |
| Suggested crew tips | 10–15% | 15–20% | 15–20% |
| Price per person | From USD 1,858 | Ask us | From USD 7,311 |
On a phone, scroll the table sideways.
The route: TK Lemosho, eight or nine days
VIP climbers want the quietest route, the best chance of the summit, and campsites they do not have to share with crowds. So Hemingway climbs use one route only: TK Lemosho, our own variation of the Lemosho route.
- Almost no crowding. From Moir Hut onwards we usually have most camps to ourselves.
- Our best acclimatisation, with a climb-high, sleep-low day on the quiet northern circuit.
- The summit from School Hut, the quietest high camp, on the gentlest, firmest approach to Hans Meyer Cave (5,243 m), above the loose scree most climbers have to trudge up.
- A daylight summit is possible, at your guide’s discretion, if your group would prefer it.
The nine-day climb splits the walk from Shira 1 to Moir Hut into two days: by the Shira Cathedral to Fischer’s Camp, then up towards the Lava Tower before dropping to sleep at Moir Hut. That gives you a second climb high, sleep low early in the climb, and an unhurried day on the Shira Plateau. From Moir Hut it follows the eight-day plan.
66.4 km from Lemosho Gate to Mweka Gate82.5 km from Lemosho Gate to Mweka Gate, by the Lava Tower
- 1Lemosho Gate to Big Tree Camp4.7 km2,385 m → 2,790 m
- 2Big Tree Camp to Shira 17.7 km2,790 m → 3,495 m
- 3Shira 1 to Moir Hut9.4 km3,495 m → 4,160 m
- 4Moir Hut to Pofu Camp, climbing high to sleep low9.8 km4,160 m → 4,395 m → 3,990 m
- 5Pofu Camp to Third Cave5.8 km3,990 m → 3,940 m
- 6Third Cave to School Hut3.9 km3,940 m → 4,715 m
- 7School Hut to Uhuru Peak, down to Millennium Camp13.5 km4,715 m → 5,895 m → 3,800 m
- 8Millennium Camp to Mweka Gate11.6 km3,800 m → 1,645 m
- 1Lemosho Gate to Big Tree Camp4.7 km2,385 m → 2,790 m
- 2Big Tree Camp to Shira 17.7 km2,790 m → 3,495 m
- 3Shira 1 to Fischer’s Camp, by the Shira Cathedral11.5 km3,495 m → 3,935 m
- 4Fischer’s Camp towards the Lava Tower, down to Moir Hut10.9 km3,935 m → 4,470 m → 4,160 m
- 5Moir Hut to Pofu Camp, climbing high to sleep low9.8 km4,160 m → 4,395 m → 3,990 m
- 6Pofu Camp to Third Cave5.8 km3,990 m → 3,940 m
- 7Third Cave to School Hut3.9 km3,940 m → 4,715 m
- 8School Hut to Uhuru Peak, down to Millennium Camp13.5 km4,715 m → 5,895 m → 3,800 m
- 9Millennium Camp to Mweka Gate11.6 km3,800 m → 1,645 m
The shape of the route
Drawn from our own GPS tracks.
- Lemosho Gate2,385 m
- Big Tree2,790 m
- Shira 13,495 m
- Moir Hut4,160 m
- Pofu3,990 m
- Third Cave3,940 m
- School Hut4,715 m
- Uhuru Peak5,895 m
- Millennium3,800 m
- Mweka Gate1,645 m
The dashed green line marks day 4, which climbs to around 4,400 m on the northern side of Kibo before descending to sleep at Pofu, 3,990 m. Vertical scale is exaggerated about four times, as on any route profile, so slopes look steeper than they feel.
- Lemosho Gate2,385 m
- Big Tree2,790 m
- Shira 13,495 m
- Fischer’s Camp3,935 m
- Moir Hut4,160 m
- Pofu3,990 m
- Third Cave3,940 m
- School Hut4,715 m
- Uhuru Peak5,895 m
- Millennium3,800 m
- Mweka Gate1,645 m
The nine-day climb by the Lava Tower. The dashed green line marks the optional climb from the junction, 4,470 m, to the foot of the tower, 4,645 m, and back; most climbers turn at the junction. Vertical scale is exaggerated about four times.
Route map
Both lengths on our relief map of the mountain. They share the same start, then part at Shira 1 on day three. Tap a route’s name to hide or show it, and tap a line for its distance and downloads. Everything about the Lemosho routes.
Before and after the climb
Hemingway climbers are met at the aircraft, helped through visas and taken to the VIP lounge on arrival. The nights before and after the climb, in a Red Level Junior Suite at the Gran Meliá Arusha, are included, on a room-sharing basis. If the suites are all taken on your dates, we use Legendary Lodge instead, or your coordinator will suggest other alternatives and secure them once you agree.
Hemingway
Gran Meliá Arusha, Red Level Junior Suite
VIP Eco
Four Points by Sheraton, Arusha
Advantage
Outpost Lodge, Arusha
When the Gran Meliá is full: Legendary Lodge
The Gran Meliá has only five of the Red Level Junior Suites we use, and three slightly larger suites that cost a little more, so on busy dates they can all be taken. Our alternative is Legendary Lodge, a five-star lodge in the gardens of a working coffee estate on the outskirts of Arusha, with private garden cottages, a pool and views of Mount Meru.
It is on the west side of Arusha, while the Gran Meliá is on the east, the side facing Kilimanjaro, so each journey to and from the mountain or the airport takes 20 to 30 minutes longer. If you would like to stay there in any case, tell us.
For most of the year Legendary Lodge costs a little more than the suite, so on the two nights your climb includes we add the difference to your Hemingway price, for each climber, a night:
| Your room at Legendary Lodge | We add, per person, a night |
|---|---|
| Sharing a room | USD 66 |
| A room to yourself | USD 52 |
January to March and July to October. From May to June and 1 November to 19 December it costs less than the suite, and we deduct the difference instead. Legendary Lodge is closed in April.
Landing early? Start climbing the same day
If your flight lands early in the morning, you can start TK Lemosho the day you arrive. Instead of the Gran Meliá, we hold a room for you at Simba Farm Lodge, a working farm at 1,700 m on Kilimanjaro’s western slopes, about 20 minutes from the gate. The room is held from the night before, so it is ready when you land. You rest until noon, have lunch, and set off that afternoon, without the two-hour drive to Arusha and back.
Simba Farm is an excellent, friendly lodge, but it makes no pretence of competing on luxury with the plush suites in Arusha. On a compressed schedule, though, it is on balance the best way to make the most of the time you have.
Simba Farm costs less than the suite, so we deduct the difference from your Hemingway price. This is the amount we take off, for each climber:
| Your room at Simba Farm | We deduct, per person |
|---|---|
| Sharing a room | USD 332 |
| A room to yourself | USD 582 |
This depends on Simba Farm having a room free on your dates, so book early.
Hemingway prices
Per person, in US dollars, on TK Lemosho over eight or nine days. The price falls as your group grows.
| Per person, USD | 1 climber | 2 climbers | 3 climbers | 4 climbers | 5 climbers | 6 climbers | 7 climbers | 8 climbers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TK Lemosho, 8 days | 8,639 | 7,875 | 7,630 | 7,517 | 7,418 | 7,360 | 7,331 | 7,311 |
| TK Lemosho, 9 days | 9,466 | 8,709 | 8,439 | 8,317 | 8,206 | 8,141 | 8,108 | 8,086 |
VIP Eco prices depend on your route and group. Ask us and we will price your climb.
Extra nights and optional extras
For extra nights at the Gran Meliá or Legendary Lodge, or if you would rather not share a room, these are the current rates; Legendary Lodge’s are those for most of the year. They are indicative only: hotel and helicopter prices change often, and your coordinator will confirm the hotel rate when you book.
| Extra | Basis | USD |
|---|---|---|
| Red Level Junior Suite, sharing a double or twin room | Per person, per night, B&B | 468 |
| Red Level Junior Suite, single occupancy | Per person, per night, B&B | 750 |
| Single room supplement | Per person, per night | 282 |
| Legendary Lodge, Garden Cottage, sharing | Per person, per night | 534 |
| Legendary Lodge, Garden Cottage, single occupancy | Per person, per night | 802 |
| Helicopter, Barafu Camp to Moshi Airport | Per flight, up to 4 people | 3,500 |
Indicative prices, subject to frequent change. The helicopter can’t be booked in advance: see below. On a phone, scroll the Hemingway price table sideways for larger groups.
Coming down by helicopter
Sometimes possible, never guaranteed.
Can I book the helicopter in advance?
No: there is no point, because the weather decides on the day.
Cloud and high wind on the mountain can’t be forecast far enough ahead to make an advance booking worth anything, and the aircraft’s maintenance schedule can rule out a flight too. So we don’t take helicopter bookings with your climb.
How does it work?
Your guide arranges it on the day, from Barafu Camp to Moshi Airport.
If you decide you would like to fly down, and the weather allows, your guide arranges the flight on the day. The helicopter collects you from Barafu Camp, on the way down from the summit, and flies you to Moshi Airport, cutting the descent short. Each flight carries up to four people.
What does it cost, and how do I pay?
About USD 3,500 a flight, paid by card directly to the helicopter company.
The fare is currently about USD 3,500 a flight for up to four people, but it changes often. You pay the helicopter company directly, by card, on the day. Keep the descent on foot in your plans, in case the flight can’t happen.
Not planning a VIP climb? It still matters to you. A company that satisfies VIP clients has to be fastidious about every detail, and the same office, guides and standards look after every climb we run. That is why more than 60% of our climbers are more than happy on our standard Advantage series.
Why climbers trust us with the mountain
2004Guiding on Kilimanjaro since 30 June 2004
14,000Around 14,000 climbers have reached the summit with us
97.6%Summit success on our climbs
2006Led the Western Breach rockfall investigation for the park authority
2005First women’s speed ascent: Rebecca Nchereri, a TK founder
5 yrsYoungest person ever to summit: Bran Rees-Evans, aged 5 years 136 days
4Routes of our own design: TK Lemosho, TK Machame, TK Rongai and TK Umbwe
Plan a VIP climb
Tell us your dates and the size of your group, and we will plan your Hemingway or VIP Eco climb with you, down to the hotel nights.
Plan my climb