Huts instead of tents, and a lower price than the tented routes. The trade is less time to adjust, which means lower odds of reaching the summit.
Private climb1 / 4
Overview
Marangu is the only route with huts: bunk beds under a roof, and a dining hall instead of a mess tent. If the idea of a week in a tent puts you off, or you're climbing in the rainy months, that's a real comfort. It also costs less than the tented routes.
We'll be straight with you about the cost of that. Six days on the mountain gives your body less time to adjust than the routes with seven or eight, and apart from the walk above Horombo on day 3 there is little chance to climb high and sleep low. Fewer climbers reach the top on Marangu than on the longer routes. If reaching the summit matters most, choose Rongai, Machame or Lemosho.
You go up and down by the same path, the huts are shared dormitories (expect snoring, and book early in the high season), and summit night from Kibo Hut is a steep, loose scree climb.
Highlights
Dry beds in hutsBunks under a roof, with no tents to pitch or pack.
A lower priceIt costs less than the tented routes.
A well-made pathGentle for most of the way, apart from summit night.
Itinerary
Altitudes are approximate, and walking times depend on the weather and the group's pace.
These are examples, and every journey can use any of them. Final choice depends on availability on your dates.
Met at Kilimanjaro International Airport and driven to your hotel in Arusha. In the evening your lead guide checks your kit, briefs you on the climb and answers any last questions.
Meal plan: B&BB&B: breakfast only. Half board: breakfast and dinner. Full board: breakfast, lunch and dinner (on safari, lunch is often a picnic in the park).
At 5,895 m Kilimanjaro is Africa's highest mountain, and every route to the top is a long walk with no technical climbing. The trails pass through rainforest, heath and moorland, and alpine desert before the summit zone.
Today
Register at Marangu Gate, about 1,860 m, then four to five hours through rainforest on a well-made path.
Day 2 | Accommodation
Overnight: Mandara Hut, 2,720 m
Meal plan: Full boardB&B: breakfast only. Half board: breakfast and dinner. Full board: breakfast, lunch and dinner (on safari, lunch is often a picnic in the park).
Mandara Hut, 2,720 m
About Kilimanjaro
At 5,895 m Kilimanjaro is Africa's highest mountain, and every route to the top is a long walk with no technical climbing. The trails pass through rainforest, heath and moorland, and alpine desert before the summit zone.
Day 3
Out onto open moorland, with the first clear views of Kibo and Mawenzi.
Day 4
An acclimatisation day: a walk up towards Zebra Rocks, about 4,000 m, and back down to sleep at Horombo again.
Nights 3–4 | Accommodation
Overnight: Horombo Hut, 3,720 m
Meal plan: Full boardB&B: breakfast only. Half board: breakfast and dinner. Full board: breakfast, lunch and dinner (on safari, lunch is often a picnic in the park).
Horombo Hut, 3,720 m
About Kilimanjaro
At 5,895 m Kilimanjaro is Africa's highest mountain, and every route to the top is a long walk with no technical climbing. The trails pass through rainforest, heath and moorland, and alpine desert before the summit zone.
Today
Across the bare saddle between Mawenzi and Kibo to the last hut before the summit. A big jump in height in one day.
Day 5 | Accommodation
Overnight: Kibo Hut, 4,703 m
Meal plan: Full boardB&B: breakfast only. Half board: breakfast and dinner. Full board: breakfast, lunch and dinner (on safari, lunch is often a picnic in the park).
Kibo Hut, 4,703 m
About Kilimanjaro
At 5,895 m Kilimanjaro is Africa's highest mountain, and every route to the top is a long walk with no technical climbing. The trails pass through rainforest, heath and moorland, and alpine desert before the summit zone.
Today
Leave around midnight up steep scree to Gilman's Point on the crater rim, about 5,685 m, then on round the rim to Uhuru Peak. Back down past Kibo to Horombo: a very long day.
Day 6 | Accommodation
Overnight: Horombo Hut, 3,720 m
Meal plan: Full boardB&B: breakfast only. Half board: breakfast and dinner. Full board: breakfast, lunch and dinner (on safari, lunch is often a picnic in the park).
Horombo Hut, 3,720 m
About Kilimanjaro
At 5,895 m Kilimanjaro is Africa's highest mountain, and every route to the top is a long walk with no technical climbing. The trails pass through rainforest, heath and moorland, and alpine desert before the summit zone.
Today
Down through the forest to the gate, where you collect your certificate. Then the transfer to Kilimanjaro airport for an evening flight, or to a hotel if you have added a night.
Price
One guide price per person, confirmed for your dates.
Guide price
$2,425
per person
Based on 2 people sharing in low season. Your exact price depends on dates, group size and lodges, and is confirmed in writing before you book.
What your price covers, and what to budget for separately.
Included
Every Kilimanjaro park, hut and rescue fee, paid by us in advance. They are the largest single part of what a climb costs.
Bunks with mattresses in the huts, and every meal on the mountain, cooked by your crew.
Licensed mountain guides, assistant guides, porters and a cook, from the gate to the summit and back.
Taken from your hotel to the start gate, and collected from the finishing gate at the end.
Treated drinking water every day on the mountain, so you never carry more than a day's worth.
Not included
International flights. Flights to and from Tanzania are booked by you. We will suggest arrival and departure times that fit the trip.
Visa. Paid by you, usually online before you travel. Visa information
Travel insurance. A condition of climbing with us. It must cover trekking to 6,000 m, medical treatment and emergency evacuation.
Tips. Tips for the crew, with recommended amounts for each role given in writing before you climb. How tipping works
Personal spending. Personal kit such as a sleeping bag, boots and poles (most of it can be hired in Arusha or Moshi), drinks off the mountain and souvenirs.
Packing
Warm layers for nights below freezing, a good sleeping bag, and boots you have already walked in. Most kit can be hired in Arusha or Moshi; boots are the exception.
Most nationalities need a visa: $50 for a single entry. US citizens pay $100 for a multiple-entry visa. Apply online before you travel to avoid the queue on arrival. Fees and rules change, so check with the Tanzanian embassy in your country.
No. Every route is a trek: long, steep walking at altitude, with no ropes or technical climbing. What you do need is the fitness to walk for several hours on consecutive days.
You come down with a guide, and anyone else in your group carries on with the others. Turning back is safety, not failure: the mountain will still be there, and nobody is ever pushed on against their guide's judgement.
Yes, in Arusha or Moshi. Sleeping bags, down jackets, trekking poles and more can all be hired, so you don't have to fly them in. Boots are the exception: bring your own, already broken in.
Tips are a real part of the crew's income on Kilimanjaro. We give you recommended amounts for each role in writing before you climb, so there is no guessing on the last day, and the tips go directly to each crew member.
Yes. Climb first, then go on safari or to the coast: your legs get a rest in the vehicle or on the beach, and you're not carrying safari fatigue up the mountain.
Quick enquiry
Ask about this journey
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Where to go next
The other routes, and what to add once you're down.
Private climb1 / 4
