When to go to Kilimanjaro?
→ The detailed month-by-month page, with real weather records
Best time: January to February and June to October (dry seasons)
At a glance
Why go to Kilimanjaro?
Kilimanjaro is the highest summit in the world that you can climb on foot. No rope, no crampons, no technical section: just a path, a compulsory guide and five to nine days of steady ascent to 5,895 metres. That unusual status draws around 35,000 people a year, many of whom have never slept in a tent. It also draws its share of misunderstandings, because the lack of technical difficulty says nothing about the altitude, which is the only real adversary on this mountain.
The climb passes through five worlds in a matter of days. You set off in a rainforest of colobus monkeys and tree ferns, cross the moorland of giant heathers and groundsels at around 3,000 metres, emerge onto a high-altitude desert of boulders and volcanic sand, then reach the permanent frost of the crater. Few places pack so many vegetation zones onto a single slope, and the volcano stands alone above the plain, with no range around it to steal its thunder.
The massif is about more than the ascent. At its foot, Chagga villages grow coffee and bananas on terraces watered by the volcano's streams, and at Marangu you can still see war tunnels dug in the 19th century. Moshi serves as base camp for the whole region, two hours from Arusha National Park and a day's drive from the Serengeti. Many people follow the climb with a safari, then a week on Zanzibar to let their legs recover.
Map of Kilimanjaro: what is where?
The map shows the 6 places covered in this guide, to picture the distances and plan your route.
- Uhuru Peak
- Barranco Wall
- Shira Plateau
- Machame Gate
- Mawenzi Peak
- Moshi
How much does a trip to Kilimanjaro cost?
The climb accounts for almost the entire budget, and its price cannot be pushed very low: park fees of 70 dollars per person per day, camping, crew wages and taxes set a floor of around €1,500. Below that, it is the guides and porters who pay the difference.
| Style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | €180-250/day | Marangu or Machame with a local agency, guesthouse in Moshi before and after, gear rented locally |
| Comfort | €280-400/day | Machame or Lemosho over seven or eight days, reputable agency, lodge on the slopes, single tent |
| Premium | €500+/day | Lemosho over eight days with a larger crew, a night in the crater, emergency oxygen and a charming lodge |
The Tanzanian shilling is used for everyday spending, the US dollar for packages, the visa and tips, in notes printed after 2009. ATMs in Moshi accept international cards, with a limit of around 400,000 shillings per withdrawal. Bring 250 to 350 dollars in cash for the crew's tips, handed over at the end of the climb.
Is Kilimanjaro safe?
The real danger on Kilimanjaro is not the mountain, it is the altitude. Above 3,500 metres, headaches, nausea and insomnia affect most walkers; the serious forms, pulmonary or cerebral oedema, remain rare but kill people on this massif every year. The only effective response is immediate descent, and a good agency checks oxygen saturation morning and evening, carries emergency oxygen and a hyperbaric chamber. Climb slowly, drink three to four litres a day, and discuss acetazolamide with your doctor before you leave. Take out insurance that explicitly covers evacuation up to 6,000 metres, which many policies exclude. Lower down, malaria is present in Moshi and on the coast: preventive treatment and repellent are a must. The town itself is calm, with the usual precautions over valuables.
What to see and do in Kilimanjaro
- Uhuru Peak (5,895 m)
- Machame Route
- Marangu Route
- Shira Plateau
- Barranco Wall
- Furtwängler Glacier
- Materuni Waterfalls
- Moshi and Kilimanjaro coffee
Uhuru Peak and the Kibo crater 5 828 m
The summit sits on a crater rim 2.5 km wide, overlooked by a melting ice cap. You reach it after a night of walking that starts around midnight, first to Stella Point or Gilman's Point on the rim, then an hour along a gentle incline to the Uhuru sign. The sun often rises during this final stretch, over a sea of cloud blanketing the plain. Cold, wind and lack of oxygen slow every movement, and the descent over volcanic sand is a slide, twice as fast as the way up.
The Barranco Wall 3 771 m
Two hundred and fifty metres of rocky steps above Barranco Camp, at 3,900 metres, with several sections where you haul yourself up by your hands. At Kissing Rock you have to press yourself against the face to edge round a boulder above the drop. It is not climbing, but it is the only place on the Machame route where you leave the plain hiking trail. The passage takes an hour and a half, two with the morning queues. The reward comes at the top, as Kibo suddenly appears, close enough to touch.
The Shira Plateau 3 513 m
A high plain between 3,500 and 3,900 metres, formed by the collapse of the oldest of the massif's three volcanoes. The ground is covered with pale sand, giant heathers and groundsels that look like candelabras. Shira Cathedral, on the western rim, rises to 3,962 metres and makes an out-and-back climb from camp, a good way to acclimatise. The Lemosho and Machame routes cross it facing Kibo. Nights are freezing, and the sky, free of humidity and light, is among the clearest on the massif.
The southern rainforest
Between 1,800 and 2,800 metres, the first day's walk unfolds beneath a canopy of podocarpus and tree ferns, in constant humidity. Black-and-white colobus monkeys leap from tree to tree above the trail, turacos let out their hoarse cry, and moss hangs from the branches like beards. It is also the muddiest stretch: rain falls almost every afternoon, even in the dry season. Elephants and buffalo roam this zone but are rarely seen from the main paths.
Mawenzi Peak 4 966 m
The massif's second summit, 5,149 metres of jagged rock east of Kibo, separated from it by the Saddle, a 3,500-hectare sand desert. Unlike Kibo, Mawenzi is a mountaineers' mountain: its crumbling ridges demand rope and experience, and trekkers are no longer allowed to climb it. The Marangu and Rongai routes skirt it, and Mawenzi Tarn camp, tucked beneath its walls at 4,300 metres, serves as an acclimatisation stop on the northern itineraries.
Moshi and the Chagga villages
At the foot of the volcano, Moshi lives off trekking, coffee and bananas. The town is built around its clock tower, with a covered market, roasters working the local arabica and dozens of agencies. On the slopes, Chagga villages farm terraces watered by mountain streams: Materuni for its waterfalls and coffee, Marangu for the Ndoro Falls and the tunnels dug in the 19th century as protection from Maasai raids. A day in these villages before the climb also helps you get used to the altitude.
How many days, and which itinerary?
Allow seven to nine days on the mountain for a serious ascent, plus an arrival day and a recovery day in Moshi. Two weeks lets you add a safari in the north, three weeks lets you finish on Zanzibar.
🗺️ Day-by-day itinerary · 📓 Free printable Kilimanjaro guide (PDF) · 🌍 All of Tanzania
Marangu in 5 days
The shortest and cheapest option, staying in huts: Mandara at 2,700 metres, Horombo at 3,720, Kibo at 4,700, the summit the following night, then descent in two stages along the same path. The success rate stays below 60% for lack of acclimatisation. Add a sixth day at Horombo, with the climb to Zebra Rocks, and it rises above 70%. Only choose it if your budget or schedule leaves no other option.
Machame in 7 days
The best balance of time, price and chances of reaching the top, at around 85%. Day 1 through the forest to Machame Camp, day 2 towards Shira, day 3 via Lava Tower at 4,630 metres before dropping back to Barranco, day 4 the wall then Karanga, day 5 Barafu, leaving at midnight for the summit, then two days of descent. Everything is under canvas, with a team of guides, cook and porters. Book three to six months ahead for July and August.
Lemosho in 8 days
The longest and most gradual route, up the western slope: two days of forest and plateau with hardly anyone around, joining Machame at Shira, then the same finale via Barranco and Barafu. The success rate tops 90% over eight days and acclimatisation comes naturally. Budget €300-600 more than Machame, still the most worthwhile investment of the trip if your holiday allows.
Getting there and getting around
Kilimanjaro International Airport lies 45 km from Moshi and 50 km from Arusha, with daily flights from Amsterdam, Istanbul, Doha and Nairobi. The transfer costs €40-60 by taxi and is included in most climbing packages.
On the mountain, everything is on foot. The package includes the 4x4 ride to your chosen gate, from 45 minutes for Machame to three hours for Rongai, as well as the return after the descent.
Between Arusha and Moshi, air-conditioned shuttles link the two towns in 1h30 for around €10, with several departures a day. Dala-dalas, the local minibuses, cover the same route for under €3 but only leave once full.
To continue on safari, the road from Moshi to Arusha and then the Serengeti takes a full day. Domestic flights to Seronera or Zanzibar leave from Arusha and Kilimanjaro, from €150 one way.
Where to stay in Kilimanjaro?
On the Marangu route, nights are spent in dormitories in wooden huts, with mattresses and meals served in a communal dining room. It is the only route on the massif with a solid roof, which partly explains its popularity in wet weather.
On every other route, you sleep in tents pitched by the porters, with a foam mattress provided. Your sleeping bag needs to be rated to minus 15°C: agencies rent them locally for €30-50 a week.
In Moshi, guesthouses and small hotels in the centre charge €30-60 a night with breakfast, often with a garden and a left-luggage room for your bags during the climb. Most agencies put their clients up there before and after the ascent.
On the slopes around Machame and Marangu, charming lodges set among coffee bushes offer rooms at €120-250 a night, with a pool and a view of the summit when you wake. It is the best place for your recovery night.
Our places to stay, stop by stop, at three budgets →
What to eat in Kilimanjaro?
On the mountain, the team's cook serves three meals a day in the mess tent: porridge and eggs in the morning, vegetable soup at midday, rice or pasta with sauce in the evening. Portions are generous, but appetite collapses above 4,000 metres.
In Moshi, a plate of nyama choma, charcoal-grilled meat served with plantains, costs €4-8 in the town-centre eateries. The restaurants for visitors on Boma Road go up to €10 or €15 a dish.
Mtori, a Chagga soup of green bananas and meat, and ugali, the maize porridge that accompanies almost everything, form the local staples. Markets sell avocados, mangoes and small sweet bananas for a few cents apiece.
The massif's arabica coffee costs around €2 a cup locally and can be taken home roasted for €8-12 a kilo from the cooperatives. Local beer, Kilimanjaro or Serengeti, costs €1.50-3 a bottle depending on where you drink.
Entry requirements
A visa is needed by EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports. Apply for the e-visa online before you go; single-entry visas are also issued on arrival at the main entry points. US citizens must take the multiple-entry visa. Zanzibar adds its own compulsory travel insurance, bought online from the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation: no other policy is accepted.
Rules change: check your own government's travel advice before you go.
Frequently asked questions about Kilimanjaro
Do I need mountain experience?
No, no technical skill is required: Kilimanjaro is climbed on foot, without rope or crampons. You do, however, need to be able to manage five to seven hours of walking a day for a week, with a sleepless night for the summit. Three months of training with plenty of ascent and two or three long days in the mountains are enough for most candidates.
How much does the climb cost?
Between €1,500 and €2,500 per person with a reputable local agency, depending on the route and duration, transfers and full board included. Park fees alone amount to around €800-1,000 over seven days. Add 250 to 350 dollars in tips for the crew and €100-200 in gear rental if you travel light.
Which route should I choose?
Machame in seven days for the best compromise between price and success, Lemosho in eight days if your budget stretches, Rongai in the rainy season because its northern slope gets less rain. Marangu appeals for its price and huts, but its five-day version leaves too little time to acclimatise. Umbwe is best left to walkers already well used to altitude.
What are my chances of reaching the summit?
Around 85% over seven days on Machame, over 90% over eight days on Lemosho, under 60% over five days on Marangu. The length of the trip is the factor that matters most, ahead of fitness. Acute mountain sickness remains the main reason people turn back, and it strikes regardless of age or training.
When is the best time to go?
January to February, a dry, mild season with slightly less cold nights, and June to October, the most stable period but also the busiest. Avoid the long rains of April and May, when the trails turn into streams of mud. A full moon makes the night walk to the summit much easier.
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