6 days · Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro — Marangu Route, 6 Days
The only route with huts rather than tents, and the only one you ascend and descend by the same path. Six days — with the acclimatisation day at Horombo — not five.
Is this trip for you?
Trip type
Private expedition
Your own guides, cook and porters, on your own dates. We do not merge you into someone else's group, which means the pace is set by your party and nobody else's summit night.
Ages
10 and over
Kilimanjaro National Park sets a minimum age of ten. Beyond that we go on how you answer our health questions rather than on your age, and we may ask for a doctor's note first.
Fitness
Good general fitness
No technical climbing and no ropes on any route we run. What it asks for is five to eight hours of walking a day for a week, and one very long night. Three months of hill walking beforehand is worth more than any gym programme.
Group size: Private party, with guides, a cook and porters sized to it
Day by day.
-
1
Marangu Gate to Mandara Hut
Collected after breakfast for the drive to Marangu Gate at 1,860 m. Once signed in, the walk begins through dense rainforest, with a good chance of primates on the way to Mandara Hut at 2,700 m. After a rest your guide can take you up to the Maundi Crater for the view across into Kenya.
- Altitude
- Marangu Gate 1,860 m → Mandara Hut 2,700 m
- Distance
- 8.3 km / 5.2 mi
- Walking
- 5 hours
- Habitat
- Dense rainforest
- Meals
- Lunch and dinner
-
2
Mandara Hut to Horombo Hut
An early breakfast, then out through the treeline into heath and moorland. Horombo Hut stands at 3,700 m, looking out to Mawenzi, Kibo and the wide Maasai steppe below.
- Altitude
- Mandara Hut 2,700 m → Horombo Hut 3,700 m
- Distance
- 12.2 km / 7.6 mi
- Walking
- 9 hours
- Habitat
- Heath and moorland
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
3
Acclimatisation walk to Zebra Rocks
A day that earns its place: four hours up to the Zebra Rocks at 4,020 m, named for the black and white striping on the rock face, and back to Horombo for a hot lunch. The afternoon is yours to rest.
- Altitude
- Horombo 3,700 m → Zebra Rocks 4,020 m → Horombo 3,700 m
- Distance
- 5 km / 3.1 mi
- Walking
- 4 hours
- Habitat
- Moorland — acclimatisation day
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
4
Horombo Hut to Kibo Hut
Long and hard. The trail passes the last water point and then crosses the Saddle, the almost vegetation-free plateau joining Kibo to Mawenzi, to reach Kibo Hut at 4,700 m. An early meal and an early night, because the night is short.
- Altitude
- Horombo Hut 3,700 m → Kibo Hut 4,700 m
- Distance
- 9.5 km / 5.9 mi
- Walking
- 7 hours
- Habitat
- The Saddle, alpine desert
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
5
Summit day, then Horombo
Away around midnight. Past the Hans Meyer Cave at 5,220 m and up to Gillman's Point at 5,681 m on the crater rim at sunrise, then one to two hours more to Uhuru Peak at 5,895 m. Back to Kibo Hut for a hot meal and an hour or two of rest, then on down to Horombo Hut at 3,700 m.
- Altitude
- Kibo Hut 4,700 m → Uhuru Peak 5,895 m → Horombo Hut 3,700 m
- Distance
- 20 km / 12.4 mi
- Walking
- 12 to 15 hours
- Habitat
- Arctic summit zone, then moorland
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
6
Horombo Hut to Marangu Gate
Down through the heath and moorland to Mandara Hut, where a hot lunch is waiting, then back through the rainforest to the park gate at 1,860 m. A short transfer to the hotel, a shower, and a celebration.
- Altitude
- Horombo Hut 3,700 m → Marangu Gate 1,860 m
- Distance
- 17 km / 10.6 mi
- Walking
- 8 hours
- Habitat
- Moorland into rainforest
- Meals
- Breakfast and lunch
Where you sleep.
On the mountain
Three-season mountain tents, sleeping mats, and a mess tent with a table and chairs. Three meals a day cooked on the mountain, and filtered water throughout. Marangu is the exception: it uses the park's huts throughout.
Before and after
Bed and breakfast in Moshi the night before the climb and the night you come down, with hot water, laundry and somewhere to leave the luggage you are not carrying up.
Upgrades
A portable flush toilet with its own tent is US$70 per toilet and tent for the climb, and is the upgrade most parties are glad they took. Single tents and a walk-in tent with a camp bed are available on request, as is an extra night in Moshi at either end, which most climbers who fly in the same day end up wishing they had booked. We also hire out clothing, mountain kit and sleeping bags - though we would rather you brought your own boots.
We book against availability for your dates rather than naming a property we may not be able to get you into. Your written quotation names every lodge and camp before you pay anything.
What is included
- Park fees
- 18% VAT on tour fees and services
- Overnight stays in the mountain huts
- Transport to and from the mountain gate
- Professional mountain guides, a cook and porters
- Three meals a day on the mountain
- Filtered water throughout the trek
- Accommodation before and after the trek
- Fair wages for the mountain crew, at the rates set by Kilimanjaro National Park (KINAPA) and the Kilimanjaro Association of Tour Operators (KIATO)
- Private airport transfers both ways
Not included
- Flights
- Visa fees
- Travel insurance
- Sleeping bag
- Tips for the mountain crew
- Items of a personal nature
- Alcoholic and soft drinks
- Laundry services
- A doctor travelling with the group
When to go.
January to mid-March — warm and clear
The warmest climbing window, with clear mornings and a good chance of snow on the summit cone. Busy, but less so than the northern-hemisphere summer.
June to October — cold, dry and busy
The most reliable weather of the year and the highest traffic on the mountain. Nights are the coldest, which is what a proper sleeping bag is for.
Late March to May, and November
The rainy months. We do run climbs then, on the northern and western routes that sit in the mountain's rain shadow, but you should expect wet forest days and we will say so plainly before you book.
Questions about this trip.
Is Marangu really the easy route?
It has the gentlest gradient and it is the only route with huts, which is where the Coca-Cola nickname came from. It also has the shortest acclimatisation profile and the ascent and descent share one path, so you see the same ground twice.
Why do you not sell the five-day version?
Because it skips the acclimatisation day at Horombo, and that day is the whole difference between a hard week and a miserable one. Five-day Marangu has the lowest summit rate on the mountain.
What are the huts like?
Dormitory bunks with mattresses, a shared dining hut and long-drop toilets. Not comfortable, but dry — which matters if you are climbing in the rains.
Who is this route right for?
Trekkers who would rather sleep in a bunk than a tent, and anyone climbing in a wet month who wants a roof.
On this route
Where you will be.
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