7 days · Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro — Rongai Route, 7 Days
The only approach from the north, close to the Kenyan border. Drier than the southern routes, much quieter, and the best choice if you are climbing in the rainy months.
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
Nalemoru Gate to Simba Camp
We drive round to the village of Nalemoru on the northern side of the mountain, close to the Kenyan border. The first stage crosses farmland and pine forest, with a chance of colobus monkeys and, occasionally, elephant or buffalo. Simba Camp sits at 2,625 m on the edge of the moorland.
- Altitude
- Nalemoru Gate 1,990 m → Simba Camp 2,625 m
- Distance
- 8 km / 5 mi
- Walking
- 4 to 5 hours
- Habitat
- Farmland and pine forest
- Meals
- Lunch and dinner
-
2
Simba Camp to Second Cave
A steady morning's ascent to Second Cave Camp at 3,480 m, in the moorland zone, with clear views of Kibo and the Eastern Icefields on the crater rim.
- Altitude
- Simba Camp 2,625 m → Second Cave 3,480 m
- Distance
- 5 km / 3.1 mi
- Walking
- 3 to 4 hours
- Habitat
- Moorland
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
3
Second Cave to Kikelewa
Leaving the pine forest behind, a steady climb through moorland with the Eastern Icefields ahead. We leave the main trail on a smaller path towards the jagged peaks of Mawenzi and camp in the sheltered valley near Kikelewa Caves at 3,630 m.
- Altitude
- Second Cave 3,480 m → Kikelewa 3,630 m
- Distance
- 5 km / 3.1 mi
- Walking
- 3 to 4 hours
- Habitat
- Open moorland
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
4
Kikelewa to Mawenzi Tarn
A short but steep ascent up grassy slopes, repaid by a view north over the Kenyan plains. The vegetation runs out shortly before camp at Mawenzi Tarn, 4,310 m, directly beneath the cliffs of Mawenzi. The afternoon is for resting or walking to help acclimatisation.
- Altitude
- Kikelewa 3,630 m → Mawenzi Tarn 4,310 m
- Distance
- 8 km / 5 mi
- Walking
- 4 to 5 hours
- Habitat
- Grassy slopes below Mawenzi
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
5
Mawenzi Tarn to School Hut
Across the lunar desert of the Saddle between Mawenzi and Kibo, with the summit ahead and the line of tomorrow's climb laid out in front of you. School Hut at 4,750 m, then rest and a very early night.
- Altitude
- Mawenzi Tarn 4,310 m → School Hut 4,750 m
- Distance
- 8 km / 5 mi
- Walking
- 5 to 6 hours
- Habitat
- The Saddle, lunar desert
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
6
Summit day, then Horombo
Away around midnight. Past the Hans Meyer Cave at 5,220 m 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. Down to Kibo Hut for a hot meal and a rest, then on to Horombo Hut at 3,700 m.
- Altitude
- School Hut 4,750 m → Uhuru Peak 5,895 m → Horombo Hut 3,700 m
- Distance
- 22 km / 13.7 mi
- Walking
- 12 to 15 hours
- Habitat
- Arctic summit zone, then moorland
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
7
Horombo Hut to Marangu Gate
Down through heath and moorland to Mandara Hut for a hot lunch, then through the rainforest to the park gate at 1,860 m and the transfer back to your hotel.
- 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 and camping fees
- 18% VAT on tour fees and services
- Three-season mountain tents
- 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
- A portable flush toilet with its own tent, which is US$70 per toilet and tent
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.
Why climb from the north?
Rongai starts on the drier Kenyan side, so it is the most reliable route in the rainy months, and it is the quietest of the popular routes. You also get Mawenzi close up, which the southern routes never give you.
What is the drive to the trailhead like?
Long — around four hours right around the mountain to Nalemuru Gate. It is the price of the northern approach and it is done on day one.
Is the acclimatisation day at Mawenzi Tarn necessary?
It is the day that makes the route work. Rongai gains height steadily rather than in a climb-high-sleep-low pattern, so the tarn day does the acclimatisation work that the Lava Tower does on Lemosho and Machame.
Do we descend the same way?
No. You come down the Marangu route on the south side, so you cross the mountain rather than retracing your steps.
On this route
Where you will be.
Compare
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