Hiking Kilimanjaro, the Marangu route
Kilimanjaro is a demanding hike, but maybe not in the way people often think. You don’t need to be super fit, you don’t need any special skills. The hike is in a slow pace, but it’s a hard hike in altitude. It will require more of you mentally rather than physically.
Flying in
Kilimanjaro is quite accessible. The closest international airport is called Kilimanjaro International Airport and has the airport code JRO. There are several airlines to choose from, so getting tickets to JRO won’t be a problem.
Choosing a route
There are several routes to choose from but longer the route, the better are your chances at reaching the summit. We chose to do the hike in 5 days, which is the fastest one, resulted in sickness for almost all of us. My recommendation is not to underestimate the altitude. The altitude sickness is real and if you’re like me and like to get the most out of your vacation days, the Kilimanjaro hike is not the place to save a day or two.
There are also some other things to consider. The difficulty, scenery and crowds. We hiked the Marangu route and reading about the different routes, Marangu route is apparently the least scenic one and the most crowded one, however, I didn’t experience it as crowded. I guess a lot of people would prefer this route, due to the accommodation huts. The Marangu route is the only route that doesn’t require any camping.
Hiking by yourself?
If you’re interested in doing this all by yourself, cause you want to save some money, I can tell you that this is not possible. By Tanzanian law, you must be accompanied by one guide and at least two porters. If you want to do the hike by yourself, not group up, it’s possible, but you need to bring the support staff. We also had the support staff, which meant we had porters carrying our luggage, cooks to prepare all our meals and guides with us at every step of the way.
My experience with the Marangu Route
All in all, I had an amazing time hiking the Marangu route. We hiked in June and I’ve only hiked Kilimanjaro once, so I don’t anything to compare it with, but I’ll share my experience with you, so you’ll know what to expect from this route.
Day 1: Marangu Gate (1860m) – Mandara Hut (2715m)
Hiking time: 5 h
Arriving at Marangu Park Gate, you’ll sign in at the park office before starting the 5-day hike with the goal to reach the highest mountain in Africa. Leaving your luggage with the porters, make sure to have what you need in your daypack. I hiked with my Camelbak hydration pack, which I love, just remember that the temperature will be below freezing for a part of the hike. The mouth piece of the reservoir will freeze, so make sure to bring a bottle as well. It’s so important to stay hydrated!
It’s quite funny starting this hike. You don’t really know what to expect, but for me, the last thing I expected was to start this hike with cows by my side.
The hike to Mandara Hut is on a nice trail through the lush and green rainforest. There are some benches along the way where you sit down for a break and soak up that you’re on your way to the roof of Africa.
Day 2: Mandara Hut (2715m) – Horombo Hut (3705m)
Hiking time: 6h
After a night’s sleep and breakfast, we were ready to start the hike to Horombo Hut! The terrain changes a little, the forest will slowly turn into an alpine desert.
The pace for the hike is really slow. The guides make sure that we’re not rushing it by reminding us to go slow. “Pole pole”, probably the only words I’ll always remember in Swahili.
Reaching Horombu Hut, you’ll get a hot bowl of washing water, popcorn and tea before the evening meal.
Day 3: Horombo Hut (3705m) – Kibo Hut (4730m)
Hiking time: 6h
We woke up to an amazing sunrise! The clouds made a comfy cotton blanket right below the plateau where we stayed.
After breakfast and our morning routines we were ready to get on our way! The destination was Kibo Hut, which is the last hut before reaching the summit. At this point we were starting to wear a lot of warm clothes instead of shorts and t-shirts, so make sure to pack all the clothes needed for the hike!
At this point, we saw a couple of people being carried down. This is what I meant by altitude sickness is real. We saw several people that didn’t make it to the summit. Make sure not to rush it!
Arriving at Kibo Hut, we knew we were going to continue the hike around midnight, so we only had a small meal before going to bed. To be honest, I had lost my appetite at this point, so I just wanted to go to sleep.
Day 4: Kibo Hut (4730m) – Gilman’s Point – Uhuru Peak (5895m) – Horombo Hut (3705m)
Hiking time: 7 to 8 hours
Waking up, I only felt worse, but I was determined to continue as far as I could. Don’t worry about getting sick, if it happens, you’re in safe hands, they know how to handle it. If you get seriously ill, they will either tell you to turn and go back down or they will carry you back down.
I had some biscuits for breakfast and started walking around midnight. Luckily, our pace was soo slow, I wouldn’t have managed anything faster.
Since we started to walk at midnight it was pitch black outside, we had to use our flash lights. The first part of the trail is rocky, but the trail gets smoother the closer you get to Gilman’s Point.
For the first couple of breaks it was pitch black and I was tired and nauseous, so I decided to sit down and close my eyes. The second I did that, one of our guides were poking me and telling me to wake up. This happend more than once. I remember being so annoyed, haha, but the guides were doing such a great job getting us safely to the summit. I was seriously impressed.
I want to mention this as well, since it’s so common. Several of us got a sick, so stuff needed to exit the body. With this in mind, I appreciated the rocky terrain. However, being up on that mountain for sunrise was such a special moment, and suddenly I forgot how the body had been acting for the last hours. Reaching the summit made it all worth it.
After reaching the summit, we got our pictures and got down as fast as we could. We just ran, and it was weird how quickly we were feeling better! By each meter we descended, we felt better! To be honest, after that climb it was magical to descend.
Day 5: Horombo Hut (3705m) – Marangu Gate (1860m)
Hiking time: 6 h
After breakfast we continued our descend, passing the Mandara Hut and got back to where the adventure started: The Marangu Gate. Getting back to Marangu Gate, we signed out of the park and got back to our hotel. After getting a shower we had an amazing ceremony at the hotel with everyone of our support staff from the hike. They were all singing a beautiful African song while dancing, it was really special. We also received our diplomas and gave them our tip and some of our warm clothes that we wanted to leave with them.
Hiking Kilimanjaro is truly one of my greatest adventures so far. It was tough as heck, but I am forever grateful for being able to experience an adventure like that.
