Kilimanjaro National Park - part 1

Time to go

The path to the starting point is sometimes rough.

The trek to the summit of Kilimanjaro takes place over a period of seven days; we reach our goal at dawn on day 6. It's a long and somewhat difficult trek due to the gain of altitude in a short time. As a matter of fact, the control gate at the park entrance is at about 1500 metres and the summit is at 5895 metres. Although the trail doesn't require any technical knowledge, the effects of altitude are felt by a majority of the travellers.

A few lucky people will have no problems, but many have light headaches and shortness of breath; for some, it's worst and they must urgently go down without reaching the summit. It is for this reason that we do the trek over a seven-day period. It gives the body more time to adapt, and greatly improves the chance of success. Moreover, we just finished the climb to the top of Mount Meru at 4566 metres, and we took only one night at the hotel before doing this trek.

A warning to those that want to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro, trek of 5 or 6 days are also offered by local companies, but the body is not accustomed to altitude, the rate of failure is high. We are talking about nearly 60% of failure for a trek of 5 days, around 30% for a 7-days trek, and 15% for 8 days. These statistics are for people that have almost no acclimatization to altitude; for example, you arrive to Tanzania by plane and two days later you start climbing. In the case of Karavaniers, the trek to Mount Meru followed by Kilimanjaro (11 days) provides adequate time so that more than 95% of all travellers reach the summit.

Yes, not reaching the summit is not the end of the world... All true, but in the case of Kilimanjaro, I would say that the nicest landscapes are at the crater and the summit, when the glaciers are visible. In addition to the very high cost of such an expedition, those that fail to reach their goal don't see Kilimanjaro in all its beauty. Give yourself enough time to succeed.

The starting point.

Final preparation before starting the trek.

Higher and Higher

D1) Lemosho Gate-Shira 2 D2) Shira 2-Lava Tower-Moir D3) Moir-Third Cave (Northern Circuit) D4) Third Cave-School Hut D5) School Hut-Gilman-Crater Camp D6) Crater-Uhuru Peak-Barafu-Mweka Camp D7) End.

The following photos are from multiple treks, and they are presented without any specific order. The 7-day itinerary that we do is as follows.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that we sleep at Crater Camp on day 5. The site is located at an altitude of 5750 metres, and in no way it is possible to sleep at such an altitude without acclimatization. A 6-8-day trek is not enough and it is dangerous for your health, and maybe for your life as well. In our case, we are first climbing Mount Meru at 4565 metres followed immediately by Kilimanjaro. In this manner, our trek is effectively an 11-day expedition. We are better acclimatized than the majority of the groups that climb the mountain. Again, a longer trek cost more, but don't take any risk. If you fail because of altitude sickness, it is going to cost you much more money to try again a second time.

Alright, did I scare you? Maybe a bit, but despite all these warnings, the groups that I guided had a success rate of about 97% (more than 100 people reached the summit). Thus, the pairing Meru-Kilimanjaro in 11 days is a winning scenario.

Kilimanjaro and its three volcanoes; Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira.

Mount Kilimanjaro is a huge volcano with three volcanic cones. The goal of our expedition is the Kibo where is located the highest point on the mountain. The summit is called Uhuru Peak, and it culminates at 5895 metres. Next, there is the Mawenzi with a height of 5149 metres. Finally, the Shira stands 3962 metres tall.

Enough technicalities, here are the photos...

View of Mount Meru in the background.

Clouds can form very quickly on the mountain. In my experience, they start gathering at low altitude and go up as the hours go by. Then at sunset they disappear. There is only a 1h30 time difference between these two photos.

He is carrying the bag on his head.

The Kibo Crater is clearly visible. Another 1000 metres to climb before reaching it.

A bit of rain/snow the day before, and the Kibo is covered with a nice white mantle. In general, above about 4500 metres, precipitations are snow.

The porter on the far right carry his personal equipment in a backpack, and a traveller's bag on its head.

Lava Tower is a lava rock at an altitude of 4630 metres. Its height is 90 metres.

View of a camp from the top of Lava Tower. Not our camp.

Daniel, one of the local guides.

View on Kibo Crater and Lava Tower on the right.

This far away mountain in Mount Meru. It stands at a distance of about 60 km.

Kibo Crater.

After some rains, torrents appear...

Sometimes, we walk in the snow...

The challenging climb from School Hut to Gilman's Point; from 4600 to 5681 metres. We walk at a snail's pace due to the altitude.

Camping

After a good trekking day, what a pleasure to see the campsite! A nice snack and a warm meal are waiting for us. The cook and its assistants perform miracles, and they are able to prepare meals worthy of a restaurant; all is prepared on two gas stoves. The cook can even make a great cake at an altitude over 4000 metres.

You may notice in the following photos that comfort is awesome. The local team has brought tables, chairs, and all the necessary dishes. In addition to the tents for the travellers, there are also some for the kitchen, the dining room, and also the portable toilets are covered by a small one.

For those that love photography, sunsets and sunrises are very often fantastics.

In the morning, getting ready to start.

What a luxury! It is time for a snack; hot soup, popcorn, and some biscuits with coffee, tea or hot chocolate.

The sun is warming us while we hope for the view to clear up.

Kibo Crater under the full moon.

In the morning, a small layer of frost.

Sunrise with the Mawenzi in the background.

Here is the Mawenzi volcanic cone with its 5149 metres. This volcano can be climbed, but contrary to Kibo, Mawenzi requires some technical knowledge because of its sheer cliffs.

Even though we are not climbing it, we can enjoy its magnificent presence at sunsets and sunrises.

Mawenzi.

A lenticular cloud over the Mawenzi.

Kibo at the end of the day.

The dining room with some water to wash our hands before entering.

My own tent.

In addition to our group, there is another company on the site.

View of glaciers from my tent at Crater Camp.

The Local Team

I said it once and I will repeat it; the success of a nice trek is the fruit of all the hard works performed by the members of the local team. Guides, cooks, and porters are all of paramount importance.

I climbed Kilimanjaro a few times, but some of our guides climbed it over 400 times, nothing less. Many of them started as porters, and they gradually went up the hierarchy. In Tanzania, to be a guide, it is required to follow an intensive course . For many of them, it is a very expensive endeavour.

Boniface is a veteran guide.

Kamula, assistant guide.

There are 3-4 times more workers than travellers. Despite this, they sleep in a much smaller space than us. On the left, the kitchen is visible.

In addition to carrying plenty of equipment, the local team walks much faster than most travellers. In this manner, when we arrive at a camp, everything is ready and there are also some snacks waiting for us.

In the morning, the team must take down the tents and carry them to the next site despite the cold.

On the left Kamula, assistant guide, followed by our cook. They are carrying flowers.

The kitchen.

It is hot inside the cooking tent due to the two gas stoves and the hot vapours coming from the different dishes.

Tent where several members of the local team sleep.

One tent for two travellers.

They are awaiting us in order to offer us juice and also sing and dance to cheer us up. See the video at the end...

Water is not that common on the Kilimanjaro. For example, at School Hut, members of the team must go down a few hundred metres to reach a water source, and climb back up with 20-litre containers.

On this photo, we are at Crater Camp at 5750 metres. There is no water source and it is forbidden to damage the glacier; thus the team uses small cups to collect water from the melting glacier. Imagine all the work!

Small break since their hands are so cold.

This porter carries water from the glacier back to the camp.