Kilimanjaro National Park is the home to the brilliant Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, offers not just an opportunity to get to the ‘roof-top of Africa’, it also allows for horse riding, day walks, mountain biking, cultural walking safaris on the lower foothills outside the park. This heavy indigenous forest is home to elephants, black and white colobus monkeys, mountain reed-bucks, dik dik, birds of prey, vervet and Sykes monkey along with other forest dwellers. Above 3000 mtrs. This makes place for alpine scrub, giant Senecio, lobelia and wild flowers.
Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro
For those wishing to tackle Mt Kilimanjaro dizzying heights of 5895mts (19,341 ft.) there are several options open to you, each route perhaps more suitable in accordance to age, fitness level, prior experience as to climbing/trekking in general, also at altitude and – at the end of the day – just what you would like to experience from your climb of Kilimanjaro.
Each route is described in brief along with full day to day itineraries of how the climb unfolds according to route selection. If you are considering a climb-only option then we do recommend that you try and allow at least 2 days before heading up the mountain to settle in and slowly begin the acclimatization process; staying in Arusha – set at the base of Mount Meru Tanzania 2nd highest mountain (4566m) – with its own altitude of 1450 meters depending where you lay your head allows for this.
In the few days before commencing your climb you get to meet your guide(s) who will go through a thorough gear check and climbing safety brief at our offices or the hotel/lodge. This will allow you to ask all unanswered questions, fears, doubts before commencing the climb so that when you do actually put a toe at the park gate all uncertainty will be stored somewhere in the back of your thoughts allowing only positive feelings and a familiarization toward your guide who is going to become your best friend over the next 7 – 9 days.
This is an important factor to have trust and confidence in your guide as when the going gets tough he will be the best person to lean on (literally). We can also arrange an acclimatization/cultural trek in the foot hills of Mt. Meru allowing you to reach heights of close to 2000 metres and further forming a relationship with your guide who will do his upmost and foremost to deliver you safely to ‘The roof-top of Africa’, the highest free standing mountain in the world.
If looking for a Kilimanjaro climb with wildlife and cultural insights in your time spent in Tanzania then we recommend that you head out on safari first as this offers several benefits – one is you find your legs and slowly begin to adjust to altitude as already mentioned, further more by visiting the Ngorongoro Crater you reach heights of 2300metres above sea level, in light of a request to head out on a Wildlife safari combined with a Kilimanjaro climb we will design the safari accordingly, spending a night on the Ngorongoro Crater rim and depending on the way the itinerary works it is possible to walk/trek in either direction arriving or leaving from the Ngorongoro rim itself.
The Ngorongoro forest walk is fairly strenuous if heading up hill out of Karatu highlands but will put you in good step for what awaits on Kilimanjaro along with it being an exciting walk in itself with great opportunities to come across many forest dwellers, including elephant, buffalo and once reaching the higher open plains then Zebra and other plains games wildlife are common, making it a unique experience to be on ground level as opposed to the constraints of a safari vehicle.
Climbing routes
On the following pages you can find information in brief as to varying climbing routes that Bush 2 Beach offer – if you have any special requirements, interest and cannot find the information then please contact us direct.
- 5/6 day Marangu Route – The only route up the Kilimanjaro were you‘ll sleep in Mountain huts instead of tents, can be done in 5 days but we advise using an extra altitude day which can be a major factor in your summit bid becoming successful. (more …)
- 6/7 day Machame Route – Our most popular trek, Machame has undoubtedly pulled perhaps the more adventurous climbers away from the popular Marangu route (more …)
- 6/7 day Umbwe Route – A route that holds the note as being the steepest route on Kilimanjaro!! Dramatic scenery on this route for the more adventurous groups, extreme bush walker who likes a challenge (more…)
- 8/9 day Lemosho Route – Certainly the most relaxed, scenic and uncluttered open routes that Kilimanjaro has to offer, several days again heading up through afromontane forests of the lower slopes breaking out into open vista of Shira Plateau. (more …)
Fully prepared
All of our climbs are inclusive of:
- All Kilimanjaro climbing/camp/hut/rescue fees
- Trained guide(s) assistant guide(s) mountain chef(s) and porter crews
- Return transfers to and from the mountain
- Emergence evacuation cover FAR
- All mountain camp equipment (see equipment list for personal climbing clothing and gear)
- Full board meal plan as stated to day to day itinerary, hot beverages and filtered/boiled drinking water whilst on the mountain.
