Kilimanjaro Climb Rongai Route

This trip is rated Activity Level 6 (Challenging & Tough). For more information on our trip gradings please visit the Activity Level Guidelines page. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip please do not hesitate to contact us.

The summit day is graded Activity Level 7 (Tough) because of the high altitude and the level of physical effort needed. Please be aware many people find this day on Kilimanjaro the toughest physical challenge of their life. The rest of the trek is graded Activity Level 5 (Challenging), more as a consequence of the high altitude and extended wilderness camping than the difficulty of walking; hence the overall grading of this trek as Activity Level 6 (Challenging/Tough).

Walking conditions: This is a hard trek, which reaches a maximum altitude of 19,340ft (5,895m). Even if you consider yourself fit, you might still find the climb very hard, depending on how well your body acclimatises to high altitude. There is no scientific way to determine how easily you acclimatise and the acclimatisation process can differ from climb to climb. Please note, walking hours stated are given as approximates only. Timings stated in the itinerary include lunch and photo stops and will vary depending on the pace of your group.

Route: We avoid the more crowded Marangu and Machame routes, preferring to approach the mountain from the north by the Rongai (Nale Moru) Route, which is considered to be an easier ascent than the main trails. We also add an extra day to the standard five-day itinerary to ensure maximum acclimatisation and to give ourselves the best possible chance of enjoying the magnificent scenery. Recent statistics indicate that the chance of reaching the summit increases by at least 20 percent if an extra day is spent acclimatising.

Last year, our groups on the Rongai Route demonstrated that this is the best six-day route on Kilimanjaro for reaching the summit. During that time, 88 percent of our clients reached Gilman’s Point and 79 percent reached Uhuru Peak, the true summit of Kilimanjaro.

Altitude: This trip spends time above 9,842ft (3,000m); please refer to the Altitude Warning within the Trip Notes for more information and advice on how to limit the effects of altitude sickness.

• Maximum altitude: 19,341ft (5,895m)
• Maximum sleeping altitude: 15,092ft (4,600m)

Trails: Most are well defined and good quality but some forest sections can be slippery and moorland paths can become very wet in poor weather conditions. The final ascent to Uhuru Peak is almost exclusively on scree and loose rock without permanent footpaths but no technical skills are required.

Equipment: It is essential you are well prepared for this adventure. Please review our Kilimanjaro Kit List to make sure you have all the items you need. The Essential Equipment section on the Trip Notes also provides more information on what you need to bring.

Conditions: We spend time at both high and low altitude, experiencing extremely cold and quite hot conditions. You should be prepared for an early start every day on Kilimanjaro.

Tanzania Flight Safety: The EU has recently introduced restrictions on all Tanzanian-registered flight operators. These restrictions are related to operational compliance by the Tanzanian Civil Aviation Authority, rather than to individual airlines themselves. On this itinerary, the only routes affected are the Zanzibar Extension travelling between Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar, or the optional hot air balloon flight. While domestic flying in Tanzania requires careful consideration, we want to reassure you that Exodus only works with Tanzanian carriers that are either accredited by internationally recognised safety auditing bodies (IOSA & ISSA) or have been approved by our independent aviation safety auditors. Independent audits include annual on-the-ground visits to carriers based in Tanzania. If any concerns arise about the safety of an airline on our approved list, we will immediately remove it from our operations and only reinstate it once our air-safety experts are satisfied that it meets the required standards.

Key information

Recommended arrival time: You can arrive at any time today, check-in is typically from 3pm. There will be a welcome briefing around 6pm this evening at the start hotel.
Airport: Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO)

Getting to the start hotel

Your options for this journey are:

Take an Exodus transfer
Exodus provides one group arrival transfer from the airport, which is timed to coincide with the arrival of a chosen flight. You may join this transfer at no extra cost, provided you can be at the airport before the transfer leaves. Speak to your sales representative for the group arrival transfer times or to arrange a private transfer.

Make your own way
You can reach the start hotel relatively easily using taxis or public transport. A cab from the airport costs approximately US$100. On arrival at the hotel please make the reception staff aware that you are part of an Exodus group and they will have more details on meeting with your leader and group

If you would like further information on joining this trip, please speak to your sales representative.

Catching your return flight

There’s a group departure transfer to the airport for customers who Exodus booked onto a chosen flight. Please speak to your sales representative if you wish to join. If the group departure transfer does not suit your flight time, speak to your sales representative to arrange an alternative transfer.

Tanzania

Travellers from the UK, US and EU normally need a visa to enter Tanzania. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/africa/tanzania
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/tanzania
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/tanzania/entry-requirements
• USA: www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Tanzania.html

Please note, it is possible to get the visa online (from US$50), but this can take between 10 days and three weeks. For more information and to apply for the visa, please visit www.visa.immigration.go.tz. If you are flying into Kilimanjaro Airport, we recommend arranging the visa in advance as the visa-on-arrival process has become more complicated and can now take longer.

All breakfasts, six lunches and six dinners are included. All meals during the climb are included. Please allow about 153,500 Tanzanian shillings (US$65) for the meals not included.

On trek, the emphasis is on a varied and well-balanced diet with a greater amount of fresh fruit and soup to maximise the daily intake of fluids.

Vegetarians are well catered for but please inform us before departure of any special dietary requests. Please note that in Tanzania the availability of certain specialised products for restricted diets (eg gluten-free or dairy-free) is minimal or non-existent and we strongly recommend you bring these specialised dietary items from home.

The menu has a high liquid and carbohydrate content; the two important elements for successful climbing. At higher altitudes, stimulants (such as coffee) and less digestible foods (such as meat) are not recommended. Our evening meal at the highest camp on Kilimanjaro is a meatless stew as our experience shows this to be the ideal preparation for the summit day. At mealtimes a selection of hot drinks is available. Soup is served twice daily.

Daily meals

• Bed tea: Tea or coffee served in your tent.
• Breakfast: Seasonal fresh fruit (mango/banana/watermelon), porridge, cooked eggs, sausage, bacon and toast.
• Energy snacks, such as bananas and chocolate bars, are provided for the daily walk.
• Lunch: Either a packed lunch on longer days or, more usually, a hot lunch served in camp by a small team who have raced ahead of the group. A hot lunch typically consists of soup, bread or pancakes, cheese, tuna, jam, peanut butter, pasta salad and cake.
• Afternoon tea: Served in late afternoon. It is an opportunity to drink lots of hot drinks and snack on peanuts or popcorn.
• Dinner: The main meal of the day and always three courses: soup and bread; followed by the main dish, which could be rice, potatoes or pasta with fish, meat or vegetables; and dessert, often of fruit.
• Summit snacks: While we provide enough food for the climb, we recommend you bring some of your favourite snacks and keep them for the summit day. This is because the summit day is a long and tough climb and having your favourite snacks can give you a very welcome boost.

Water

While the water we provide on Kilimanjaro is suitable for drinking, you may wish to be extra safe and treat it with your own water purification tablets.

Kilimanjaro can be climbed at any time of the year but it is usually very wet in the rainforest in April and May. January and February are the warmest months. Above the cloud line the days are warm and pleasant, with temperatures in sunlight often above 20C (68F), but the nights can get very cold. It is possible for temperatures to drop as low as -20C (-4F) at Kibo campsite, our highest overnight stop. The daily weather pattern on the mountain tends to be clear mornings with an afternoon cloud build-up that often clears before sunset. In the European summer, the weather is usually cloudy at lower altitudes and often sunny above 11,480ft (3,500m). Please note, mountain weather conditions are never totally predictable and we may meet wet and snowy conditions at any time.

As a certified B Corp, we’re on a mission to improve our social and environmental impact across all our adventures.

We do this through our innovative Thriving Nature, Thriving People plan.

This ‘nature positive’ approach is designed to help nature and communities thrive in harmony through practical solutions, such as reducing carbon and waste on our trips, supporting conservation projects through the Exodus Adventure Travels Foundation, and rewilding 100 square metres for every Exodus traveller.