Kilimanjaro Climb Rongai Route

Trek Africa's highest mountain on a much less crowded route compared to the Marangu and Machame trails

With its gentle gradient and sense of unspoilt wilderness, the Rongai Route approaches Kilimanjaro from the north and is less crowded than the most popular trails. We trek through farmlands, forest and alpine moorlands as we approach the beautiful summit cone. This route allows an extra day for acclimatisation under the imposing spires of Mawenzi, before the arduous final ascent. The final climb begins in darkness but our reward is an incomparable dawn vista over the sweeping East African plains.

Responsible Travel

At Exodus we believe in the power of Responsible Travel.

Every time we travel, we are part of a global movement that creates jobs, builds more sustainable societies, encourages cultural understanding and safeguards common natural and cultural heritage. To learn more about what Responsible Travel means to Exodus click here… 

KPAP

Established in 2003, the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP) is a legally registered Tanzanian not-for-profit organization, whose aim is to improve the working conditions of the porters on Kilimanjaro.

Once you have climbed Mount Kilimanjaro you’ll appreciate that porters are the backbone of the trek.. KPAP’s focusses on improving the working conditions of the porters by:

Lending mountain clothing to porters free of charge

Advocating fair wages and ethical treatment by all companies climbing Kilimanjaro

Encouraging climbers to select a climbing company with responsible treatment practices towards their crew

Providing educational opportunities to the mountain crew

Exodus is a member of KPAP  as these clear aims are in keeping with the company's overall approach to treks using human porterage.

Please check the website for more details https://kiliporters.org/

Visa

Tanzania

Most nationalities require a tourist visa for Tanzania, including British nationals, most EC nationals, Australians, New Zealanders, Americans and Canadians. The visa is available at the border and the cost for British and most other European Nationals is USD50 cash, whilst for US citizens it is USD100 cash.

It is possible to get the visa online, this can take at least ten days and up to 3 weeks. For more information and to apply for the visa please visit - https://eservices.immigration.go.tz/visa/ 

If you are flying into Kilimanjaro Airport then we recommend arranging the visa in advance as the visa on arrival process has become more complicated and can now take longer.

Vaccination

Tanzania

Please note that although Tanzania does not officially require proof of Yellow Fever vaccination, at most airports and other points of entry you may be required to show a certificate of vaccination or an exemption certificate. This includes coming from Europe via, or transiting through an endemic country including the airports of Nairobi (Kenya) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). If visiting Zanzibar from mainland Tanzania border officials have been known to demand proof of Yellow Fever vaccination or an exemption certificate.

Recommended vaccinations are: Polio, Tetanus, Typhoid, Hepatitis A. Malaria prophylaxis is essential and we suggest that you seek advice from your GP or travel health clinic about which malaria tablets to take. Dengue fever is a known risk in places visited. It is a tropical viral disease spread by daytime biting mosquitoes. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available for Dengue, and therefore the best form of prevention is to avoid being bitten. We recommend you take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

Eating and Drinking

All breakfasts, 6 lunches and 5 dinners included.  All meals during the climb are included. Please allow about GBP40 (USD65) for the meals not included, while in hotels.

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, e.g. 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 are available. Soup is served twice daily.

Daily Meals

Bed Tea - tea or coffee served in your tent.
Breakfast  - consists of seasonal fresh fruit (mango/banana/watermelon), porridge, cooked eggs,
sausage, bacon and toast.
Energy snacks are provided for the daily walk such as biscuits, bananas, and chocolate bars.
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 clients. 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 consists of three courses; soup and bread, followed by the main dish, which could be rice, potatoes or pasta with fish, meat or vegetables, and is followed by a dessert often of fruit.
Summit snacks - Whilst we provide enough food for the climb, we recommend that 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

Whilst 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. Biox Aqua drops or tablets are the best available alternative for sale in the UK as they kill giardia and cryptosporidium.

Weather

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 20ºC, but the nights can get very cold. It is possible for temperatures to drop as low as -20ºC 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 3,500 m. Please note that mountain weather conditions are never totally predictable and we may meet wet and snowy conditions at any time.

Weather Charts

Arusha

Is this trip for you?

Grade 6- Challenging/ Tough

The summit day is graded 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 as 5/ challenging, more as a consequence of the high altitude and extended wilderness camping rather than the difficulty of walking; hence the overall grading of this trek as challenging/tough.

Walking Conditions
This is a hard trek, which reaches an altitude of 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 be aware that the acclimatisation process can also differ from climb to climb.
We avoid the more crowded Marangu and Machame routes, preferring to approach the mountain from the north by the Nale Moru (Rongai) route, which is considered to be an easier ascent route 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% 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. 88% of our clients reached Gilman's Point and 79% reached Uhuru Peak, the true summit of Kilimanjaro.

You may find our Fitness Training Guide a useful reference: http://www.exodus.co.uk/assets/pdf/Exodus_WT_Fitness_Training_Guide.pdf

Most of the trails on trek are well defined and of 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. During the course of the trip we shall spend time at both high and low altitude, experiencing both extremely cold and quite hot conditions. You should be prepared for an early start every day on Kilimanjaro. 

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.

Following a review of all our trips we have categorised this trip as generally not suitable for persons of reduced mobility. However if you are a regular traveller on such trips, please contact customer services to discuss the trip and your personal condition.