Most Inspirational Moment
Reaching the summit and sharing the emotion with my new friends.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Amazing - fun, supportive, knowledgable.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Do it!! Take a poncho - it was invaluable to me in October!
Reviews
Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers
Here at Exodus we thrive on feedback from our customers. It’s the only way we can ensure our trips continue to be the best they can be. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of the trip you’re interested in, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers.
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Reviews
Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route
Amazing trip of a lifetime, would strongly recommend. If you’re thinking about it then go for it, you’ll be more than glad you did!
Met some amazing people who will remain firm friends.
Guides and porters were fabulous and having been home a week now I’ve missed everyone and everything every second.
Outstanding life experience
This was a fantastic experience for myself and my wife, as part of a team of 14: all of who got to Stella point and with 13/14 getting to Uhuru point. The local staff, from the African Walking Company, were superb – friendly, professional and always with safety and wellbeing at the top of their agenda. The food, given the conditions, was 5*. Was it hard? Yes it was, particularly on summit night. But was it worthwhile and would I recommend the experience to others – ABSOLUTELY!
Most Inspirational Moment
Approaching Stella point, exhausted but with the new sunlight of an African dawn flooding hope and energy into our muscles: a sight I will never forget.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Makeke was an experienced management hand on the rudder of the whole trip, coordinating a small army of individuals to maximise our chances of getting to the top.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Train well - its not easy! And don't overpack - guilt in seeing porters struggling your loads up the Baranko wall isn't worth it. But make sure you pack all the essential stuff and make it of good quality to handle the cold.
Kilimanjaro Climb Lemosho Route Family Departure
Fantastic organisation, wonderful staff and amazing food and a clean toilet even on the mountain!
Most Inspirational Moment
Loved it all - even when we didn't make it, and had to come down early. The assistant guide who came down from the mountain with my grandson and me checked up on us every day, took us to visit his family and took us on unscheduled outings every day, until the rest of the group came down. Had a fantastic time.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Extremely professional and friendly.
Advice for Potential Travellers
A wonderful opportunity for teenagers to do something really exciting.
Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route with Exodus
I cannot describe in words how wonderful the experience was. Our group was of 15 people from different backgrounds and age range 15-69years. There are two ways of climbing Kilimanjaro – 1. The only aim is to get on the top and back and 2. Enjoy the walk up and scenery and also get to the top. Lemosho route is best for those looking for the second option. The scenery is stunning and terrain changes everyday. Its hard to decide which day is better than others as all days are amazing. Organisation by Exodus, their partnership with African walking company and attention to detail makes this trip a memory of lifetime. Bit more expensive but if you are going to do this once then better do it with he best.
Most Inspirational Moment
Climbing the Barranco wall on the day 5. This was the highlight of the trip. Barranco camp situated right next to the wall is an amazing camp site. Once is surrounded by stream, clouds with views of Moshi once the clouds lift, at the foothills of Kilimanjaro and surrounded by the eccentric looking plants. The wall next day looks intimidating but is fun to climb and guides help you through out the climb. The views are amazing from the top. This day brought smiles on everyones face and made us mentally stronger to tackle the last climb two days later.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Charles Teete was a perfect group leader who personally use to chat with everyone every morning to make sure we were well. He had hand on everybody's pulse so to speak through out the journey. His leadership skills, especially on the summit night were fantastic and he kept a tab on all of us (we all walked up together from day 1 to last day). Very accommodating especially he made sure that we get a refill of water on the longest day (day 4) where we walked to Lava tower).
Advice for Potential Travellers
July-August is a good time as we had no rain. Windproof jacket must as some days it is too hot with fleece and too cold with T-shirt. Breathable jacket takes care of that well. Food is excellent and hence bring along only nutrition bars and chocolates. Walking poles are useful on descend and are a must. Knee support for those with painful knees especially for last two days of descent. Please get Nalgene bottle with insulation cover (Nalgene Bottle Carrier Insulated for 32 Oz bottles, Gray). I got his for $16 from amazon but was the only bottle which did not freeze).
Exodus lemosho
A great trip with African Walking Company. Everything was organised but still flexible and great team of guides, cook, porter all 39 were amazing! Highly recommend this trip to people who don’t mind camping for over a week and hiking to the summit with a start at midnight.
Most Inspirational Moment
the summit reaching 5895m and watching the sunrise over the Kenyan border around 5am
Thoughts on Group Leader
Florence and his team of guides were amazing. all 9 of my group made it to the summit. Positive motivation, experience, mental attitude, care and pole pole helped us all to the summit.
Advice for Potential Travellers
a hand brush or flannel to help washing time and dust! a shewee is a big help and lots of layers.
Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route
A truly unforgettable, amazing experience! A must do!!
Most Inspirational Moment
Reaching Stella point and watching the sunrise on the way up. Spectacular!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our group leader Makeke was brilliant! I really struggled on the second day but he stayed with me every step and was extremely patient and sympathetic. I wouldn't have made it without him!
Advice for Potential Travellers
Hire the sleeping mats! They are very comfortable and thicker than most inflatable roll mats. Don't overpack, you'll be surprised at how much use you will get out of one t-shirt! Portable phone/iPod chargers are great- I recommend the Anker ones. Drink lots of water and eat as much as you can as that definitely helped with the altitude. An iPod for me was a God send, especially at night time and on summit day. And finally, take lots of pictures!!
Lemosho Route
Truly a trip of a lifetime that was made by the wonderful group of people (8 of us) and the fantastic guides.
Our head guide Makeke was superb as were his assistant guides, Tony, Diglan and Samweli who looked after us exceptionally well.
We were very lucky with the weather which definitely helped as we could appreciate the beautiful and varied landscape fully.
The overall organisation of the trip was superb, the tents up when we arrived, fantastic food throughout the trip (thank you Spiderman!) and the tea and washy- washy every morning set us for the day.
Wish I could do it all over again!
Most Inspirational Moment
Walking through starlight and reaching Stella Point as the sun was rising is something I will never forget. A quick pitstop of a cup of tea and Dairy Milk made the final push to Uhuru Peak that much easier and dare I say, enjoyable! Climbing the Barracho Wall and the kissing wall was also fantastic, daunting in parts and a different challenge but another amazing part of the trip.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our Head Guide, Makeke, from the African Walking Company was fantastic. Makeke and his team made everything run smoothly, nothing was too much trouble. They played a massive part of making our trip genuinely amazing.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Definitely hire an Exodus sleeping matt, very padded and comfy. Take some shoes to wear in the evening, that are easy to put on at night when you need to do a night time loo run. A metal water bottle can double up as a fab hot water bottle at night.
A fantastic trip
My sister and I climbed Kilimanjaro via the Lemosho route in early June, and it was undoubtedly one of the best experiences of our lives. We were very fortunate with a great group (8 trekkers), an excellent group leader and we were blessed with fantastic weather on the mountain (no rain). We were therefore able to enjoy the varied terrain, spectacular views and the achievement of standing on top of the tallest mountain in Africa.
Most Inspirational Moment
Undoubtedly getting to the summit as dawn was breaking was the highlight of the trip, but there were many memorable sights and moments along the way. The leaving ceremony (which includes the distribution of tips) on the last day on the mountain, with the majestic backdrop of Kili, and the songs and smiles on all the faces will also remain a very long time with us.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our Group Leader (Makeke) was great - he managed all the logistics (for 8 trekkers, we had him plus 3 assistant guides, a chef and 32 porters), gave good briefings (sufficient information for the following day, but without so much detail that it worried us), was patient when required, and lifted the spirits when we were tired and needed it.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Neither of us had done any trekking before, but we did go on a guided practice trek in Surrey, did a number of long walks together with full kit and backpack (including 3-4 litres of water) and tried to get tips and advice from as many people as possible who had done it before. We both did some fitness work and ensured that we had the right kit. Some people say that you don't need to be very fit to climb Kili. Having done a marathon last year and kept the running going, I considered myself reasonably fit, but it was still tough at times. I would certainly recommend lots of quad exercises (ski fitness perfect), particularly for the way down. Everyone says it, but pole pole (slowly slowly) hydrate and eat are the keys to minimising the affects of altitude sickness (you will be very lucky not to get any impact from AMS) - and listen to your guides - they know what they are talking about. You also need to think early in your planning about your electricity power strategy - being unable to plug in any devices for 8 days requires some thinking, but with portable batteries etc, it is definitely manageable, getting to the top and running out of power in your camera/smartphone would be upsetting!
Kilimanjaro: Lemosho Route
An amazing adventure superbly organised & undertaken. From Florence our lead guide through to all the porters, assistant guides & cook, all were friendly, helpful & full of good humour.
The scenery & weather were great & the support we received was positive & encouraging. Great care was taken of our well-being, the food was an amazingly high standard, the pace & distances well thought through. Trip of a lifetime!
Most Inspirational Moment
Setting off from Barafu camp at midnight to see a zig-zag line of torches heading up the mountain, with guides singing as we climbed. Magical!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Florence Chrispin was a fantastic leader. He was so support & very clear about the expectations regarding the climb. He was a kind & nurturing leader who clearly had climbers best interests at heart. He led by example & his team were a happy unit who obviously enjoyed working with him & all got on well together. He was stringent in checking our fitness as the climb progressed. He gave his assistant leaders opportunities to shine. All 3 (Hans, Fred & Jonas) were a great support & encouragement to us. He was very clear on the expectations for each day. A genuine & lovely person.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Train hard before you come! I had - but still found the climb a tremendous challenge, reaching Stella Point but not Uhuru. I have to be happy with that achievement because I know that there was no way I could have walked for another hour uphill to Uhuru. I also found the descent very hard work & was so grateful for the amount of encouragement given by Jonas. Read as much information about Kilimanjaro before you embark on your trip. There are some wonderful & honest accounts of climbs that present an honest picture of what to expect. I recommend "Kilikmanjaro Summit of Africa" by Jacquetta Megarry (She's climbed all routes). "Kilimanjaro" by Moushabeck & Schultz (beautiful photos & detailed account of the Lemosho route.
Best Trip I've done!
A brilliant and very memorable trip! The team of guides and assistant porters really brought the trip together and the food during the trek was amazing. It is a trip of a lifetime, this was genuinely the best trip I have ever done.
Most Inspirational Moment
Reaching Stella point just as the sun rose. I felt I was at my absolute limit, the sun rising over Kilimanjaro provided that final bit of inspiration and energy for the final, oxygen deprived push to Uhuru Peak!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Florence was the best leader I could've hoped for! Safety was addressed very seriously throughout the trip and we would not have reached the top without the strong leadership from the guides. They were there to support us every step of the way and all staff members were very passionate about Kilimanjaro. The guides have been up to the peak more times then they can remember!
Advice for Potential Travellers
- Bring lots of soft tissues, my nose was often blocked at night. - Volcanic ash gets everywhere, bring a nail brush if dirty nails bother you. - Make sure you bring the warmest sleeping bag you possibly can, you will not regret the investment. - Drink lots and lots of water.