When one of my good friends suggested we climb Kilimanjaro I didn’t even blink before booking my flight to Tanzania. If you get the chance, do it. An incredible expereince and one that will stay with me forever. Personally we underestimated the challenge. Here are my top tips for climbing Kilimanjaro.
1. Research who to climb with:
We can’t speak more highly of Evarist and Frank from Kilimanjaro Heros. Therefore my number one top tips for climbing Kilimanjaro is to pick the right tour operator. It was extremely important for us to climb with a local firm and ensure our $ were staying local. We also had heard awful stories on how some guides and porters are treated and wanted to support a firm who respected and looked after their staff. Get to know Frank a little more in my ‘Community Characters’ page and see where and what he likes to do in Moshi.
2. Preparation:
The beauty of Kilimanjaro is that in reality you don’t so much climb, as walk or trek up it. Therefore it’s pretty accessible to all. This being said, you do need a certain level of fitness to manage the challenge, especially the summit. Throughout the trek we saw all sizes, ages and nationalities reach Ulhuru Peak. Lorin and I both had a decent base level of fitness both attending the gym around 3-4 times weekly, so in preparation, we simply bush walked! We did a couple of 10-20km walks a week through our local National Parks trying to take in step and uneven ground as training.
3. Travel insurance:
Never leave home without it. In the haste of packing and leaving I sometimes forget until I’m at the airport and have to quickly log on and buy it before boarding the plane. It’s so cheap in comparison to what you could end up paying if you needed medical attention. My husband blew his kneecap out in The States whilst skiing, the bill he would have had to lay should he not have had insurance was in the region of $50,000. There are helipads all the way up Kilimanjaro – don’t underestimate what your about to do!
4. Visa:
You will need a visa when entering Tanzania which you get from the airport on landing. More often than not the officials will claim they have ‘no change’ so have $50 out and ready – do not pay more than $50. My advice when travelling in Africa is to have different denominations of both Kenyan shillings and US dollars in different places ….. Pockets / bags etc.
5. Yellow fever inoculation certificate:
Most African countries including Tanzania require this certificate. So don’t ever be without it when travelling in Africa. Staple it to your passport or keep in a travel wallet so that you can produce it when needed.
6. Three pairs of essential footwear:
Decent walking boots are obviously essential for climbing Kilimanjaro. Don’t skimp on them, you will be forever grateful during those long days of walking. We did all our training in ours so they were broken in and comfy as. Not as obvious, but two pairs of shoes I am forever grateful I had were thongs and Ugg boots. Both easy to slip on in the middle of the night when going to the toilet! Thongs feel lovely on your feet letting them breath after a long day walking and Uggs are like one big hug to the feet once the climate starts getting cold!
7. More wet wipes than you can imagine:
If you think you’ve pack enough, double it!! No one can prepare you for the toilet situation up Kilimanjaro. Let’s just say wet wipes make a pretty horrific situation bearable! We were unable to shower for 6 days during our trek and although provided with soap and warm water for washing wet wipes were perfect for those bits you don’t want to get out in public in the middle of a freezing cold camp!
8. A good book:
I was surprised at the amount of downtime we had whilst climbing Kilimanjaro. It depends on the speed at which you walk but on average we had a good couple of hours a day of light before supper.
9. Battery pack:
Essential for charging your iPod and my god if your anything like me you’ll need music! I had read lots of blogs that advised to create a seven-hour playlist for summit night. For me, all music annoyed me during those last few hours apart from Beautiful South which I had on repeat! I did listen to music Every day whilst trekking and when we arrived at camp and had down time.
10. Nail varnish:
I remember reading this online when researching climbing Kilimanjaro and will be forever grateful I did! I’m not sure I was ready for exactly how filthy you become after a couple of days on the mountain. The blessing is that if you have red nails you can’t see exactly how dirty they are! Out of sight out of mind as they say! I think I reapplied my nail varnish most evenings!
11. Tipping ceremony:
I found this really awkward and slightly embarrassing. After all, we were offloading our dirty socks to the guys who had just helped us achieve a lifelong dream of climbing Kilimanjaro! For the team though this is a ritual which is as important as summiting. They enjoy singing and dancing goodbye and thanks for climbing with them so really I just needed to get over myself. It wasn’t about me. I remember worrying that the socks, trousers, fleeces and trousers that I was giving away wouldn’t fit any of the strapping young men in the team. My guide turned round to me and said ‘no, but we all know a mum, sister, Aunty or cousin that’s your size who will love them’.
As for tipping, remember to take some small envelopes to put each tip in and name them. This also makes it more personal. Tip in either US$ or Tanzanian Shillings. Determine a tip for each member of the team (we tipped each head guide $100, the cook $50, the assistant cook $40 and the porters $30 each). Tip each guide, porter, cook etc directly instead of tipping the company or one person, this ensures everyone is getting what you are giving them.
12. A bloody good friend to summit with!
I underestimated the actual summit evening. On reflection, I’m so very grateful I could share not only the difficulty of the altitude sickness, but the achievement and view from the top with a great pal. Lorin and I motivated each other. A moment shared that we will both remember forever.
