KILIMANJARO IS CALL YOU ANDย YOU MUST GO
There are seven established routes to climb Mount Kilimanjaro up to Summit the Uhuru Peak (5895m)
After deciding to climb Kilimanjaro, youโll need to choose your route.
Selecting a Kilimanjaro Best Route is a tough choice for most.
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Kilimanjaroย Route | Min. Days | Rec. Days | Difficulty | Scenery | Traffic | Rating |
Northern Circuit Route | 8 | 9 | high | excellent | very low | ***** |
Lemoshoย Route | 7 | 8 | high | excellent | medium | ***** |
Rongaiย Route | 6 | 7 | medium | very good | low | **** |
Machameย Route | 6 | 7 | high | excellent | high | **** |
Shiraย Route | 6 | 7 | high | excellent | medium | *** |
Maranguย Route | 5 | 6 | medium | good | high | ** |
Umbweย Route | 5 | 7 | very high | very good | very low | ** |
Recommended Route to Climb |
Good Routeย to Climb |
OK Route to Climb |
Not Recommended to Climb |
Suppose you want the highest chance of summiting the best route to climb Kilimanjaro: Northern circuit route, Lemosho route, and Machame route over 7 or 9 days. In that case, excellent acclimatization and a more uncomplicated summit night make these winners by a long way. And as reaching the top is the most important thing for most of our climbers, we make this our overall winners as the best route to climb Kilimanjaro.
Ethical Kilimanjaro via Northern Circuit Route 9 Daysย
The Northern Circuit route is one of the best routes on Kilimanjaro.The route approaches Mount Kilimanjaro from the west….
From USD $3250
Ethical Kilimanjaro via Lemosho Route 8ย ย Daysย
The Lemosho route is one of the newer routes on the mountain and a superb choice for your climb, It is our preferred route…
From USD $2950
Ethical Kilimanjaro via Machame Route 7 Days
Machame (“Whiskey”) Route is also known as the “Whiskey” route, the Machame route is now the most popular route on the …
From USD $2650
The Lemosho route approaching from the West wins hands down for the best views with spectacular vistas in all directions.
If keeping away from the crowds is your top priority, the Rongai route has to be your choice as the best route for your Kilimanjaro climb. But be warned the success rate is lower.
If you are looking for an adventure and a unique wilderness experience, the crater camp option is the best route to climb Kilimanjaro for you- less than 1 % of climbers get to do this, and all our climbers who do it rave about it.
Our summary of the advantages and disadvantages of each route is below.
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When you are planning your Kilimanjaro climb, there are six factors that you need to consider in deciding which is the best route to climb Kilimanjaro for you.
The golden rule is to walk high and sleep low when climbing to altitude, and following this rule minimizes the risk of altitude sickness and improves your chance of summiting. The best routes to climb Kilimanjaro for acclimatization are theย Northern Circuit,ย Lemoshoย andย Machame routes, as these naturally allow you to walk high and sleep low.
The most challenging summit nights are on the Rongai route and the Marangu route: they reach the crater rim of Kilimanjaro on the North, opposite Uhuru Peak and more than 2 hours from the summit itself. The best routes to climb Kilimanjaro to avoid this are the Machame and Lemosho routes as they reach the crater at Stellar point less than an hourโs walk from the summit. An extra hour on a very long day is often the straw that breaks the camelโs back.
The amount of climbers on the mountain varies a lot depending on the season and the day of the week, but even taking this into account, if you want to have the mountain more to yourself, the best route to climb Kilimanjaro is theย Rongai route. This route starts in the North and is used by fewer climbers than the prevalent southern routes.
The only route you do not have to camp on is theย Marangu route, so if you hate tents, this is the best route to climb Kilimanjaro. Be warned, though, the huts are very basic and noisy.
We consider all of the routes except the Arrow Point route relatively safe if walked sensibly. There is a higher risk of falling rock unmanageable at the Arrow Point route, and this is not the best route to climb Kilimanjaro.
As a result of the better acclimatization offered and the easier summit night, the best route to climb Kilimanjaro in terms of summit success rate is theย 9 Day Northern Circuit route,ย Lemosho route over 8 days, followed by theย Machame route over 7 days.
We operateย group climbsย starting every month through the year with different routes each week. If you are looking for a particular route, you can see when we are running that route below.
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