5-Days Marangu Route

Marangu Route

ROUTE OVERVIEW:

Marangu route is the easiest route because no technical skills are required for this five-day trek. It is not as scenic as other routes. However, some prefer this route because it is the only route on the mountain that has huts provided for hikers.

There are 60 bunk beds each at Mandara and Kibo Huts, and 120 bunk beds at Horombo Hut. During peak season these huts can be very overloaded so as advance booking of hut accommodation is required to avoid any inconveniences
The Marangu route is usually done in 5 days; we would highly recommend all to add an additional day for better acclimatization.

ARRIVE IN TANZANIA:

Arrive at the Kilimanjaro International Airport/ Arusha Airport where you will be meet with Goldfish Tours representative, picked up there and transfer to hotel in Moshi town. Then you will meet your guide who will brief you on your upcoming trek and do an equipment check to make sure you have all the necessary mountain gear. Gear which is missing can be rented on this day.
Hotel: Bed & Breakfast

DAY 1: MARANGU GATE (1,870 METERS) TO MANDARA HUT (2,700 METERS)

Location :Mandara Hut

Approx. trekking time : 7 hours

Distance :8km / 5 mile

Zone :Rainforest

Meals :Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast and briefing from your guide you will be collected from your hotel in Moshi and you will be driven to the gate from Moshi, which takes approximately an hour and passes through the village of Marangu gate. Once the necessary paper work and registration with the Kilimanjaro National Park authorities has been completed your trek can begin. Day one is a gradual trek through the Kilimanjaro rainforest. Within the rainforest, look for towering Eucalyptus trees, bird life, and monkeys. At these lower elevations, it can be wet and muddy so trekking poles will help.

DAY 2: MANDARA HUT (2,700 METERS) TO HOROMBO HUT (3,720 METERS)

Location. :Horombo Hut

Approx. trekking time :6 – 8 hours

Distance :11.5km / 7 miles

Zone :Rainforest / Low Alpine Zone

Meals :Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day two on the Marangu Route begins with an early start. You will be served breakfast and should be on your way by latest 08:30. The trek continues through the rainforest, around the base of the Maundi Crater and then transitions rather rapidly into the low alpine moorland zone. If the weather is clear you should definitely take the opportunity to scramble up the Maundi Crater to get your first full view of Kibo. During the trek you will also see giant lobelias which are scattered throughout the landscape at this altitude. At Horombo Hut (3,720 meters) you will be served dinner and shown to your sleeping quarters for the night.

DAY 3: HOROMBO HUT (3,720 METERS) TO KIBO HUT (4,700 METERS)

Location :Kibo Hut

Approx. trekking time :5 – 7 hours

Distance :10km / 6 miles

Zone :Low alpine zone / High alpine zone

Meal :Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day three on the Marangu Route is long and tough. There are two routes to Kibo. The first, or upper route, forks to the right. You will most likely take the lower left hand route as it is easier and nearly an hour shorter. On the left hand route you will pass the last water point at 4,130 meters. This nearly vegetation less plateau joins the main summit Kibo with Mawenzi. Today’s destination is the Kibo Hut that is usually reached in about 5-6 hours. Here, you will enjoy an early evening meal followed by an early night, as the night will be short. Make sure that you have all your gear ready for a prompt departure.

DAY 4: KIBO HUT (4,700 METERS) TO UHURU PEAK (5,895 METERS) AND THEN HOROMBO HUT (3,720 METERS)

Location :Uhuru Peak

Approx. trekking time :6-8 hrs to the summit and then 5-8 hrs to Horombo Hut

Distance :22km / 13.7 miles

Zone :Glacial zone, high alpine zone and low alpine zone

Meals :Breakfast, Lunch

Day four begins with summit night. You will begin your final ascent around midnight which will be long and strenuous. Passing the Hans Meyer Cave at 5220m, the climb slowly but surely goes upwards. At sunrise, you will reach Gillman’s Point (5681m) the crater rim of Kilimanjaro where the sun will slowly start to warm up the land. You will have soon forgotten the cold of the night and after a further hike of 1-2 hours, you will reach Uhuru Peak at 5895m. On your return to Kibo Hut, a warm meal awaits you followed by a 1-2 hour break before proceeding back down to Horombo Hut.

DAY 5: HOROMBO HUT (3,720 METERS) TO MARANGU GATE (1,870 METERS)

Location :Marangu Gate

Approx. trekking time :6 – 8 hours

Distance :20km / 12.5 miles

Zone :Low alpine zone and rainforest

Meals :Breakfast, Lunch

Day five is the summit stage. You will begin your final ascent around midnight which will be long and strenuous. Passing the Hans Meyer Cave at 5220meters, the climb slowly but surely goes upwards. At sunrise, you will reach Gillman’s Point (5681meters) the crater rim of Kilimanjaro where the sun will slowly start to warm up the land. You will have soon forgotten the cold of the night and after a further hike of 1-2 hours, you will reach Uhuru Peak at 5895meters. On your return to Kibo Hut, a warm meal awaits you followed hours break before proceeding back down to Horombo Hut.

DAY 6: DEPART TANZANIA

Location :Moshi

Meals :Breakfast

This day left for your next destination. A vehicle will take you back to the Hotel in Moshi, where it is definitely time for celebration. Depart for the airport or other destinations in Tanzania. If you have safari, then might be used to beginning your safari or fly to beaches in Zanzibar so as we can arrange many reasonably priced trips and safaris around Moshi and the Kilimanjaro region. If you fly back home our vehicle will be ready to take you to the airport at your time.

More information

Entry requirements for Tanzania

The visa is permission granted to a foreigner who intends to travel to Tanzania on business, for a holiday, to study or conduct research or for other approved activities. When entering Tanzania, the visitor with a visa may then obtain from the immigration control officer, a pass or any other authority to enter the country.

For entry into the United Republic of Tanzania for tourism purposes it is necessary to have a valid foreign passport with an expiry date of at least six more months at the moment of crossing the border of the Republic. The passport must have two blank pages for seals and stamps on border crossing.

The passport must be presented to the Immigration Control Officer at any entry point: border station, airport and harbor. The passport must be presented along with one of the following:

A valid visa
Resident permit
A pass

A visitor must also present an onward or return ticket together with proof that the visitor has sufficient funds to support himself or herself while in Tanzania.

Ways to get a tourist visa for Tanzania: on arrival visa

Tourist visa will be stamped into your passport by the immigration authorities of Tanzania upon arrival to the country. You may receive visa on arrival in one of the following entry points:

Kilimanjaro International Airport
Zanzibar International Airport
Dar es Salaam International Airport
The border crossings between Kenya and Tanzania (Namanga / Taveta)

Remember that arriving on the territory of Tanzania through other border crossings, you should have a valid visa stamp in your passport.

To avoid potential loss of passports in the mail or delays in visa processing, All weather Adventures recommends that US citizens obtain their visas upon arrival, at Kilimanjaro International Airport. It is an easy and simple process.

The cost of a Tanzanian visa for US citizens is $100, payable in US dollars.

Canadian, Australian, British and most European passport holders can also obtain visas upon arrival at the airport. The cost of a Tanzanian visa is $50, payable in US dollars. Confirm with your embassy.

Best time to climb Kilimanjaro

Mount Kilimanjaro routes and their variations take between five to nine days to complete. Although Mount Kilimanjaro is known as a “walk-up” mountain, you should not underestimate it and its risks. The overall statistics show that less than half of all climbers reach the summit.

A perfunctory analysis of the KINAPA (Kilimanjaro National Park Administration) records show that only 45% of climbers reach Peak Uhuru. These information is long outdated (the latest report was published in 2006), and the achievement rate has probably somewhat increased since those days because of emergence of the longer trails, improved infrastructure and equipment, increased awareness of pitfalls of choosing short treks, etc

Goldfish tours recommend adding an extra day or two to your trip to help you acclimatize to the altitude. We encourage customers to take 7-9 day routes for the best chance of success and the lowest risk of altitude sickness.

Some companies boast that their overall summit success rates are greater than 90%. We have seen competitor advertisements representing overall success rates for few days trekking. It is only a matter of time before someone advertises, that why we recommended to a safe and successful climb is to take the longest routes possible

Every outfitter knows this, but unfortunately it seems some don’t mind attracting customers with misleading or blatantly false statements. The truth is that each of these figures are statistically impossible! or leading climbs only on 8-9 day routes, achieving those extraordinarily high success rates would be impossible to maintain for even a short period of time.

Aim of Goldfish Tours, is that you have a safe, enjoyable, memorable Kilimanjaro climb.

It is possible to climb the mountain in five or six days, but why take the chance? Some clients want to minimize their days in order to save costs, which is understandable. But we feel that the additional cost is well worth it. Not only is it safer, but you increase the probability of your success, have more time to enjoy the experience, can take acclimatization hikes to other parts of the mountain you’d otherwise miss, and will probably feel better as well, given that there is less stress on your body.

Why you travel far away to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and opt few days that reduce your success rate to summit? How would you feel if you scheduled a route with the minimum required days, only to have to turn around within the first couple days because the rate of ascent was too quick? Wouldn’t you rather have added a couple days to your trip to give yourself a better chance, to be fairer to your body? Were the ‘savings’ you got for not taking additional days worth in order of:

Cutting cost and make your climb short, not making it to summit, or even worse, Putting your health at risk?