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Kilimanjaro can be climbed at any time of year but seasonal variations in climate and traffic need to be considered :

January, February and March have the best weather, being warm and almost devoid of cloud. This is also the busiest time on the mountain.

April through to mid June is still warm but there may be some rainfall on the lower slopes and bands of cloud may reduce visibility around the forest area. The upside is that this is probably the quietest time in terms of climber traffic.

Late June, July and August can become very cold at night but in return, the sky is usually completely clear above 3,000m. Traffic is high.

September to October are perhaps the best months to plan a climb for this next year with steadily increasing temperatures, low rainfall and relatively few people.

November and December are for the more adventurous climbers. Thunderstorms are possible in the afternoon and there can be heavy snow showers towards the summit but night and early morning bring excellent visibility. November is very quiet, but late December the holiday traffic is very heavy.

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The National Park Authorities have set the minimum age for trekking to Uhuru Peak as 10 years old. However should any member of your group be under sixteen at the time of the ascent then please discuss this with us before booking.

There is no upper limit to the age of climbers and people in their seventies and eighties regularly make the summit. But don't let this fool you youngsters into thinking that the climb will be a breeze for you - most of these older people are experienced mountain people and some of the more doddery ones are practically carried up by vast armies of porters!

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There are four main routes and many variants.

In this section we discuss the various routes:

• Marangu Route
  
• Machame Mweka Route
  
• Shira Mweka Route
  
• Rongai Route

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Marangu is the easiest and cheapest of all routes, being a fraction of the distance of most other routes and considerably less arduous except for the final summit attempt. There are three large permanent hut installations on the route, each sleeping hundreds of people in dormitories, so this is the only route on which you don't need to sleep in tents.

Disparagingly known as 'the Coca-Cola route', Marangu takes over 75% of the mountain traffic. Wildlife management professionals generally frown upon these volumes of traffic and its mass-market style distresses real mountain lovers for obvious reasons.

Marangu is generally undertaken by the casual visitor who has no real pre-conceived idea of what they are getting into, no real love or appreciation of the mountain wilderness and generally no other intention than to tick it off their list and be able to say that they have climbed Kili.

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Machame approaches the Shira Plateau from the South, joining up with the Shira route on the second day to cuts around below the Southern Walls to Barranco Camp, before heading on round to Barafu Camp for the summit attempt.

This route is widely considered one of the most varied and interesting on the mountain, but it does involve a fair bit of up and down as you traverse river valleys on the Southern Slopes, which can become quite soul destroying. You need to be fit to do this route.

As the truth about the tacky nature of the Marangu route has become more widely publicised over the last few years, Machame has become increasingly the route of choice for people who would prefer to spend a little bit more to enjoy the mountain. Over the last two years, Machame has become a little bit the victim of its own success, with the budget operators from Moshi bringing quite a high volume of traffic onto the route. Machame now carries around 30% of the total climbers on the mountain.

The facts that that climbers must camp in tents rather than stay in huts and that it is a much more difficult route than Marangu protects Machame from really uncomfortable volumes of climbers and it remains one of the best options on the mountain.

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Shira is generally the route taken by people wanting to spend a slightly longer time on the mountain. The route approaches across the little visited Shira Plateau and meets up with the Machame route on day two, from where the two routes run in together around the Southern slopes to Barranco Camp and on to Barafu Camp for the summit attempt. This route is wearing over the course of 6 or 7 days and is for the fitter climber.
 

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The second easiest route on the mountain after Marangu is the little used Rongai trail, which is the only route to approach the mountain from the Northeast. The first few days of this trek retain a tangible sense of wilderness, passing through some wild and beautiful scenery. On the final day and the descent the route is common to the Marangu, which has disadvantages in terms of traffic, but by then don't care any more and just want to get down and take a shower. There are probably only a dozen mountain teams who actually know this route well and for this reason it is not possible to offer an adequate medium specification Rongai climb.

We highly recommend this route on a 6 day itinerary.

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The most important aspect of any climb is without doubt the staff.

All climbs include a team of mountain guides, cooks and porters, typically ...
2 climbers : 1 guide, 1 assistant guide, 2 porters and 1 cook
3 climbers : 1 guide, 1 assistant guide, 4 porters and 1 cook
5 climbers : 1 guide, 2 assistant guide, 6 porters and 1 cook
The higher the specification, the greater the staff to climber ratio.

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It takes a unique and very special blend of characteristics to make a good mountain guide. They are a breed apart. When choosing a Kilimanjaro climb we consider the choice of mountain guide to be the single most important element. He's the one that's going to make a difference on the mountain.

- Must have at least 5 years experience on the mountain, which he will have gained whilst working first as a porter and then as an assistant guide

- Must know what to do in extreme conditions and under extreme circumstances. It is in an emergency situation that a good guide proves his worth.

- Must be an excellent man manager and motivator, capable of selecting and managing his whole team into an efficient and happy operation. The best teams are all employees, including the porters and always operate together as a unit. Lesser operators allow their leaders to hire casual staff at the bottom of the mountain.

- Must be a real people-person, capable of hitting it off with a wide range of climbers and able to generate a buzz and excitement within the group, whilst also commanding sufficient respect to ensure that his orders are always obeyed to the letter by customers

- Must have an absolute command of the language of the guests (usually English). Bad communication is the biggest single cause of catastrophe on the mountain.

It should be noted that even up to the level of high specification, the staff are likely to still be very 'African', although the best of them pick up from their customers a certain cool outdoor attitude. But he may ask you whether there are lions in London. Only at the very highest level do the African guides become truly Westernised in terms of the general conversation and mannerism.

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The best guide and assistant guide combination has two guys with complementary characters. One is the organised disciplinarian (usually the assistant) and the other is the social host and overseer (usually the head guide). The assistant will usually lead the climb, to stop you going to fast, whilst the leader will sweep up the rear, helping the back-markers and dealing with any problems with health or motivation. Both will usually be involved in the team briefings.

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The best operators employ full time teams of porters which work in tandem with a guide pairing. Needless to say, the guides will choose guys that they get along with, who are efficient and trustworthy and who go that extra mile for the customer (like running on ahead to grab the best camping spot). This means that on a good climb you are surrounded by a good bunch of guys who get on well, rather than a surly bunch of dubiously trustworthy casual hands.

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Cooks should be fully trained. The cook is so important. Bad stomachs will definitely ruin a climb. See the food and drink section below.

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Most decent operations will also have an additional staff of logistics, transport and equipment store staff, all of whom are essential to the slick running of a climb. There's nothing worse than getting down off the mountain, dying for a beer and finding that there's no car waiting to take you back.

Good and luxury operations are run usually by Westerners, who know how to run a proper company, with adequate staff training etc. They also know how to set the tonality of a good climb and how to run pre-climb briefings and that kind of thing.

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Tipping is not compulsory, but it is generally expected. It is the best way of ensuring that your staff go out of their way to look after you.

If you feel that you have received good service, then the following rates can be used as a guide ...
Guide : USD 10 per day per climber
Asst guide : USD 5 per day per climber
Cook : USD 4 per day per climber
Porter : USD 3 per day per climber

Some of the less reputable operators on the mountain do not even pay their porters, who are left to beg and hassle for tips to get money to feed their families. This kind of pressure can really ruin a climb.

At the other end of the market, the top guides and teams will be used to receiving many time this amount in tips.

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Park laws should be strictly adhered to and all the guides ensure that any non-biodegradable rubbish is cleared from the campsites and removed from the mountain for correct disposal. The cooks use kerosene stoves to avoid burning wood and together with the guides share a vested interest to keep the mountain clean. We do ask all our clients to adopt a responsible attitude to the mountain and limit their environmental impact.

All our teams have been personally vetted to ensure the highest standard of ecological awareness. Please pull them up if you see anyone doing anything that you think is not environmentally sensitive and report is back to us and the local management, no matter how trivial.

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Diet on the mountain can be critical and should be carefully controlled and monitored. A high liquid and carbohydrate content is essential, with fresh ingredients wherever possible. For larger groups and on longer climbs you should expect resupply with fresh food for the day before the summit. Meals must be easy to digest at altitude, with high energy content. Above all food must be appetising, as you are likely to lose your appetite at altitude.

At higher altitude alcohol, stimulants such as coffee and less digestibles like meat must be avoided. The meal before the summit attempt will probably be reduced down to little more than soup.

You should bring some of your favourite high-energy snacks for your daypack.

Boiled water should be provided each evening for your water bottles the next day.

It is essential to climb with a team that understands all this.