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Also known as the Coca Cola Route , Marangu is the easiest, cheapest and by far the most popular route to the summit of Kilimanjaro. Although there is a high amount of hiker traffic, this is a fun and comfortable route.
Although the Marangu Route can be accomplished in 5 days by any normal fit person - we recommend taking the 6 day route so that you can acclimatise properly on Day 4 to increase your chances of making the summit. It would be unwise to think that everyone makes the summit because this is the easiest route , in fact this route has the highest rate of failure. You could put this down to the high number of bad operators on this route, or due to bad personal preparation on the part of the hiker who thinks that this route is nothing more than a walk in the park.
A nice feature on the Marangu route is that all accommodation is in huts , this is a much softer option than sleeping in tents which is the only option you will have on the other routes. You will sleep in bunk beds with fairly comfortable mattresses. Other creature comforts such as mineral water, soft drinks, chocolates and beers are sold at all the camps on this route.
Under the leadership of your guide, all your equipment and supplies are carried for you by a team of porters and a cook will prepare all your meals. All you will need to carry will be your daypack items such as drinking water, your lunch pack and some additional clothing.
Today you will depart from Johannesburg International Airport arriving at Kilimanjaro International Airport . You will be met by our representative and transferred to you hotel in Moshi where you will relax before departing on your Kili climb tomorrow.
After breakfast you will be transferred from Moshi to Marangu Gate - once you reach the gate, you will sign the register at the Park office and make your final preparations for the climb. Your team of porters will arrange and load their packs, containing the food, water, cooking gas and most of your equipment. It is important to have all your daypack items such as drinking water, a lunch pack and extra clothing with you and not with the porters, as they will ascend a lot quicker than your group.
When you leave the Park gate you will take a cleared ridge trail through the cultivation zone, where you will see how local farmers manage and produce their goods on the side of the mountain, before you enter the rain forest. This is possibly the most beautiful part of your climb, surrounded by lush forest and sometimes thick clouds.
After stopping for lunch and a rest, you will head off to Mandara Hut where you will stay overnight. This camp consists of a group of wooden A-framed huts situated in a forest clearing, with each hut sleeping 6 - 8 hikers in bunk beds. All the huts are equipped with solar generated lighting and this camp has a total capacity of 60 hikers. Spring water is piped into the camp and you will find flush toilets behind the main hut.
Early in the morning you will begin your ascent again - from Mandara hut the trail passes through a short stretch of forest, and then heads around the base of the Maundi Crater where you will leave the rain forest and enter the moorland zone.
On the way, we recommend that you take a short detour up to the rim of the Maundi Crater , from here you see the impressive Kibo Crater, and on a clear day you will also be able to see the glaciers of Kibo ,this is a great photographic opportunity, so get your camera ready.
Keep your camera handy because you will encounter some of Kilimanjaro's most spectacular and strange plants in the open moorland - with giant lobelia and groundsel growing to heights of 3 metres and 5 metres respectively!
Later in the afternoon you will reach the Horombo hut for your next overnight stay, where you will have hot washing water, an evening meal prepared by your cook. Your hut will be comfortable enough to ensure a good nights rest. Temperatures during the night will be around freezing point.
Today is acclimatisation day so you will stay based at Horombo hut. From here we recommend taking the hike past Zebra Rocks to Mawenzi hut , this hike forms an important part of the acclimatisation process. The hike will take you 3 hours on the ascent, and a further 1 hours for the descent back to camp. Remember to keep your water intake levels up, and not too rush this hike.
Horombo hut is actually a village of huts with double the capacity of Mandara camp , both ascending and descending hikers meet here with all the guides, porters and cooks on their respective routes - so this camp is normally full and buzzes with activity and excitement.
All meals for the day are provided at Horombo hut. Tonight you will have a good opportunity to get to bed early for a good night's sleep , make the most of it because you will need all the energy you can get for the next couple of days.
Today's Route: Horombo hut , Zebra hut , Mawenzi hut
Today the climb gets a little more difficult with your walk up to Kibo hut, which is approximately 4,700m. The oxygen at these altitudes begins to thin out considerably and you will start to feel it. The climb today will be about 5 - 7 hours and takes you through the last part of the Moorland and into the highlands desert. This a barren area of extreme conditions, with temperatures at night sometimes dropping to below freezing point and daytime temperatures being relatively high. At Kibo hut, you will rest, have dinner and try to have a really good night's rest.
After breakfast you now continue your ascent From Horombo into the Alpine desert habitat, taking one of the two trails to the "Saddle", located between the peaks of Mawenzi and Kibo.
The upper route will look familiar to you if you took the hike to Mawenzi hut yesterday. Rather stick to the lower route which is much easier and has the added benefit of taking you past the last watering point. Unless you are willing to buy mineral water at Kibo hut, you should stock up with all the water you will need - the next watering point will be at Horombo hut when you return there on your descent the night after next. Once again remember to take it slowly and drink enough water.
After lunch you will reach Horombo hut, a large stone house which can comfortably sleep 60 hikers in bunk beds , remember there is no water supply at this camp, although you can buy mineral water and soft drinks at the camp office. There are toilet facilities behind the hut.
Spend time this afternoon preparing your equipment as you will be making your final ascent tonight , you will need your ski-stick and extra thermal clothing for your summit bid also ensure that your headlamp and camera batteries are in order and make sure you have spare sets of batteries available as well. Carry your water in a thermal flask otherwise it will freeze later.
Make sure you are in bed by 19h00 - you will need all the sleep you can get before your very early wake up call in only 4 hours time.
Today will by far be your toughest day, you will rise and hopefully shine at around 23h30, and after some tea and biscuits you head off into the cold night up a rocky path towards to the Hans Meyer Cave at 5150 metres , you may take a short rest here before continuing your ascent up to Gillman's point at 5 680 metres. Probably the most demanding section of the entire route as it is very steep and stony ,slowly and carefully here.
From Gillmans Point, you will more than likely be walking through snow for the next 2 hours, when you will finally reach the summit of Uhuru Peak at 5895 metres. Well done ,you have conquered Kilimanjaro, the highest freestanding mountain in the world!
Don't get too relaxed and spend too much time on the summit, even if the weather is good. Cold and fatigue will set in quickly and you may find it very difficult to get started again. So spend a little time to enjoy the fact that you have conquered Kilimanjaro, get the camera out and take some pictures, then it will be best that you get moving again , it's a long way down!
The first part of your descent to Kibo hut will take almost another 3 hours. After a short rest you will begin the next part of your descent , it will take another 3 hours of hiking to get to Horombo hut where you will spend the night. Later you can enjoy your last dinner on the mountain. You will no doubt have a good sleep, feeling exhilarated and proud of your achievement.
Today's Route: Kibo hut - Uhuru Peak - Horombo hut
After an early and well-deserved breakfast, you continue your descent passing the Mandara hut, down to the Marangu gate , this will take the best part of 6 hours.
At Marangu gate you sign your name and details in a register. To make your achievement official, you will receive a summit certificate. If you reached Gillman's Point you will be presented with a green certificate, and if you made it all the way to Uhuru Peak you will have earned yourself a gold certificate.
You will then take a road transfer back to Moshi where you will be welcomed back to your hotel. Take some time out for a long hot shower, and indulge in a drink or three to celebrate before getting a decent night's rest in a comfortable bed.
After breakfast you will be transferred back to Kilimanjaro International Airport to catch your flight back home to Johannesburg .
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2 Travellers Comments
Written by Fiona
Marangu
It would be a pleasure to give you some feedback.
The overall experience was phenomenal - from booking, to hotel accomodation, to porters and guides and back again!
The Springlands Hotel was surprisingly good - great accomodation and wholesome food. The guides and porters were outstanding - as a young femal travelling on my own I felt safe and well cared for - the team genuinely wanted me to suceed and kept me motivated.
Future Recommendations As I was the only person in the group tipping was very expensive - if possible when there are single parties, perhaps try and group people together so they can split the costs of the tips.
The 10 hour stopover in nairobi was tough! Apparently there was no earlier flight to JHB which is fine, but then in future, maybe try to book the later flight from Kili to Nairobi so the wait in the airport is not so long.
But all in all, a truly phenomenal experience. Thank you African Encounters,
Just a bit of feedback and maybe a few points that may be of any value for future bookings.
First and utmost we were successful and completed the route up to Uhuru peak and back.
POINTS PRIOR TO DEPARTURE TO KILIMANJARO Neo you were excellent with the changes we had to make to replace Bertus with Martie, thank you for that to you and all involved at African Encounters. It was on very short notice and was handled very professionally.
BOOKINGS VIA KENIA AIRWAYS On arrival at Kilimanjaro airport none of our kit arrived for collection. It was quite a predicament as we were suppose to start early the next morning with our hike! Many thanks here to the ground handler that immediately took over the problem from us and handled it from there on.
I do not really think any of the airlines can be blamed (Kenia/Precision air), however I think that the way the luggage was booked by the operator from Kenia airways at OR Tambo created the problem. On the other hand Nairobi International is a nightmare, it could have gone wrong there??
Important: I think in future ask your clients to laminate an A4 size note to tag their luggage with the end destination and mark it as URGENT with the start date of their hike, and important to indicate the END DESTINATION as Springfields Hotel Moshi/Kilimanjaro, Ground handler with contact numbers of the tour operator.
GROUND HANDLER IN TANZANIA These people are professional, I can only give positive feedback towards them and their team. Although we started off late with our hike at 14:00 only, we did manage to reach Mandara hut with comfort (Take note with only two sets of kit). One of our bags were still gone, GROUND HANDLER followed it up daily and we received feedback via our guide. We managed to continue for three days without the lost kit and on the end of the third day at Horombu hut we received the lost kit via the ground handler with a porter that walked all the way to Horombo in one single day!
GUIDES/PORTERS (ground handler) There was no single problem that we encountered with this magnificent team. We were woken up each morning with coffee, followed by breakfast and as the day progressed and we hiked we was surprised with a well prepared lunch! On arrival each day at our end destination we received warm water to wash with, followed by a treat with popcorn served with warm tea or coffee. Every day ended with a well prepared supper and a full briefing of the next day by the guide.
The final accent to Uhuru peak we were accompanied by our guide and the assistant guide (Fernando and Reginald), if it was not for them we would not have made it to our objective. We realized the importance of listening to your guide on the final accent!
ACCLAMATIZATION DAY Neo I seriously think that you need to understand the aim of this day and how important it is to encourage any client to make use of this day. Since the early e-mails I could deduct that you do not understand when, where and the reason for this day (Well we all learn, and I want to help you). Due to the great height of Kilimanjaro 5895m above sea level, and we coming from Johannesburg and exercised at Suikerbosrand at maximum height of 1800m above sea level our lungs will have difficulty to breathe properly above 3000m above sea level. That day is utilized on the Marangu route at Horombu hut at 3720m above sea level and provide your body the opportunity to adapt and accept breathing at that height. This will allow your body to adapt better to the even higher heights still to follow. Your guide will also take you on that specific day for a short walk up to 4000m above sea level to even prepare you better.
TO SUM IT ALL UP O, also, toilet paper at least three rolls per person for the six days is important.
I think that African Encounters and the ground handler is a win-win situation, I recommend however that from the beginning African Encounters must be able to give the name of the Hotel and contact numbers to allow the client to mark his/her luggage properly to avoid the devil to sit on it at Nairobi ha ha.
I will in future definitely highly recommend African Encounters and the ground handler. Thank you to both of you companies, it was a great experience!!
Written by Fiona 