Hiking Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa with its highest point at 5,895 m (19,340.5 ft) above sea level, is probably one of the hardest things I have ever done, and I’ve done quite a few intense hikes for many years before.
Considered to be the tallest standalone mountain in the world, Kilimanjaro may seem easy on paper, with the fastest route taking only 5 days to complete, but what they don’t tell you is its low success rate and the reason behind it.
Out of all the 8 trails you can climb on Kilimanjaro, the average success rate is only around 65% with the 5-day Marangu Route being the lowest at only 27%. The reason behind this is its notorious acclimatization profile.
In order to be on the right side of that stat, extensive preparation is required from the gear you pack to which route to pick to maximize your success rate, and you will find them all here in this hiking guide.
Within this guide, you will find all the information you need to plan a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the roof of Africa right from the beginning all the way to the summit of Kilimanjaro. I am going to take you through each process carefully and help guide you all the way up to the top of Kilimanjaro.
What Is The Best Route To Climb Kilimanjaro?
There are 8 hiking routes that you can take to get to the top of Kilimanjaro, all of which have varying beauty, difficulty, duration, and success rates. Your success could depend entirely on the hiking route you pick so it is best to learn a bit about these routes before deciding.
Marangu Route: This is the shortest route out of all 8 routes on Kilimanjaro with a minimum of only 5 days required. It’s not the prettiest or the hardest trail-wise, but it is the most popular due to how short it is.
This is the only route where you will be sleeping in mountain huts other than camping like all the other routes so you would need fewer porters which ultimately affect your Kilimanjaro tour prices making it the lowest option out of all.
That said, Marangu Route also has the lowest success rate out of all at only 27% due to poor acclimatization profile and I wouldn’t recommend it unless you really have no choice.
Machame Route (Recommended): This is one of the prettiest routes you can get to the top of Kilimanjaro. The trail will take you through some of the most beautiful parts of the mountain from forests to moorlands to volcanic deserts.
It has a great acclimatization profile with lots of nights staying at around 3000 m before summit day. The minimum day required is 6 but you can extend to 7 to increase your success rate.
For this trail, you will be camping every day and a lot more porters are required to carry your camping gear and food which is why it is more expensive than Marangu Trail. Still, I highly recommend you take this route over Marangu as it has a higher success rate and you will enjoy the view more.
Lemosho Route: This is one of the newest routes to the top of Kilimanjaro. It is considered to be the prettiest trail out of all with several opportunities for panoramic vistas from the side of the mountain.
It requires a minimum of 6 days but many people go for 8 days to maximize their success rate. It also has lower traffic than the other trails up until it merges with the Machame trail.
Out of all the trails, the Lemosho route strikes the best balance between beauty and traffic. It is a little more expensive however but if you don’t mind paying a premium for lower traffic, the Lemosho route is a great alternative to the Machame route.
Shira Route: This is similar to Lemosho Route with the trail approaching Kilimanjaro from the west but it takes quite a few different routes before merging with Machame Route. What makes this route a little different is its starting point.
On the Shira route, you are starting at 3,600 m which can be quite disorienting for those who just came from a lower elevation. Thankfully, the elevation doesn’t vary too much on the first few nights on the mountain so you will have plenty of time to acclimatize, just in time for summit day.
Since it is so similar to Lemosho Route but with more traffic, I would recommend you go with the Lemosho trail instead. Lemosho has a lower starting point and lower traffic overall and the tour should cost about the same.
Umbwe Route: This is considered to be one of the most difficult routes with absolutely no acclimatization profile at all. The route takes 6 days but it goes up quite steeply and in a short amount of time which is not ideal.
This route is only recommended for those who are strong hikers and like to challenge themselves by taking the harder route up Kilimanjaro. The success rate is abysmal for this trail so if you are do not want to be on the wrong side of the stat, stick with Machame or Lemosho Route.
Rongai Route: This is the only route that approaches the mountain from the north. The minimum day required is 6 days and the sceneries along the trail don’t vary as much as other trails which is why it isn’t a popular pick.
Most people who pick this route are hikers who are attempting to summit Kilimanjaro during the rainy seasons as the northern side of Kilimanjaro is known to receive less rain during that time. If you want to hike Kilimanjaro during the rainy seasons, this route is the way to go.
Northern Circuit Route: This is the newest route and it is considered to be the route with the highest success rate due to how long it is. The minimum day required to do the Northern Circuit Route is around 9 days with many nights at 4,000m so you are well acclimatized before summit day.
This route takes the same route as Lemosho in the beginning but instead of taking the southern route to the summit, the Northern Circuit takes the northern route, along the side of Kilimanjaro, and go up the trail on the east to Uhuru Peak instead of the south like the rest of the routes here.
There is a lot of ups and downs and it is quite long which makes this route one of the most expensive so I would only recommend this route if you have done a fair share of hiking before and you like to take a less-traveled route up the top of Africa.
Mweka Route: This route is only used for descending and no one is allowed to hike up this way unless you are locals working for the rangers. Machame, Umbwe, Shira, Northern Circuit, and Lemosho routes take this route down.
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