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National Park.
756 sq. km..
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The tallest mountain
in Africa (19,340 feet or 5895 meters))
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Actually a triple
volcano
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Oldest is
Shira, collapsed caldera
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Middle aged
is Mawenzi
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Youngest and
still dormant is Kibo
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Highest point,
Uhuru peak is on Kibo (5895 meters)
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The National Park
itself only includes the mountain area above 8,860
feet which make up the moor and highland areas,
the Shira Plateau and the two peaks of Kibo (the
"summit") and Mawenzi (16,894 feet).
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The area below
the Park is, however, gazetted as forest and game
reserve; five main vegetational zones rise from
the lower slopes in succession, each getting colder
and dryer with correspondingly fewer fauna populations.
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There are five
alternative "normal" routes to the summit.
Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro
(mount kilimanjaro)
Overview
Most routes up to the highests point in Africa are really
treks rather than climbs, i.e. there is no hitching
up to ropes, and no technical experience neccessary.
The biggest challenge on Kilimanjaro is generally the
altitude, and for those that take enough time to acclimatise,
almost everyone can make it with good route selection
and taking it easy.
Hoopoe operates very high quality
climbs: high specification equipment, excellent guides,
full backup, very ethical, superb crews and fully licienced.
Length of climb / trek
The fact is that this moutain can be climbed very quickly
(as little as 4 days), but the success rate is low.
The recommended ascent rate is 1000 feet
per day, which means an ideal length of
itinerary is 8 nights. For most people, however, we
find that 7 nights is enough time and many people attempt
Kili in 5 nights as well. The more nights and days taken
to summit the more successful and comfortable the climb
is likely to be.
Kilimanjaro Routes
There are 5 main routes: that tie
in with three main final ascent routes:
| Starting Route |
Ascent Route |
Normal # of days |
| Machame |
Stella Point |
6 / 7 (7 best) |
| Lemosho |
Stella Point / Western Breach* |
8 / 9 (8 or 9 great) |
| Umbwe |
Stella Point |
5 / 6 (6 best) |
| Rongai |
Gilman's Point |
6 |
| Marangu |
Gilman's Point |
5 / 6 (6 best) |
* The Western Breach has been closed
for the time being for safety reasons following the
death of climbers and crew in January 2006 after a severe
rockfall. If you are being offered this route then please
be very careful. Hoopoe's Lemosho
Western Breach departure has been changed to ascend
via Stella Point - a superb itienrary that sees all
of Kilimanjaro's great features in one hike!
Both the Machame and Lemosho routes
are highly recommended as they offer a scenically superb
route and can be done at a rate of ascent that is favourable
to helping acclimatise. For the time being ascending
via the Lemosho route remains one of the more exclusive
and interesting starting points, and is also a relatively
gradual ascent. Machame is tougher to start with and
then can join the same route as the Lemosho route (see
our maps for more). Marangu remains busy, but the rehabilitated
road is easy going - the last section to the crater
rim is as difficult as any and there is a longer walk
to Uhuru Peak once at Gilman's Point. See our routes
comparison chart for a detailed side by side lowdown.
| Starting Route |
Ascent Route |
Pros |
Cons |
| Machame |
Stella Point |
See all parts of the mountain, great flora / fauna
/ geology |
Can be busy. If done over 6 days then is hard.
Choose 7 days for best chance of ascent |
| Lemosho |
Stella Point / Western Breach* |
Best route for all factors. |
Can be longer than you want to spend on the moutain
and extra logistics makes this an expensive choice |
| Umbwe |
Stella Point |
Less people on 1st day |
Very hard 1st day, don't see much of the mountain |
| Rongai |
Gilman's Point |
Less people on way up |
Gilman's point furtherest from Uhuru when ascending,
sleeping next to huts on way down. Don't get to
see Shira, Barranco, Breach (western side of mountain) |
| Marangu |
Gilman's Point |
Relatively easy first 2 days |
Sleeping in communal huts, tough final ascent
(Gilman's furtherest from Uhuru peak on rim) |
Hoopoe operates a Lemosho
route 9day set departure and a 7
day Machame route set departure - the best climbs
at the best ascent rates with superb guides and crew.
Note - we can run private trips, the bigger the group
the lower the rate.
Kilimanjaro Guides
/ Porters
Read more about our guides
and crew here.
On Kilimanjaro it is
mandatory to ascend with a licensed guide. Most people
also have porters and camp crew to carry all equipment.
Normally around 3 or 4 porters per person is normal.
Porters are permited, as per park regulations, to carry
20kg of equipment + 5kg of their own clothes and gear.
Hoopoe's normal specification is very high end with
lots of fresh food and little luxuries like a toilet
tents amongst others and hence our porter to client
ratio is more like 6 porters to 1 guest.
Kilimanjaro
Geology Overview
Kilimanjaro is a pretty
complex volcano. In fact Kilimanjaro is termed a chemically
complex triple strato volcano and it went through a
series of changes as it was born, developed and became
less and less active. There were a number of different
types of rocks produced from basalts to phonolites to
rhomb porphyries.
The key thing to understand about
Kilimanjaro is that firstly it is actually 3 volcanoes
- Shira, Mawenzi and Kibo. Kibo is the highest of those
three volcanoes and Uhuru Peak is the summit (renamed
from Kaizer Wilheim Spitz Peak during independance).
Being called a 'strato volcano' means that Kilimanjaro
has a series of layers of ash and lava as the volcanoes
went through different eruptive phases. Stratos means
layer in Greek and susinctly describes the layering
of ash and lava.
The complete geological history of
Kilimanjaro is a very lengthy description but in brief
Kilimanjaro was born around 1 million or so years ago
as the crust of the earth became under tension and started
to crack and split - this is the Rift valley zone where
the African continent is literally pulling itself apart
and Kilimanjaro is a result of that very process! Initially
very running (low viscocity) lavas emerged, these were
basalts. Being very runny they formed a very gentle
sloping base for Kilimanjaro, easily seen today. As
the volcano matured different lavas started to emerge.
Having a cooler eruptive temperature the lavas were
different to the initial basalt lava flows and far less
runny, giving Kilimanjaro and Kibo especially, a much
steeper profile. The types of lavas that were emerging
we the likes of the small rectangle porphries (porphry
refers to foreign crystals in the lava - easily seen
when on the mountain) and rhomb porphyries. Phonilites
also emerged and those can easily been recognised at
places like the Lent group and near Barafu camp where
the clinky sounds can be heard as you walk over them
(phono refering to sound and lite - lithe refering to
stone).
Successive lava flows then continued
as Kibo continued to grow. Mawenzi and Shira both 'died'
and have both eroded heavily. Kibo remains 'dormant'.
These days the way Kilimanjaro actually looks and also
some of the rock types are also as a result of erosive
processes - glaciation being the most impressive and
destructive of these erosive forces. Other events such
as Lahars - huge rock and debris flows usually laden
with water, have also occured on Kilimanjaro and all
have left their mark locked in successive layers of
lava, glacial outwash and morraines and in some places
exposed for all to see.
This brief history was written by
Ake Lindstrom - comments and feedback on this info is
warmly welcomed. Links will also be posted for those
that want to find out more about Kilimanjaro and volcanoes
in East Africa.
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