6 Days Marangu Route Mount Kilimanjaro Climb

Projects

Overview

The Marangu Route is also known as the “Tourist Route” and the “Coca-Cola Route.” This is because Marangu is the most popular route on the mountain, and thus is considered “touristy”, and because the route is the only one that offers sleeping huts, which serve beverages like Coca-Cola, on the way.

Marangu is the easiest route on Mount Kilimanjaro. Its ascension profile is very gradual and steady, allowing for painless trekking for most of the way. However, due to its reputation as an easy route, Marangu is often selected by unprepared, unexperienced climbers. Correspondingly, only about 35% of the people actually make it to the top.

The trek begins in the south-east area of the mountain at Marangu Gate. The route takes five days minimum to complete, although six days is more practical and recommended. The sleeping huts along the route are structures with a dining hall and bunk beds, equipped with mattresses and pillows. The descent is done on the same path, contributing to Marangu’s overcrowded feeling. It is a cheaper climb as well, due to the close proximity of the gate to Moshi, the gateway town, and because it is a shorter route.

Scenically, Marangu is not a desirable route compared to all the other routes because it confines climbers to one area of the mountain, thus limiting the variety. However, Marangu has the best trail in the rainforest section of the trek. Of course, there are still great views of the Mawenzi and it’s equally spectacular for everyone at Uhuru.

Marangu is ideal for those who are not confident in their ability to hike over steeper paths. It’s also attractive for those who do not want to sleep in a tent. Marangu’s huts offer shelter and warmth against the weather so it is a decent choice when climbing during the rainy season. Marangu is for those who want to spend less on their climb, and do not mind crowds.

Itinerary

Africa’s highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, lies just three degrees south of the equator and is permanently snow-capped. It offers one of the best opportunities in the world to climb a peak at high altitude without the need for technical climbing ability. The trek takes you through well-defined altitudinal vegetation zones, from semi-arid scrub to dense cloud forest. It is open to any normally fit and healthy person prepared for physical exertion and exercise. Walking approximately 60 kilometres, you start from Marangu Gate (1,860m) and gradually ascend, with night stops, to reach Gillman’s Point (5,680m) and finally Uhuru Peak (5,896m), the actual summit.

DAY 1 – MANDARA HUT

This morning you drive (about 2 hours) through Kilimanjaro’s semi-tropical foothills to Marangu (1,372m), situated on the south-eastern side of the mountain. As you drive, there are usually some excellent views of the snow-capped peak. On arrival at Marangu gate, you meet your team of guides and porters, pick up any last minute supplies for the trek, and head to the entrance of Mount Kilimanjaro National Park to register for the climb. From the cluster of buildings at the gate it is some four to five hours walk through patches of coffee plantation and dense rainforest to Mandara Hut. The forest teems with brightly-coloured bird life, colobus and other varieties of monkey. The flora includes numerous mosses, lichens and flowers, as well as delicate orchids. If the skies are clear you may have fine views over the town of Moshi lying at the edge of the plain far below.

Mandara Hut is a collection of basic, A-frame mountain huts with bunk beds – quite adequate for your needs – where you inevitably meet up with fellow trekkers who are bent on the same goal.
Overnight stay Mandara Hut – 1 night (Brekfast, Lunch and Dinner).

DAY 2 – HOROMBO HUT (3,720m)
Your second day on the mountain starts with a steep climb through the last swathe of rainforest, though this soon gives way to rolling alpine meadow dotted with giant heather. Once you leave the forest canopy, Kilimanjaro’s twin peaks – snowcovered Kibo and rocky Mawenzi – lie directly ahead, dominating the skyline. Further on you cross a zone of open heath with stunted vegetation, before emerging onto bleak moorland. Today you gain roughly 1,000m in altitude, and your walk can take anything from five to seven hours – depending on your pace. Tonight you stay at Horombo Huts – another collection of buildings similar in style to those at Mandara – which offer shelter and basic accommodation to those on the mountain.
Overnight stay at Horombo Hut (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner).

DAY 3 – HOROMBO HUT
A day here provides an opportunity for you to acclimatise gradually to the altitude. Statistics show that an acclimatisation day like this effectively doubles the chance of making it to the summit, so this time is well spent! The day is not exactly wasted as there are a few walks you can make in the vicinity of the hut – the most popular of which is to the base of Mawenzi Peak, the dramatic eastern summit of Kili. This walk takes four to five hours (round trip), and will get you to an altitude of 4,600m before you return to the hut – this will stand you in good stead later on.
Overnight stay at Horombo Hut (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner).

DAY 4 – KIBO HUT (4,705m)
The landscape becomes progressively more rocky and rugged as you leave the ?everlasting flowers? and other bizarre alpine plants behind. Giant
groundsels and lobelias appear in the sparse moorland. Today’s trail up to Kibo will again take anything between five and seven hours. Skirting
Mawenzi Peak, you pass ?Last Water? then cross a stark, almost lunar landscape onto “The Saddle”, a broad tundra desert between the two peaks of
Mawenzi and Kibo. From here you start to get fantastic views of the upper reaches of the mountain before arriving at Kibo Hut (4,705m), a dry-stone-walled hut with dormitories and limited facilities. Tonight you prepare for tomorrow’s final assault – THE SUMMIT – re-packing to leave any non-essential items with the porters; you need to summon all your energy to get to the summit so there’s absolutely no point in carrying anything you don’t need! An early night is imperative as you must make a midnight start in order to reach the summit in the morning before the cloud cover settles, and then have time to get back down to the hut.
Overnight stay at Kibo Hut for 1 night (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner)

DAY 5 – UHURU PEAK (5,896m)
This is a long and demanding day! The guides wake you soon after midnight and you start out in darkness, zigzagging up a long scree slope by the light of your torch in the extreme cold. At this time of day the scree is still frozen – which makes it easier to walk on! After roughly two hours you should reach Hans Meyer’s Cave – named after the German geologist who made the first successful ascent in 1889 – where he found the remains of a frozen leopard. The gradient gets steeper and three hours on (this is the hardest stretch of the ascent!) you should reach the crater rim at Johanne?s Notch. From here it’s a short scramble to Gillman’s Point (5,685m) in time for dawn. Your reward is the dramatic spectacle of the sun rising over the ice fields and craggy peaks of Mawenzi – the profusion of colors and shapes make all the suffering seem worthwhile! For those who still have the energy and drive, it takes another couple of hours along the crater rim to reach Uhuru (Freedom) Peak (5,896m). Your descent (approx 3 hours) retraces the route back down past Kibo Hut to Horombo Hut for a well-deserved rest.
Overnight stay at Horombo Hut for 1 night (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner)

DAY 6 – Back to ARUSHA.
The pace quickens as you continue your triumphant way back down across alpine meadow and past Mandara Hut through the rainforest to Marangu Gate where you board the vehicle for the journey back to Arusha. Breakfast and Lunch are included in this day.

Includes & Excludes

Items included:

  • Kilimanjaro trekking according to the itinerary
  • Professional, English-speaking guide
  • Mountain crew (cook & porters)
  • Emergency Evacuation Cover
  • Overnight stays in hotels and mountain huts
  • Meals according to the itinerary
  • Drinking water
  • All national park fees
  • All mentioned transfers
  • Value Added Tax by Tanzania Revenue Authority

Items excluded:

  • Sleeping bag
  • Flights
  • Alcoholic and soft drinks
  • Visa fees
  • Gratuities or tips for safari Mountain crew
  • Personal spending money for souvenirs etc.
  • Travel insurance