Climb the “Roof of Africa”, on Mt Kilimanjaro, trek with the Maasai through their ancestral land or explore the unique flora and fauna of the untouched rainforests. Trekking is the best way to experience the wonders of the stunning mountainous areas of Tanzania and to absorb the wonderful nature and beautiful views.
Whether you set foot on the summits of Tanzania’s highest mountains or just walk through the lush forests on the lower slopes for a few hours – trekking in this country offers something for everyone. Volcanoes, high plateaus and mountain ranges, lakes and craters offer superb possibilities for short hikes or long treks.
Six main routes are leading up the slopes of Kilimanjaro. These are (running anti-clockwise, beginning with the north-westernmost trail): the little-used Shira Route, the Lemosho Route, Machame Route, Umbwe Route, Marangu Route and, running from the north-east, the Rongai (aka Loitokitok) Route.
MARANGU ROUTE
This is the most common and firstborn route. It’s comparatively quick and is the straightest way to the peak, with a stable rate of climb. Frequently marangu route stated to as the “Coca Cola Route” because in the previous soft drinks was usually available at each hut!
MACHAME ROUTE
The Machame route gives you the greatest chance to make it to the summit (Uhuru Peak) and is a good all-rounder regarding value for money and length of the climb. Machame route is also a chiefly scenic route as you ascend from the western side of Mount Kilimanjaro and run down the south face
RONGAI ROUTE
Rongai route starting from the north-eastern side of the Mount Kilimanjaro near the Kenyan border, the rongai route rises above the Amboseli plains and approach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro west of the Mawenzi peak.
UMBWE ROUTE
The Umbwe route is a really beautiful route and is one of the least used routes up Kilimanjaro. This is shorter than the other camping routes and achieves this by a couple of very steep climbs for the first 2 days, after which it joins the same path as the Machame Route.
LEMOSHO ROUTE
The trek by Kilimanjaro the Lemosho route starts above the Londorosi Gate, already at an altitude of 2360 meters. This route takes longer, is often considered to be the most scenically wide-ranging, and as a newer route, it experiences lower numbers of trekkers. More time is consumed in the atmospheric rainforest and the extra time spent acclimatizing means a high success rate in reaching the summit.