Climbing Kilimanjaro

The name Kilimanjaro comes from the union of two words of the Chagga people. Kilema means not easy, and Kyaro means to conquer. They put the two words together to say Kilema-Kyaro in Chagga, the hard mountain to conquer.

Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world, at 5895m.

We chose to do the Machame Route, which is also known as the ‘Whiskey’ route. It approaches Mount Kilimanjaro from the South, beginning with a short drive from Moshi to Machame Gate. The path leads hikers through the rain forest to Shira Plateau, where many of Kilimanjaro’s routes converge, then it turns East and traverses underneath Kilimanjaro’s Southern Ice Field, on a path known as the Southern Circuit before summiting from Barafu. The descent is made via the Mweka route. The Machame route can be done in 6 or 7 days, we chose to do it in 6. By 'we' I mean the group I was climbing Kilimanjaro with, a college group of 18-year-olds from a college in Hull.

Day 1: Machame Gate to Machame Camp

5,380ft – 9,350ft 11km / 7 miles 5-7 hours Habitat: Rain Forest

After arriving at Machame Gate, we were introduced to our guides and porters. The guides were responsible for ensuring that all of us stayed on the route and made it to each camp, our head guide was called Henry and he was very knowledgeable, having climbed Kilimanjaro more than 100 times! He told us that one of his ancestors was the that local accompanied Hans Meyer and Ludwig Purtscheller to become the first people to climb Kilimanjaro. We were sceptical, but their surnames did match, so perhaps it was true!

The porters were responsible for carrying our ‘big bags’, the tents, food and cooking equipment. This is when it began to sink in, that we were going to be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro! After two years of getting the money together and training, it almost didn’t seem real. We were all excited, (which soon wore off with exhaustion!) but we were also rather nervous too, especially after seeing the true scale of the mountain from the glimpse we had of it, through the clouds from the minibus window.

We had lunch at Machame Gate; fried chicken and chips, before setting off on the winding path which led us up the ridge until we reached Machame Camp. The first day was surprisingly difficult, with it being the longest in terms of hiking time and distance. The rain forest seemed endless with the view being solely trees, trees and more trees. But the path was easy and well-made, which made it less physically tiring.

After several hours hiking, the rainforest finally seemed to thin out as we approached Machame Camp. At this point, everyone was glad to hear voices other than our own, as we headed into the bustling camp, where our dinner was waiting for us. The food was well deserved and we all enjoyed it, but looking back now I do realise that the novelty of watery porridge and beef stew every day soon wears off. Everyone was encouraged to ‘push eating’, especially carbs, as they gave us the energy to complete the next day’s trek.

The one thing that no amount of training can prepare you for… is the toilets (or lack of!) A simple shack with a smelly hole in the ground within, sometimes it was better to find a bush or a big rock! There was a squatting technique to using these ‘toilets’, which was hard on our poor aching knees especially after a long day’s hike! It was strange how quickly we began to miss simple luxuries, like a flush toilet. The unfortunate combination of the toilet situation, plus the side effects from the Diamox medicine, (it made you need to pee ALL the time) meant that many people spent a lot of time squatting in those toilets, me being one of them! Another issue about the toilet is that you need to take your own toilet paper, so I would definitely recommend taking a roll or two, and don’t settle for baby wipes… They’re just not the same!

As for showers, they are non-existent. Every morning the porters bring a bowl of hot water to your tent so you can wash your hands and face. As for the rest of your body, baby wipes will do just fine. There's little point in being self-conscious about it, everyone smells just as bad...

One thing that surprised me was that very few got blisters on the first day, everyone seemed to have prepared very well, and if their feet were sore then they had kept their complaining to a minimum. No one moaned on day one, probably because it was the first day and let’s face it, if you’re complaining on day one then it’s only going to get worse so I think everyone was a bit afraid of being open about their feelings at first – despite how much they may have wanted to. However, by the time we had completed the trek, my feet were battered, bruised and blistered within an inch of their lives. Someone once told me that once you go up Kilimanjaro, your feet never recover... Brilliant.

Day 2: Machame Camp to Shira Cave Camp

9,350ft – 12,500ft 5km / 3 miles 4-6 hours Habitat: Heath

As we woke up and left our tents, we were given a fantastic view of the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, which we hadn’t noticed the night before. It looked so far away and so high up which was quite daunting, but we had to keep in mind that we still had 3 full days of hiking ahead of us until we reached the top.

We left Machame Camp early in the morning and began our hike to Shira Cave Camp. It was a 1km incline over 3km which meant that it was pretty steep. The path was rough and rocky, which found us scrambling at some points throughout the day, slowing us down massively and making walking very difficult, but the views we got were worth the struggle. Already being above the clouds, we could see for miles! Even Mount Meru made an appearance behind us, Mount Meru is the second-highest mountain in Tanzania and is located 70km from Kilimanjaro.

After arriving on a small plateau, it was time for lunch! We had completed the majority of the journey for that day, with only one final cliff to tackle before we reached Shira Cave Camp. The food on the trek was carried up by the porters, which meant that the quality of food went down every day, everyone also got bored of the same food by the end of it but for the first couple of days, it was enjoyable. Meals mainly consisted of; soup, stew, bread, pasta, meat and fruit to provide us with enough energy to complete the day’s hike.

Usually, when we arrived at a campsite or lunch spot, the mess tent and kitchen tent were already set up for us as the porters know the routes very well, and always got to our destination quite a long time before we did. The mess tent was a large green tent which was windproof and very cosy inside. The table was set when we arrived with plates, cutlery, hot water and even some flowers to decorate. The chairs were temperamental, frequently collapsing and rocking backwards, don’t say I didn’t warn you!

After lunch, we continued up until we came to the Shira Cave Camp. We arrived in the late afternoon which gave us a few hours to have a well-deserved nap and a chance to relax before dinner. The conversation was quite limited during the day, as everyone was exhausted and concentrating on talking rather than walking only made it worse. The guides, however, had no problem talking and singing all day, which seemed impossible to the rest of us! However, meal times and time at the campsite was the perfect opportunity for conversation. Mostly the talk was regarding the trip and how difficult or easy we’d found it so far. We didn’t really talk about home, I know that I was secretly quite homesick, especially being unable to contact my friends and family, any mention of back home would probably have upset people, we did admit that we missed our families but we never went into much detail about it.

Day 3: Shira Cave Camp to Barranco Camp via Lava Tower

­12,500ft – 13,044ft (via Lava Tower at 15,190ft) 10km / 6 miles 6-8 hours Habitat: Alpine Desert

Day 3 was acclimatisation day, which meant that we started and ended the day at a similar elevation, but the time spent at high altitude at the Lava Tower was very beneficial to reducing the effects of altitude sickness.

From Shira Cave Camp, we had a clear view of the two volcanic cones; Shira and Kibo. The Shira cone used to be the mountains highest point until an eruption thousands of years ago where the top was blown off, this left the Kibo cone as the highest point on Kilimanjaro. The third cone wasn't visible from Shira Cave Camp but could be seen from Base Camp.

The Kibo peak looked so close, however, we were still 2km below the summit. It almost looked easy, as if it could be tackled almost instantly until we remembered how tough it had been to reach this point, and how much tougher it was going to get as we reach the higher altitudes.

We set off from Shira Cave Camp heading East up a ridge, then Southeast up a constant incline to the Lava Tower which is a 300ft tall volcanic rock formation, where we stopped for lunch. After lunch, we headed down on a steep path through a valley to Barranco Camp. This path took us through the strange yet beautiful Senecio Forest, which is home to the Giant Groundsel, native only to high altitude areas in East Africa. They looked very alien-like and can reach the size of a telegraph pole …. I thought they looked like giant pineapples! The whole environment seemed very alien with strange plants and large rock formations everywhere, it looked completely different from boring old England(!). The pace was steady so most of us took the opportunity to take photos to remember this obscure place. The guides aim to keep the pace slow, as this helps to reduce the effects of the altitude. Throughout the hike, the term 'Pole, Pole' was used, which is Swahili for slowly. 

One of the strangest things about the trek so far is that, even in the rain forest, there are few animals. There were a few nosey monkeys at Machame Gate but hardly any animals were spotted since! The only animal that thrives at this altitude is a crow or two who tend to wait until we leave a spot, before checking to see if we’ve left any crumbs. The lack of animals made the mountain seem even more daunting as it was always so quiet and eerie.

From Barranco Camp, we had a breath-taking view of the top of Kilimanjaro in front of us, but we also had a view of the city of Moshi below, the city lights lit up, but it didn’t spoil the night sky which was full of stars, even shooting stars!

Day 4: Barranco Camp to Barafu Camp via Karanga Camp

13,044ft – 15,331ft (via Karanga Camp at 13,106ft) 9km / 5 miles 8-10 hours Habitat: Alpine Desert

Day 4 required an early start, as our first challenge was to tackle Barranco Wall! We aimed to reach the top of the wall before the porters as the path is very narrow and requires scrambling and getting stuck behind the porters would be time-consuming. We needed to get to Barafu Camp as quickly as possible as tonight was summit night (!), so the sooner we got to Barafu camp, the more time we had to rest and prepare ourselves.

We began the day by descending into a ravine to the base of the Great Barranco Wall, then we climbed the steep (nearly 900ft!) cliff. From the top of Barranco Wall, we then crossed a series of hills and valleys until we descended sharply into Karanga Valley, after one steep ascent, we arrived in Karanga Camp.

If we had been doing the 7-day trek then this would be our camp for the night, however, we were doing the 6-day trek, so for us this was only a lunch stop. After lunch, we left Karanga Camp and crossed a couple more valleys and hills until we arrived at Barafu Hut, known as base camp. We had such fantastic views of the summit from many different angles during that day. Kilimanjaro's third peak, Mawenzi, was also visible from this camp.

It was snowing when we arrived, but the guides assured us that this was a good sign as it means that there wouldn’t be much wind!

We arrived at 5 pm, immediately had dinner and went to sleep before we were woken up at 11:30 pm for a quick ‘carb-heavy' snack before our summit attempt. The conversations at dinner that night were quite minimal, as there was a sense of anxiety in the air. A few of us were suffering the effects of altitude sickness at this point, so peace and quiet was preferred at this point. Not many of us were excited, in fact, I don’t recall anyone describing their feelings as excited except the guides, who seemed to be enthusiastic about everything. Everyone had realised the massive challenge which was in front of us, but we could only wonder and imagine how hard it was going to be. There was little time for reflection as the main focus was on the summit, rather than the journey we had already completed.

Day 5: Barafu Camp to Uhuru Peak

15,331ft – 19,341ft 5km / 3 miles 7-8 hours Habitat: Artic

At midnight, we began our push to the summit. This was the most mentally and physically challenging part of the trek, with temperatures being about 15 degrees below freezing and the wind being intense. The first hour was the most difficult as it was the steepest, though it wasn’t as steep after that, the altitude took its toll on everyone. Despite the frequent breaks, it was an exhausting journey. The guides entertained us with their singing throughout the night, and of course, plenty of 'pole, pole' reminders!

You may wonder people only attempt the Kilimanjaro summit at night. The answer is quite simple … It’s easier and quicker! The ground at the higher altitudes is made of volcanic sand which freezes and solidifies at night, which makes it easier to walk on compared to during the day where it is just sand, and if you've ever struggled to run across a very sandy beach, you'll understand this.

As the temperatures plummeted below freezing, I was glad for the number of layers I had piled on. I was wearing sports leggings, thermal leggings, walking trousers, and waterproof trousers! On the top half, I was wearing a t-shirt, a thermal shirt, fleece, my down jacket and a waterproof coat. Needless to say, my body remained at a comfortable temperature for the majority of the climb. My feet were cold at times but the guides encouraged us to slide our feet around in our shoes, which created friction to help keep our feet warm. However, the coldest part of my body was my fingers. I was wearing two pairs of gloves and I had a heating pad in each hand but my fingers remained uncomfortably cold. This soon became my biggest worry when I was unable to curl my fingers to grip my walking poles because they had lost feeling completely. The two guides who were with me took my walking poles off me and gave me an extra pair of gloves and told me to put my hands in my pockets closest to my body. My fingers began to gain feeling but walking suddenly seemed impossible without walking poles but they assured me that we were very close to Stella Point. However one of my fingers didn’t warm up and when the guides began to show concern, I became very worried … my finger had gone past the stage of stinging from the cold, it was completely numb and had turned to an unhealthy white/blue colour …. at this point I was crying, not from the physical challenge of the summit, but because I thought I would need my finger amputating! However, this did take my mind off my legs hurting and it seemed like only minutes later until we came across Stella Point.

Stella Point signifies the top of the crater and we arrived just as the sun began to rise, but it’s not the highest point, so we only stopped there for a warm drink and a quick rest before the final push to Uhuru Peak. Uhuru is the Swahili word for Freedom. When Tanzania gained independence in 1961 the President sent some Tanzanian’s with the flag to the top of Kilimanjaro to show the people that they were now free and they could rule themselves. This is why Kilimanjaro is considered a very special mountain in Tanzania.

At Stella Point we didn’t feel as if we were that high up, as the ground around us was is the same height except for the massive crater below. It wasn’t until a plane flew overhead at cruising altitude that I realised how high we were – the plane seemed close enough to touch. I just wish I could have seen what their view of us would have been like!

I had a cup of tea and started to get feeling into my lifeless finger and as the sun rose, the temperature followed suit. The guides assured me that Uhuru Peak was only a short walk away and as I wasn’t then suffering from altitude sickness we made the push to the peak in just 15 minutes, rather than the usual 45. I had become so used to feeling sick and dizzy that it had become my norm and I found the final hike to the summit the easiest, even though the air was noticeably thinner, almost as if we needed to take two breaths instead of one.

I had been separated from my group some hours ago and after convincing myself that I was at the back, it turned out that I was the first one to the top! In fact, after getting all of my photos taken, it still took half an hour for the others to reach us – I think they were just as surprised as I was! As the rest of the party approached the summit there was a collective sigh of relief all round, smiles began to appear on people’s faces and we suddenly felt an increase in motivation as they saw the famous sign. Some people cried, it was almost disbelief that we’d all done it! I had half expected to turn the last corner only to see another cliff face to climb but fortunately, there wasn’t! After taking photos we sat down and took some time to reflect... I thought back to the first day which had shocked us all due to its difficulty, I thought back to the spectacular views on the second day and how I could still see Mount Meru now in the distance, I thought back to day 3 when we had felt sick at an altitude 5,000ft below us! I thought back to how impossible Barranco wall seemed at the time, yet now all the pain and struggling seemed to have instantly paid off.

We all hugged each other and congratulated each other, but with some people in the group were suffering from the altitude, we could only spend 10 minutes at the top as a group, so we left soon after taking the group photos.

Day 5: Uhuru Peak to Mweka Camp

19,341ft – 10,065ft 12km / 7 miles 4-6 hours Habitat: Alpine Desert / Rain Forest

From the summit, we then made our descent continuing straight down to the Mweka Camp, though we stopped briefly at Barafu Camp for a quick nap and lunch. This was where the group was reunited as we had descended at our own pace and understandably everyone was exhausted. The fact that we still had another 4 miles to Mweka Camp made it seem like it was a million miles away. As I settled down for a well-deserved 2-hour nap back at Barafu Camp, I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed in the back of my mind, disappointed that it was nearly over. It seemed strange that two years of training and saving up had come and gone so quickly, but I was also grinning uncontrollably at the fact I had done it … especially after doubting myself many times over the last few months despite taking the training and preparation seriously.

The path down is very rocky and quite hard on our knees, I would recommend using trekking poles! Mweka Camp is situated in the damp upper forest which reminded me more of a swamp than a rain forest! Once everyone got to camp, we enjoyed our last dinner on the mountain and a well-earned sleep.

Day 6: Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate

10,065ft – 5,380ft 10km / 6 miles 3-4 hours Habitat: Rain Forest

This was the last day on the mountain. The morning was filled with a celebration with our porters and guides, involving lots of singing and dancing to songs we had learnt throughout our trek.

After the celebrations ended, we continued the descent, trekking through the wet rainforest for a few hours to Mweka Gate, where we collected our Summit Certificates. We sat down on the steps below the sign and had a Kilimanjaro Beer to commemorate the occasion. It was sad that our journey had flown by so quickly and was now at an end, but everyone was smiling. We were smiling because we were so proud of this massive achievement, but we were also delighted knowing that we would never have to use those pit latrines again!

I couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel to have a nice warm shower and sleep in a proper bed rather than a camping mattress and a sleeping bag.

Our Kilimanjaro adventure was over.