"Climbing Kilimanjaro by the Machame Route" Kilimanjaro National Park by VA_Dave

Kilimanjaro National Park Travel Guide: 168 reviews and 299 photos

Kilimanjaro view from 3rd Machame camp - Kilimanjaro National Park

Getting Started

We did the 6-day Marangu route on Kili and we booked our guides through the <a href="http://www.maranguhotel.com">Hotel Marangu</a>. Great folks. They have a reputation of getting 75% of their climbers to the top - not the typical 33%. Our chief guide was Joachim, and Paul was our assistant guide. Our strategy for combatting altitude sickness was 2 ibuprofin every 4 hours and 1/2 a diamox tablet twice a day. That allowed me to reach the summit with no problems other than fatigue.
The first 4 days are 6 hour hikes with magnificant views. On the first day you hike through a rain forrest. The second day takes you though a ghostly forrsts with moss laden scrub trees. Since late November is off season, and we just about had the mountain to ourselves!

Night climbing

Joachim at midnight on the summit day

Here is my guide Joachim at about midnight on the final 6 hour climb to the summit. It was about 0 F with a strong wind blowing so I had on about 4 layers of clothes. And I was still cold! We started at 11:45pm, and reached the rim at about 5:45am just in time for sunrise. It took another hour to get to the true summit (19k ft/6k m). I beat a bunch of 20 somethings to the rim by starting about 30 minutes earlier then they did. Pretty good at age 59!

After the climb

My Kilimanjaro guide Jaochim and I

Here are Joachim and I at about 9am after coming down from the peak. I was feeling pretty good at this point, but there was still about 3 hours of downclimbing to the final camp. The 5th day is pretty long with about 7 hours of ascent and 5 hours of descent! My legs were really hurting by the time I got to the final camp. The downclimb was much worse than the climb. The last day was an easy 3 hour hike to the park gate.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Magnificant views: right out of Lord of the Rings
Cons:Expensive and the downclimb is a killer on your legs!
In a nutshell:Climb of a lifetime

Last visit to Kilimanjaro National Park: Nov 2003
Intro Updated Feb 2, 2004
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Reviews (2)

Chameleon in Tanzania - Kilimanjaro National Park

Chameleons are regarded as evil Local Customs (1)

You can find old world chameleons in the rain forest at the begining and end of the Kilimanjoro climb. They can move... more travel advice

Cloud forrest on 2nd day on Kili - Kilimanjaro National Park

Avoiding Altitude Sickness Warnings Or Dangers (1)

Kilimanjaro is over 19k ft (6km) high so altitude sickness is quite common. It can range from headaches and nausea to... more travel advice

Comments (9)

goingsolo Jun 27, 2007 at 3:26 PM Report Abuse

Congratulations! Kili is high on our list. I tried Excedrin last time and it didn't work so well. Maybe I'll try Ibu's. Thanks for the tip. Hope you make it to Whitney someday soon. :)
Homanded Jun 16, 2007 at 5:32 AM Report Abuse

Amazing pages. You are da man! You've lived some amazing adventures. Keep on going. Homer
Hopkid Jan 21, 2007 at 3:30 PM Report Abuse

After doing Whitney I starting having doubts about being able to do Kili. But doing a climb in 6 days versus 1 would certainly be more manageable. I hope to do Kili one day in the future! Great page!
hotlipz Mar 6, 2006 at 3:01 PM Report Abuse

Fantastic site and amazing achievements!! I have only hiked in the foothills of Kili and I could hardly breath - i dont know how you do it!
NEILHALLIDYA Oct 2, 2005 at 3:34 AM Report Abuse

Nice page. You show the variety of the clmb in a very concise fashion. The cloud forest pic brings back memories of my time in Uganda - Thanks.
Geisha_Girl Aug 20, 2005 at 5:09 PM Report Abuse

Great write-up! Although just a few, your tips are most helpful. I'm planning to conquer Kili (thru Marangu) next and must prepare mentally and physically. Your advice on the ibuprofin is well noted! Would love to hear more about your experience there...
Yogues May 13, 2005 at 11:24 AM Report Abuse

Dave - Great pictures of Kili. I wanted to get there when I was in Kenya but never made it... next time. (greetings from down the road in Arlington)
XenoHumph Jun 17, 2004 at 9:48 AM Report Abuse

There are advantages in being a serious mountain climber like you; you must definitely drop the crowds and go to amazing places nobody else reaches! Cool page!
jackfruit Feb 1, 2004 at 12:56 PM Report Abuse

Nice page, Dave! Congrats on your climb!