Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Next adventure: Kilimanjaro


A few months ago I met a girl from NY that told me about the great adventure of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. I got interested on the topic, since she mentioned that it was the best adventure of her life, and I would like to share with you my findings. Who knows, you might be interested in joining me on my next adventure!

Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa, the highest 'walkable' mountain in the world, but as incredible as it sounds,
it doesn't require neither technical skills nor climbing experience; anybody in a good health and in a good physical shape can climb it.

There are 6 routes to choose from:

Marangu Route:

This route has a moderate slope, making it less difficult to climb. It is the most popular way up Kilimanjaro, and is the only route with emergency evacuation service. Also, it is the only route with huts, having dormitory and dining rooms.

Machame Route:

This is the second most popular route, and it is considered the most beautiful route up Kilimanjaro.The different kinds of vegetation found along the route make it the most scenery route.


Western Breach Route:

This is the most difficult route up Kilimanjaro. With gradual ascend through the forest you emerge to see wide views of the moorland on Shira plateau, Kibo and Western breach.


UMBWE Route:

This is the steepest route up or down Kilimanjaro, thus those few people who use this route do use this route to descend rather than ascending. The route also offers scenery.


Lemosho Route:

This is another difficult route up Kilimanjaro with more day of acclimatization.Lemosho route needs you to be accompanied by armed ranger as you might encounter wild buffalo/ elephant on your first two days of trekking.


Rongai Route:

The Rongai route is much drier than the southern routes. Elephants and colubus monkeys can be found on the way. As the ascent continues, climbers can enjoy spectacular views over the immense Masai plains of Kenya.

For any of the routes you need between 7 to 8 days to get to the peak, it's just a decision of how fit you are and if you want to take the easy or the tough route. In my case, I prefer the Machami route because it's not the easiest but is not the toughest either and also, it's considered to be the most beautiful one.

Now I have a plan for next year's vacation!

4 comments:

  1. This definitely would be a great adventure! I would love to do it too!
    How are you training for it?

    I recently hiked San Gorgonio (11,500 feet) and it was tough!

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  2. All 6 routes look challenging, exciting and alluring! Which one would you take? What's the hightest "walkable" peak on Kilimanjaro?

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  3. wow! You gathered a big chunk of info. Looks like you are pretty serious about it :-)

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  4. Definitely. The best operators to climb Kilimanjaro simply do not have the best safety record, they also have the best customer success.

    Lemosho route

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