What is the Best Route for Hiking Mount Kilimanjaro?

What is the Best Route for Hiking Mount Kilimanjaro? Which route is best for hiking or climbing Mount Kilimanjaro? It is one of the most frequently asked questions by guests who want to try a Tanzania hiking safari. Tanzania is well-known for its wildlife safaris, but it is also famous for its hiking tourism safaris, with two magnificent and demanding mountains that offer the ultimate hiking safari experience. Tanzania is home to Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, and Mount Meru, Africa’s fifth highest peak, both of which provide hiking challenges. A Kilimanjaro climb to the summiting point, Uhuru Peak, has about seven or eight approved routes. Each has its own set of benefits and cons. To climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s and the world’s highest freestanding peak, you don’t need to be a rock climber, exceptionally fit, supremely well-equipped, or psychologically inexhaustible, regardless of which route you take.

Celebrities, athletes, and billionaires have all failed the course, while pensioners and children have passed. Determination, a positive attitude, optimistic impressions, and positive thinking are the most important factors/tool in achieving success and avoiding failure on this Africa’s tallest peak. “Pole, pole,” your hiking guide’s oft-repeated advice, is Kiswahili for “slowly, slowly,” implying that you should keep a leisurely hiking pace to conserve energy and increase your chances of reaching the top. Go at your own pace and take in the excitement of the adventure as well as the breathtaking scenery. Don’t miss out on this incredible top-of-the-world wilderness adventure. Take your time, breathe deeply, and remember your Tanzanian mountain holiday accomplishment for the rest of your life.

The best way to acclimate is to go on a practice hike, such as on nearby Mount Meru, which is a terrific experience in and of itself and will ensure you get the most out of your later Kilimanjaro hiking vacation. Whatever your reason for climbing the dazzling mountain, whether you reach the summit or not, nothing can diminish the beauty of the experience, the excitement of alpine air and scenery, the camaraderie, and the self-confidence you have gained.

To improve your chances of summiting Mount Kilimanjaro, you must be aware of the majority of the crucial aspects and factors that make mountaineering easier or more difficult. One of the things you should know and consider is what the ideal/perfect/best route is for trekking Mount Kilimanjaro. Remember that the ideal/best route depends on a variety of circumstances, and choosing the best route is a difficult task for most people. Consider the landscape, difficulty, foot traffic, and altitude acclimatization aspects of the route when choosing the ideal Kilimanjaro route for you.

Some visitors believe that the best route for hiking Mount Kilimanjaro is the easiest one, while others believe that the best route is the one with the most magnificent attractions and views. Both are viable options, but keep in mind that the simplest route to hike the mountain may lack the most stunning attractions and views of the peak, while the most scenic route may be tough. In this post, we’ll go through the finest/best routes for hiking Mount Kilimanjaro and why they’re the greatest, so you’ll know which route to choose when you need to climb this Africa’s tallest mountain-Kilimanjaro.

  1. Lemosho route

This is one of the greatest and best routes for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and, along with the Rongai route, is considered the simplest route. The Lemosho Route is widely regarded as the most beautiful of all the Kilimanjaro walking pathways. It is a remote 70-kilometer trail that runs from Londorossi Gate in the west to Barranco in the south and then east to Barafu via Karanga Valley in the east, passing through dense tropical forest still alive with life and finally across the magnificent Shira Plateau heathland.

What is the Best Route for Hiking Mount Kilimanjaro?
Lemosho Route

The Lemosho Route offers lots of privacy in the early days since it sees significantly less traffic than the Machame and Marangu routes. This enhances an already stunning trekking journey by giving you the impression that you have the mountain to yourself at times. However, the Lemosho road eventually combines with the Machame route, and traffic levels begin to rise. However, if you’re seeking a little peace and quiet while climbing, this is a terrific alternative.

It is the best route for hiking Mount Kilimanjaro, but it is not as well-known as the Marangu or Machame routes. It is one of the newer routes on the mountain, and it shares a portion of the same path as the Machame route, but it has a few advantages over that route that make it worth considering, especially for travelers with extra time. Hikers will travel through a lovely rain forest, with the possibility of seeing wildlife along the way. Blue monkeys, small lizards, and a variety of birds, as well as black and white colobus monkeys, are common sights in the woodlands under this route. The path then heads out onto the Shira Plateau, crossing it from west to east over reasonably level and easy terrain. The Lemosho path is regarded as the best route up Mount Kilimanjaro because it is one of the easiest routes to summit, provides the best scenery of the mountain and down the mountain, and also provides a range of things to observe, such as wild animals, while climbing the mountain.

  1. The Rongai route

This is not only another excellent route for trekking Mount Kilimanjaro, but it is also the simplest, along with the Lemosho route. The only path that approaches Kilimanjaro from the north, close to the Kenyan border is this route. Rongai has a modest volume of visitors, despite its growing appeal among climbers. It is the preferred route for those looking for a less crowded option to the Marangu route, those seeking a more remote trip, and those climbing during the wet season (the north side receives less precipitation). A minimum of six days is required for this journey, with seven days being recommended. Although the scenery on the Rongai route is not as varied as on the northern circuit or the Lemosho route, Rongai compensates by going through actual wilderness areas for days before connecting to the Marangu route at Kibo camp.

Why is Rongai regarded as the finest/ best route to climb Mount Kilimanjaro? It’s because the Rongai way is not only the simplest and most likely to succeed in reaching the top, but it also provides excellent scenery, albeit it can’t match the northern circuit and Lemosho route. Rongai is a fantastic route to summit, especially if you’ve never been hiking before.

  1. The northern circuit route

Another best, excellent and highly recommended route for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. The Northern Circuit is Kilimanjaro’s newest and most exciting route. In the beginning, the trek follows the Lemosho trail as it approaches Kilimanjaro from the west. The Northern Circuit, on the other hand, circumnavigates the mountain around the calm, rarely frequented northern slopes, rather than following the southern traverse like all the other west-approaching routes.

What is the Best Route for Hiking Mount Kilimanjaro?
What is the Best Route for Hiking Mount Kilimanjaro?

The Northern Circuit Route is Kilimanjaro’s longest route, a nine-day trek that is the longest in terms of both time and distance traveled. The days spent at around 13,000 feet are ideal for acclimatization, resulting in one of the highest success rates of any route on Mount Kilimanjaro (around 98 percent). With incredible, varied scenery and a small number of visitors, the Northern Circuit route is unquestionably one of the best on the mountain.

Those listed above are the most suggested and regarded as the best routes for hiking Mount Kilimanjaro since they are not only less challenging and have a high success rate for reaching the summit, but they also provide the best views along the way. You can look at the summiting route table below, which has been elaborated in a basic yet accessible manner to assist you in choosing the ideal route for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro based on your interests.

Kilimanjaro route Minimum summiting days Recommended/ maximum summiting days 

Difficulty

 

Scenery

 

Traffic

 

Rating

Northern circuit 99HighExcellentVery low4/5
Lemosho route 68highExcellentMedium4/5
Rongai route 67MediumVery goodLow4/5
Machame route 67HighExcellentHigh3/5
Shira route 67HighExcellentMedium2/5
Marangu route 56MediumGoodHigh2/5
Umbwe route57Very highVery goodVery low

2/5

 

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