Kilimanjaro routes
Which is the best Kilimanjaro route?
We get that question asked a lot. And rightly so! There are many routes that lead to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Each of them has it’s own pros and cons and should therefore be thoroughly researched in order to make an informed and educated choice.
And remember that this choice is very much a personal one. Answering which route is ‘best’ for Kilimanjaro is tricky because people want different things out of their Kilimanjaro climb. From our experience, we have established the following 4 elements to be what climbers value most.
The 7 Kilimanjaro routes
- Lemosho Route
The Lemosho is the most beautiful Kilimanjaro route - Machame Route
The Machame is the most popular Kilimanjaro route - Marangu Route
The Marangu route only offers hut accommodation - Rongai Route
The Rongai is the only Kilimanjaro route that approaches from the North - Shira Route
The Shira route approaches from the Western side of Kilimanjaro - Northern Circuit
The Northern Circuit is the newest and longest Kilimanjaro route - Umbwe Route
The Umbwe is the shortest, steepest and hardest Kilimanjaro route
What Kilimanjaro route do Follow Alice recommend?
Put simply, in an ideal world speed and cost should not be your primary consideration when choosing your route for Kilimanjaro. For example, the Marangu route offers the cheapest price, but that cost saving is often negated by the poor success rates, with less than 50% of those who attempt it making it to the top.
Follow Alice’s goal is not to send as many people to climbers to Kilimanjaro as possible. Instead, we want to have happy clients returning with memories to last a lifetime and a successful ‘seven summit’ under their belt. We therefore regularly promote and recommend 2 Kilimanjaro routes to our clients: the Machame route and Lemosho route. These are, overall, the most scenic and richest in variety. In addition, both offer great opportunities to acclimatise.
We’ve run through all of the routes individually below, including the logistics, the pros and the cons, and visual aids in the form of maps and graphs. If you have any questions, please do feel free to contact us any time. All of the Follow Alice team have climbed Kilimanjaro at least once, and our local leader Chris has summited over 300 times. Between us we have the knowledge to advise you on the most suitable route for you.