Kilimanjaro - Umbwe Route (5,895m)

Karen

(Aug 2023)

Just got back from an amazing summit to Kilimanjaro, absolutely faultless trip, guides Derek and Augustine were amazing, encouraging and very professional, only thing I would probably do differently is book a toilet, now we didn’t initially because we thought someone has to carry it, but it gets emptied at each camp and especially in the middle of the night if you have to get up it’s difficult to navigate where the toilets are in each camp. I celebrated half a century during the trip and the chef even baked a huge cake iced cake and they all sang to me at night, totally memorable experience which I will never forget, definitely take ear plugs, vitamin C tabs to flavor water, take some nice treats to share around and most of all be kind, these guys work hard and earn little so tip whatever you can at the end. We booked the hot springs and waterfall tour as we had 1 day spare and didn’t fancy traveling 5 hrs each way to do safari, roads are slow and a bit crazy so we were glad we just booked a day tour after.

David

(Aug 2023)

Had a fantastic trip from start to finish, everything was well organised and catered for from the guides and porters to the food.

Edward

(Apr 2023)

What a great experience. If you are trying to persuade yourself to do this trust me just do it. You won’t regret it. (Even in the wet season)! And you will be proud of yourself for achieving this. Overall, Great communication and planning by the team. The whole team were super friendly and helpful which took away any stresses related to that. The hike itself. They scale the support team well so you have a head guide / chef and other support staff carrying the heavier bags/ tents / food etc. you will only be carrying your day pack. You are going to be amazed how quickly and effortlessly they can carry these items up the mountain. Most days aren’t too long in terms of hiking (depending how fast you are) but give you ample time to acclimatize. The summit day is something else. Depending how fast you are you will leave anywhere between 11pm and 2am (maybe later if you are even fitter) to reach the summit for sunrise. I would consider myself pretty fit but found the summit day pretty tiring, especially the last push before Stella Point. You won’t regret putting the effort/ training in before. Food was great too. Considering you are camping you still get freshly (and tasty) cooked hot meals and packed lunches on longer days. Pro tips: 1) I would highly recommend paying extra for the portable toilet. I read the same online before I went and opted for it and after seeing (smelling) the toilets on the mountain I’m happy I paid the extra 😊😮 2) wet season clothes A poncho is not optional but a MUST. It rained every day on the hike. When it poured it really poured and I was thankful I had a poncho and great rain gear. Trying to dry clothes / gear between days is limited so this will save you putting on wet trousers again or having a wet bag. 3) camp entertainment As mentioned some days aren’t the most demanding and you have sometime to kill in the camps. I had audio books but had downloaded a few episodes/ movies. Make sure you download quite a few. They weigh nothing! 4) pillow Bring an inflatable pillow for the camping. 5) extra treats The supporting team really appreciated sharing the treats brought from home. 6) safari make sure you do a safari. I had one day spare at the end of the trip and opted to go to the ngorongoro crater. Even though it was a super early start (3am) it was amazing and out of this world. Lion king in real life! 7) wet season Don’t necessarily be put off by the idea of hiking in the wet season. Besides from dealing with the rain the benefit is there are not as many people hiking / camping. There were only 5-6 other tourists I saw hiking. Looking at the size of some of the camps I can only imagine how busy the mountain would be in peak season.

Rebecca

(Feb 2023)

Do not hesitate to book this trip! What an absolutely fantastic experience. I wouldn’t change a thing. Our guides Edwin, Vincent and Patrick were very professional and made sure our whole group was safe and extremely well taken care of. Edwin was very knowledgeable and ensured all aspects of the trip were explained and day to take made sure we were ready and prepared for what lay ahead. The whole team of porters were just super, we had such a good laugh with everyone and the team spirit was wonderful. A 5 star experience.

Evelin

(Feb 2023)

Climbing Kilimanjaro via the Machame route was an absolute ultimate adventure. Perfectly organised by the local Ashante tours from the first to the very last minute of our trip to Tanzania. The guides were amazing and without them we wouldn’t have had the same experience or let alone climb to the top. Couldn’t wish for anything better than this