Marangu - After breakfast you will meet your guides and porters, finish packing and transfer to the park entrance where you begin your Kilimanjaro climb. After formalities at the park entrance, you enter the rain forest for a gentle walk through verdant scenery to Mandara Hut. This can be done faster, but the slower the better for the eventual success of the climb. This is very important because walking slowly allows the body to acclimatize. The speed at which you walk during the first 2 days will partially determine the chances of reaching the summit. Paces should be short, measured, and rhythmical with each step placed gently. Each day you will have a packed lunch to eat along the way. The forest teems with birdlife and colobus and other monkeys may be seen. You will have cooked dinner and will stay in A-frame huts lit by solar power. Each room sleeps 4 people and there is a total capacity here of 60. Water is piped into the camp from springs and there are flush toilets behind the main hut. Your head guide will let you know the agenda for the next day. Overnight Mandara Hut
Hiking time: 4-6 hours, 6,004 feet to 8,856 feet
- All meals included: breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- All applicable fees and taxes covered
- Tips and Personal Gears
Marangu Route, the “Coca-Cola” route, is the oldest, most well-established route on Kilimanjaro. This is the only route that offers sleeping huts in dormitory-style accommodations in lieu of camping. There are 60 bunk beds each at Mandara and Kibo Huts, and 120 bunk beds at Horombo Hut. Guests are supplied with mattresses and pillows, but sleeping bags are still required. The huts have communal dining halls and basic washrooms, ranging from flushing toilets and running water at the lower huts to long drop toilets and buckets of water at Kibo Hut.
Many favor Marangu because it is considered to be the easiest path on the mountain, given its gradual slope and direct path. However, the short time frame of the route makes altitude acclimatization fairly difficult. The route approaches Mount Kilimanjaro from the southeast. Marangu is, unfortunately, less scenic than the other routes because the ascent and descent are along the same path. It is also the most crowded route for that reason.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
