Branded as the "Coca-Cola" route, the Marangu route approaches Kilimanjaro from the southeast, one of the oldest, most well established route. Many favor the Marangu route because it is considered to be the easiest path on the mountain, given its gradual slope and direct path.
Marangu is the only route which offers sleeping huts in dormitory style accommodations. 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. Also available for consumption are soft drinks, bottled water, and beer.
The minimum days required for this route is five, although the probability of successfully reaching the top in that time period is quite low. Spending an extra acclimatization day on the mountain is highly recommended.
The Marangu route is a classic trek to the top of Kilimanjaro. However, it has the least scenic variety of all routes (ascent and descent are done on the same path) and is the most crowded for that reason.
Marangu is offered as a five to six day private climb.
The Machame route is also known as the (Whiskey Route) the Machame route is now became the most popular route on climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Compared to the Marangu route, the days on Machame are longer and the walks are steeper. The Machame route is considered a difficult route, and is better suited for more adventurous folks and those with some hiking or backpacking experience.
The route begins from the south, then heads east, crossing underneath Kilimanjaro's southern ice field before summiting. The minimum number of days required for this route is six days, although seven days is recommended.
The route approaches Mount Kilimanjaro from the south, beginning with a short drive from Moshi to Machame Gate. The path leads hikers through the rain forest to Shira Plateau. Here, many of Kilimanjaro’s routes converge. Then the route turns east and traverses underneath Kilimanjaro's Southern Ice Field on a path known as the Southern Circuit before summiting from Barafu. Descent is made via the Mweka route.
Exclusive Wilderness Trails offer Machame as a seven day group climb or as a six day private climb. The six day variation combines days four and five, going from Barranco Camp to Barafu Camp without staying at Karanga.
Lemosho route is an unspoilt, remote, less used but very beautiful way up to the Shira Plateau. The route is one of the few where groups may be accompanied on the first day by an armed ranger, as the forests around the Lemosho Glades are inhabited by wild animals such as buffalo, elephant and other wildlife.
The Lemosho Route is widely considered to be the best route on Mount Kilimanjaro. Not too long ago, there were only two main routes used to climb Kilimanjaro - the Marangu route and the Machame route. But as Tanzania's tourism industry thrived, the Kilimanjaro park authority introduced more trails to the Africa's highest peak to mete out the climbers to more areas of the park. This reduced bottlenecks at certain points and also made for a more pleasant experience by limiting crowds. Additionally these final trails were more thoughtfully designed to improve acclimatization for the climber by incorporating longer distances, longer times on the mountain and shorter elevation gains. Lemosho, a relatively new route, falls into this class.
The fewer days you can trek using Lemosho route is 6 days, however we strongly recommend hiking the route in 7 days. The additional 7th day will give your body more time to acclimatize, reducing the effects of altitude sickness and give you more time to rest before attempting the summit.
This route is popular for more experienced climbers and offers a greater challenge, especially on summit night. It is the only route that approaches Kilimanjaro from the north, close to the Kenyan Border. It is slightly more expensive due to the additional transport costs in getting to/from the park entry gate and therefore it is less crowded. This route provides more shelter from the weather and high winds and descends via the Marangu route. The route takes six days minimum to complete, although seven days is recommended. The descent is down Mweka, on the south-east side of the mountain.
The Rongai route is becomes more challenging than other routes and it’s especially on summit night. It is the only route that approaches Kilimanjaro from the north, close to the Kenya’s boarder. Its cost is bit expensive due to the extra transport costs in getting to/from the park entry gate and therefore it is less crowded. This route provides more shelter from the weather and high winds and descends via the Marangu route. The route takes from six days minimum to complete the total climb although we highly recommend seven days. The descent is down though Mweka, on the south-east side of the mountain. Because the starting point is far from Moshi, it is more expensive to climb this route due to the added transportation cost of getting climbers to the gate.
Scenically, Rongai is beautiful because it travels through an unspoiled rain forest and remote wilderness area. However, it is not as scenic varied as Machame, Lemosho and Shira. Rongai is ideal for those who are not confident in their ability to hike over steeper paths, those who want to avoid traffic, and those who want to enjoy a quieter hike. It is also preferred when climbing during the rainy season because the north side of the mountain receives less precipitation.
The Shira route on climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, is one of the least used first higher-going sends on the mountain, partly because of its distance, widely different placing.
The go up begins at a high getting-higher, Morum barrier Gate, nearly 12,000 ft. (3600M 1). In this way, you have to start slow and simple, not hard on this way. You start your long, hard journey in the heather part, bypassing the wet Forest at the back of, and immediately get yourself on the first day of the long, hard journey on the Shira Plateau.
The first day of your Kilimanjaro go up is simply short to Begin the acclimatization 2 process. You use up the next 2 days going for long walk across the high flat space, which is said to be one of the most stunningly beautiful (goes for) long walks in Africa. The high flat space itself is grassland, flat waste land and moor, and is starting point to especially greatly sized scenic (up to 10M 3 high). On the high flat space, one can often see elands, sometimes buffaloes, leopards and other animals. The Shira pointed form, which is an of old basin-like hollow, gets up about 200M 3 above the high flat space. Along the of the south top of a long slope of the Shira high flat space there are 2 like an actor in a play peaks, chief church and the Needle. All of these make come into existence strange stage place to have special rights on this route.
The Shira way hang from wall A eventually goes into together with Machame Route on day three. From this point all the 2 hangs go on to lava 4 tall structure, and then down into the Great Barranco 5 low land between mountains, where the Umbwe way joins from the south.
Note: The road to the starting point of Shira Route is only readily got to by 4-wd vehicles and can become impassable during the wet seasons (when it might be necessary to start from a lower point). But the private road itself to the trailhead offers interesting or surprising thing seen views of the Great long, narrow crack low land between mountains and the all round, nearby mountains including Mt. Meru and Longido. It follows the of old Shira long, narrow crack band, an order of parasitic pointed forms on the go round side of the burning mountain. The plants changes with sudden, surprising along the way are coming upon.