Identifying Mt Kilimanjaro Trekking Routes

Standing at an elevation of about 5895 meters, Mt Kilimanjaro or “Rooftop of Africa” enjoys one among the biggest topographical features in the planet. Kilimanjaro Mountain has been one of the highly accessible peaks in the world and thus has become one of the most popular attractions for adventure seekers across the globe.  

Located close to the Moshi town, the snow clad peak of Kilimanjaro stretches well above the hills of Tanzania and also the northern plateau. The entire area is well-protected and vigilantly regulated for visitors and tourists to enjoy a pleasurable climbing experience.

The environment and flora and fauna all throughout the route are quite diverse but amazingly beautiful. On the lower slopes of this mountain, you will find farmland consisting of maize, cassava, bananas, coffee beans that are widely grown for the livelihood of the local community. Within the lowland boundaries of the national park, there are dense forests breaking into   alpine grasslands.

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is a convenient and pleasing challenge in a week or two’s holidays.  When it comes to a Kilimanjaro trek, one common thing that we find is that none of the six routes needs any technical expertise to climb. One can easily reach the crater rim. Gillman’s Point or Uhuru Point is considered the main summit.

Kilimanjaro Routes

Trekkers on Kilimanjaro need to climb through one of six formally authorized routes. These routes starting from west to east are Shira, Lemosho, Machame, Umbwe, Marangu, and Rongai. On the other hand, the western routes, (Lemosho, Shira, Machame and Umbwe), are needed by KINAPA for descending through the Umbwe Route. On the other hand, the eastern routes, Marangu and Rongai, descend through the Marangu Route. However, as a trekker you need to keep the park authorities informed about the route you are choosing to use. Moreover, if you have selected a particular route then you won’t be allowed to switch routes in between.

We know that there are six trekking routes on Mt Kilimanjaro. Now, what is intended out here is that you can climb the summit from six different locations. The time for completing a trek usually depends on what route you follow. For instance, if you choose the Rongai route, then it is a preferably a longer one as there are eleven variations involved in this route. In fact, though there are plenty of choices to work on, however; very few of the routes are actually considered to be optimal.

Hence, make sure to choose the best possible route depending on the time available for a successful summit tour.