Climbing Kilimanjaro: the ultimate week that breaks and builds you

This report was written by Bori Gabor postcardsfrombori -follow her journey on Instagram

When: July, 2025
Travellers: 2 girls who just met each other but became friends along the way
Where: Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

I would risk saying that climbing Kilimanjaro is one of the most unique experiences in Africa, if not in the whole world. This hike will humble you, push you to your limits, take away your breath (literally) and give you experiences you will never forget.

There are 7 official routes to the summit. I took Machame in 6 days and I’m really happy with my choice. It has the highest success rate, it’s relatively easy and scenic, the environment changed every day as we ascended and I got to see the most incredible landscapes. We were also very lucky with the weather, we got sun every day. To see the detailed description of each day scroll down.

For climbing Kilimanjaro it’s obligatory to have a guide and porters for almost all of the routes. Organizing these tours also contributes to the livelihood of many local families. I went with Kili Team Adventures, a group of 10 incredible people who were helping us all along the way and made sure we get our daily dose of swaheli words and stories

Website: https://www.kiliteamadventures.com/

Contact Musa: +255629155550

Contact Rajabu: Instagram

Training
Commonly asked question, but actually I didn’t train anything specifically, besides my usual training which includes running, yoga and occasionally the gym. We got a training schedule that included swimming, stairmaster, running but I think if you’re in a fair physical condition you won’t have any problems, the first 5 days of the hike were rather mild

Clothing
Got a packing list so I packed based on that. Warm layers, down jacket, waterproof outer layers and sun protection are essential

Altitude sickness
You can’t really train for that, except if you want to hike another 5000m mountain before and also it’s mostly genetically determined how your body reacts to high altitude. Taking acetazolamide (Diamox) preventively helps a lot, I took it from 2 days before the trip until summit day

Medication
I didn’t get any vaccines, yellow fever was recommended but not obligatory. The only thing I took was acetazolamide for altitude sickness. I think it’s really worth it, I knew about one fellow hiker who didn’t take it and she had to turn back because she got so sick. What I didn’t consider that you will get every possible sickness along the way. Diarrhea, obstipation, headache, vomiting, cold… I had like a sheet of paracetamol with me and if my friend didn’t have a whole first aid bag filled with different pills I don’t think I would’ve made it. Bring all the medicine!!

Weather
It’s bloody cold. I knew that the top is going to be cold (there’s snow all year long), what I didn’t know how cold it is to lay down in a tent in 10°C on the first night (and then every single night after). I put on all the layers, ski underwear, pullover, down jacket and still got cold because my sleeping bag wasn’t thick enough (pay attention you rent/bring a good one, turns out it’s essential for your survival). Also sleeping in the tent with someone else really helps so again, I’m glad I wasn’t alone

Food
We got freshly prepared warm food 3 times a day, which was far beyond my expectations. All made from local ingredients and so delicious. Vegan food for me was no problem either. We had a cook and a waiter who brought all the food to our tent, it felt a kinda unnecessary luxury, but from the other hand one more local get a job.

Another popular question. Quite a lot for a week as someone traveling on a budget and it absolutely put me into a financial crisis, but so worth it.

The tour itself was $2800 (including camping fees, national park fees, meals, tents, night in the hotel before and after, transportation etc) which is a very good price

Tips are usually $5-15/porter/day/group. This is good to know in advance because it's quite a lot and you give it on your last morning. So bring cash!!

My plane tickets from Budapest to Kilimanjaro then back to Athens $960. Both with Istanbul layover, it was the cheapest I could find

Visa was $100. I didn't get any vaccines and had an insurance with my credit card so l ) didn't pay for that.

I rented a sleeping bag and trekking poles for $50

Bought a cool t-shirt for $10

Few dollars for coffee and eating out in town on my last day

Breakfast: We almost missed the hotel breakfast after oversleeping, but still managed to catch it in time and eat properly.
Amazing iced coffee at Union Coffee Moshi

Lunch: A mix of local food and leftovers from my airplane meal. The avocados here are unreal

We met a group of students from Arusha who were on their school holidays. We ended up chatting and taking a bunch of group photos together.

To Uhuru Peak: 40km (32hrs)
Elevation: 1800m
Vegetation: Montane Forest
Hiked: 10km (5hrs)

Breakfast: carb loading in the hotel
Lunch: boxed Samosas, banana, small cakes, bread, apple
Dinner: cucumber soup, French fried potato, sauted veggies sauced, salad

Day: leggings and hiking pants, short sleeve with jumper
Night: leggings, wool pullover, insulated jacket (wasn’t enough, I was super cold)

To Uhuru Peak: 30km (22hrs)
Elevation: 2835m
Vegetation: Moorland
Hiked: 6km (4hrs 36mins)

Breakfast: omelet, porridge, toasted buttered bread
Lunch: pasta and veggies with sauce
Dinner: butternut squash soup, rice with beans and veggies and chicken, pineapple

Clothing
Day:leggings and hiking pants, short sleeve with jumper, plus hat (sunscreen - strong UV)
Night: extra base layer

Arrived at Shira camp at 1:37 pm.
Shira cave visit, stargazing

To Uhuru Peak: 25km (21hrs)
Elevation: 3750m
Vegetation: Moorland
Hiked: 6km (3hry 45min) + (2hrs 30min)

Lava Tower: acclimatization, lunch, heading to Baranco camp after

Breakfast: fried egg, toasted buttered bread, crêpe, porridge, papaya
Lunch: chicken, sauted veggies, French fries and sweet potato fries, mango
Dinner: ginger soup, rice, vegetables

Clothing
Day: long trousers, pullover, rain jacket, hat
Night: base layer, wool pullover, insulated jacket, rain jacket

To Uhuru Peak: 15km (15hrs)
Elevation: 3900m
Vegetation: Moorland
Hiked: 5kms

Breakfast: porridge, passion fruit and oranges, crepes, sweet potatoes
Lunch: potatoes with green beans, eggplant, and green peppers. Pineapple and mangos too
Dinner: pumpkin ginger soup, celery rice with vegetables sauce (electrolytes after throwing up)

Clothing
Day: I was shivering so wore a lot of layers
Night: base layer, wool pullover, insulated jacket, rain jacket. Lily gave me her sleeping bag because it was warmer. She’s a gem.

Faced some illness but suffered through. It was good the day was shorter, so I could sleep all afternoon.

To Uhuru Peak: 9km (11hrs)
Elevation: 3995m
Vegetation: Alpine desert
Hiked: 4km (3hrs)

Breakfast: porridge, toast and yams (I’m happy to be able to eat again)
Lunch: yummy cucumber tomato French fries and watermelon
Dinner: butternut squash soup

Clothing
Day: base layer, pullover, wind jacket, hiking pants
Night: base layer, wool pullover, insulated jacket, rain jacket, 3 pants

To Uhuru Peak: 5km (7hrs)
Elevation: 3995m
Vegetation: Alpine desert
Hiked: 5km up (7hrs) + 5km down (2hrs) + (4hrs)

Wake up 11:30pm (basically still day 5)
We realize it’s my birthday so everyone starts singing

Little headache for me, Lily got really sick, so we started to descend after a little rest

Breakfast: popcorn + lots of protein bars on the hike
Lunch: leek soup, crepes (chapati) potatoes, fruits (note from Lily: oh my goodness)
Dinner: butternut squash

Clothing
Top 6 layers: 2 base layers, light pullover, wool pullover, insulated jacket, wind jacket, Buff, beanie
Bottom 3 layers: 2 base layers, ski leggings
- Double gloves and hand warmers were life savers (foot warmers didn’t work unfortunately, toes = frozen to death)

To Mweka Gate: 10km (4hrs)
Elevation: 3100m
Vegetation: moorland
Hiked: 10km (4hrs)

We randomly stopped at a souvenir shop, they gave me this box and there was a birthday cake in it!!

Breakfast: porridge, chapati (best one so far)
Lunch: birthday cake!!
Dinner: food in the hotel, masala tea

Day: all of my clothes smell like a horse. But similar to day 1
Night: showered 7 times, slept in a bed!? (Let’s overlook the fact that I didn’t have any clean clothes left)

I spent an extra day just roaming around in Moshi and in the evening Kilimanjaro showed herself!! It was a proper end for this trip.