Skip to main content

Simba Pride Safaris

Kilimanjaro · Marangu Route · 6 days

the maranguRoute

The classic route up the south-east side, and the only one where you sleep in huts rather than tents. Gentle gradients through forest and moorland, a day to acclimatise at Horombo, and a midnight climb from Kibo hut to Uhuru Peak at 5,895 metres.

  • 6days
  • 5nights in mountain huts
  • 5,895 mUhuru Peak
  • Fullcrew & guide
01 · Overview

The route, and why it runs this way

Marangu is the easiest route to walk and the hardest to acclimatise on, because you go up and down the same path with little chance to climb high and sleep low. That is why our six-day version includes a second night at Horombo. The six days are all on the mountain, gate to gate; the hotel night before you start is included on top.

You start at Marangu Gate, the closest gate to Moshi, and climb through rainforest to Mandara hut, then across the moorland to Horombo. Day three is spent at Horombo with a walk up towards the Mawenzi saddle and back, which is the most useful thing you can do for your body on this route. Then you cross the alpine desert of the saddle to Kibo hut, leave for the summit at midnight, and come all the way back down the way you came. The huts are simple shared bunk rooms, and the path is busy in the high season.

Starts

Marangu Gate, day 1

We collect you from your hotel in Moshi or Arusha, where the night before the climb is included.

Ends

Marangu Gate, day 6

Off the mountain by mid-afternoon, then the drive back to Moshi or Arusha.

Style

Hut to hut, full crew

Licensed guide, assistant guides, cook and porters. Beds in park huts, meals from our cook.

Summit rate

70% on this route

The figure on our Kilimanjaro page, lower than the longer routes. It is not a promise: weather and your body decide.

01

Trek day · B L D

Through the rainforest to Mandara

After breakfast your guide checks your kit and drives you about an hour to Marangu Gate, at roughly 1,860 metres, above the banana and coffee gardens of the Chagga villages. Lunch is at the gate while the permits are processed.

The path climbs gently through rainforest full of birdsong, with blue monkeys and colobus in the trees. Mandara is a cluster of wooden A-frame huts in a clearing; if you have energy left, the short walk to the Maundi crater rim is worth it.

Meals
Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Walk
8 km, 3 to 5 hours
Sleep
Mandara hut, 2,720 m shared bunk room
02

Trek day · B L D

Onto the moorland to Horombo

You leave the forest within the first hour and walk out onto open moorland of heather, grass and giant lobelias. Kibo’s snows and the jagged peak of Mawenzi come into view as you climb.

Horombo is a village of huts on a ridge above the clouds, and the busiest stop on the route. It is a long day at a steady pace, so drink more than you think you need.

Meals
Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Walk
12 km, 5 to 7 hours
Sleep
Horombo hut, 3,720 m shared bunk room
03

Acclimatisation day · B L D

A day to adjust at Horombo

This is the day that makes the six-day Marangu worth choosing over the five-day version. After breakfast you walk up towards Zebra Rocks and the saddle below Mawenzi, to around 4,000 metres, and spend some time there.

Then you come back down to Horombo for lunch and a quiet afternoon. Climbing high and sleeping low like this is how your body adjusts, and most climbers sleep better on the second night.

Meals
Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Walk
3 to 4 hours, up and back
Sleep
Horombo hut, 3,720 m shared bunk room
04

Trek day · B L D

Across the saddle to Kibo hut

The last of the plants disappear as you climb onto the saddle, a wide alpine desert between Mawenzi and Kibo. The walking is not steep, but the air is thin and the pace slows.

Kibo hut is a stone building with dormitory bunks at the foot of the summit cone. You eat early, your guide checks your oxygen saturation and pulse, and you try to sleep for a few hours.

Meals
Breakfast, lunch, early dinner
Walk
10 km, 5 to 7 hours
Sleep
Kibo hut, 4,720 m until midnight
05

Summit night · B L D

Gilman's Point, Uhuru Peak, and down

You leave around midnight and zigzag up the scree of the summit cone for six to eight hours to Gilman’s Point on the crater rim, at about 5,685 metres. It is steep, cold and slow, and the guides set the pace.

From Gilman’s the rim path leads on to Uhuru Peak at 5,895 metres, with the glaciers beside you as the sun comes up. You descend to Kibo hut for a rest and food, then carry on down to Horombo, tired and very happy to breathe thicker air.

Meals
Snack, breakfast, lunch, dinner
Highlight
Sunrise from the crater rim
Sleep
Horombo hut, 3,720 m shared bunk room
06

Descent · B L

All the way down to Marangu Gate

A long but easy descent past Mandara and back through the forest. Walking poles save your knees.

At Marangu Gate you sign out and collect your summit certificate, then there is lunch and a thank-you to the crew. Your guide drives you back to Moshi or Arusha, or on to Kilimanjaro International.

Meals
Breakfast, lunch
Ends
Moshi, Arusha or JRO
Next
A safari or Zanzibar after the climb

When to climb

Clear skies or quiet trails?

You can climb all year, but the rains decide how muddy the forest is and how clear the summit is. Choose a season to see what the mountain is like.

  • Best for this trip
  • Good
  • Quiet season, fewer people

Summit night is cold in every month: expect well below freezing at the top whatever the season.

What it costs

Share the crew, pay less each

Park, hut and rescue fees, your full crew, all meals on the mountain and a hotel night before you start, priced per person. The more of you share the crew, the less each of you pays. No booking fees.

Standard fromUS$1,950per person sharing

Important information

All prices are per person and exclude international flights. Final rates depend on your travel dates, seasonal park fees and availability; we confirm them in writing with your quote.

Your selection · click a group size2 guests · Standard2 bunks

Get the exact price

Climbing with children

Kilimanjaro National Park sets a minimum age of 10 for summit climbs, and we recommend 16 and over. Marangu’s gentle paths suit families, but the short profile is hard on anyone at altitude; we talk it through with you first.

in the price

  • Park, hut and rescue fees
  • Licensed guide, assistant guides, cook and porters
  • Beds in the park huts, all meals and filtered water
  • Oxygen, pulse oximeter and first-aid kit
  • Health checks twice a day on the mountain
  • One hotel night before the climb, Moshi or Arusha
  • Transfers between your hotel and the gate

not in the price

  • International flights and visa
  • Travel insurance with altitude and evacuation cover
  • Sleeping bag and gear hire (available)
  • Tips for your crew
  • Hotel nights after the climb
  • Drinks and snacks sold at the huts

Make it yours

Add to the week

Tick anything you like the sound of. It goes straight into your enquiry, and we will price it with the trip.

Send my enquiry →

Before you go

The practical part

Questions

The walking is the gentlest on the mountain, but the summit is not easier: you go up faster than on the longer routes, so the altitude is harder. That is why the success rate is lower, and why we include the acclimatisation day at Horombo.

Most climbers feel some effects above 4,000 metres: a headache, poor sleep, little appetite. That is normal and usually eases with rest and water. Your guide checks your oxygen saturation and pulse twice a day and carries oxygen; if symptoms become serious, the answer is to go down, and the guide makes that call.

Simple and shared. Mandara and Horombo are wooden A-frame huts with bunks and mattresses; Kibo is a stone building with dormitories. You bring your own sleeping bag, and our cook serves your meals.

If you can, yes. Marangu is best with an extra night on the mountain, and it is the simplest way to improve your odds. Tell us when you enquire and we plan it in.

No. There is no scrambling on Marangu, only a long, high walk. Fitness, slow pacing and drinking enough matter far more; long hill walks with a daypack are the best training.

ready when you are

Six days, hut to hut, your dates

Tell us when you would like to climb and who is coming. We reply with the day-by-day plan, an exact price and honest advice on the month and the route.

Plan this trip
Ask on WhatsApp
Admit
2
guests
SPS · 06
Print itinerary

Other journeys like this one

7 days · from US$2,200Kilimanjaro, Rongai Route
7 days · from US$2,150Kilimanjaro, Machame Route
2 days · from US$180Coffee & Chagga Day Trips
Loading itinerary…
Saved Trips