How long it takes to Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro?

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CLIMB MOUNT KILIMANJARO?

Travelers planning to climb Mount Kilimanjaro frequently ask how long it takes to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. It takes between five to nine days on the longer routes to hike to Mount Kilimanjaro Summit Uhuru peak and descend to the Finish point. The more days you spend on the mountain acclimatizing, the better your chances of reaching the top. Trekkers who spend only 5 days have the lowest Summit success rate.

Factors affecting how long it takes to climb Kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro is a “walk-up” mountain, meaning there is no technical climbing involved. How long it takes to reach the summit is largely dictated by how well you are able to acclimatize to the lack of oxygen at altitude.

Acclimatization

The main reason why climbers fail to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro is simply that they have not acclimatized to the altitude.

How badly do you want to get to the summit? If you’re serious about completing the climb, the main factor standing in your way is acclimatization.

The good news is that going slow and taking your time, allows your body to gradually adapt to the lack of oxygen.

The more days you spend on the mountain acclimatizing, the better your chances of reaching the top. Trekkers who spend only 5 days on Kilimanjaro have the lowest success rate, while those who spend 8 or 9 days have a much better chance of standing on the Roof of Africa

Climbing Kilimanjaro recommends Trekkers who have a flexible schedule to consider a longer route or build-in one or two acclimatization days and have an easier time reaching the summit.

Each route is varied in the duration on the mountain, the types of accommodation, the level of difficulty, the type of scenery, and other factors.

The table below lists each route, sorted by the number of days usually taken on each route.

You can climb Kilimanjaro in 5 or 6 days but is it worth the risk?

You can definitely climb Kilimanjaro in five or six days. Most clients we’ve spoken to are attracted to the shorter routes for these reasons:

• Cost savings
• Lack of vacation time
• Don’t want to hike for so many days

In all Climbing Kilimanjaro combined years of experience as mountain guides and trek organizers, we encourage a longer, steadier climb as it’s safer, and increases our clients’ summit success rate dramatically.

Additionally, giving you time to enjoy the unique mountain environment, with adequate rest and recovery; will make for a much more enjoyable experience.

These are the questions we ask and encourage you to ask yourself:

• How would you feel if you scheduled a route with the minimum days, only to have to turn back on day 3 because the rate of ascent was too quick and you did not have time to acclimatize?
• Wouldn’t you rather add a couple of days to your trip to give yourself a better chance of summiting and to take it easier on your body?
• Were the ‘savings’ you got for not taking additional days worth the cost of cutting your climb short, not making it to the summit, or worse still, putting your health at risk?

When is it a good idea to opt for a shorter Kilimanjaro climb?

• If you’ve recently been to high altitude. If you’ve climbed Mt. Meru or Mt. Kenya successfully, for example, you will have an element of pre-acclimatization and can get away with a shorter route.
• If you’re a very experienced climber and have been to extreme altitudes before (>18,000ft) and are confident of your ability to acclimatize.

It’s an undeniable fact that longer routes increase summit success rates.

How long does it take to descend Kilimanjaro?

It takes around two days to descend Kilimanjaro from the Uhuru Peak Summit to the Finish point. The descent can take up to 5hrs to reach to Camp for overnight and the following day 4hrs to 6 hrs depending on the route and trekkers experience.