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Tag: Kilimanjaro

10 Incredible Photos of Mount Kilimanjaro That Will Inspire You To Climb

December 10, 2018 / / 0 Comments

These 10 photos of Mount Kilimanjaro will surely inspire you to make the adventure of climbing the world’s tallest freestanding mountain.

1. Climbing Kilimanjaro with your best friend

This photo by inspired us because of the joy of summiting with a friend. These three friends trained in special altitude settings to be able to complete the climb and reach the top of Mount Kilimanjaro together.

2. No shower, no problem!

Just because you have been hiking for over a week, haven’t had a shower, slept in tents, and peed in a bottle, doesn’t mean that you can’t look good when you summit!

3. Keep your eyes on the prize

Climbing a mountain can be daunting when you see it right in front of you but with the help of a good team and support, anything is possible.

4. The view from the top of Mount Kilimanjaro

If that view doesn’t inspire you to strike a pose, then we don’t know what will.

5. Your Kilimanjaro guide can become an unexpected friend

The right Kilimanjaro guides are not only incredibly knowledgeable about climbing, your safety, and the mountain itself, but they can also help you to complete the climb more quickly if you so choose. For experienced climbers like Ed here, his guide helped him to get to the top of Kilimanjaro in just four days!

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Congrats to David for making it up and down Kilimanjaro in only 4 days! We always recommend that Kilimanjaro climbers should take a longer route with a better acclimatization profile. You should ideally do this during dry season, so please don't try to copy David's heroic speed climb. But when climbers explicitly request otherwise, we and our local partners will do everything we can to facilitate their request. David's reward for the steep climb & rainy weather: breathtaking views, sunshine & unspoilt wilderness on top of Kilimanjaro. Simply magical! 🗻 🗻 🗻 🗻 🗻 #Kilimanjaro #mountains #adventure #travel #wanderlust #tourism #letsgoeverywhere #destination #vacation #tanzania #sustainability #inspiration #lifeofadventure #safaris #responsibletravel #travelpics #tasteintravel #liveauthentic #alifealive

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6. A Kilimanjaro couple’s climb

Relationships can sometimes feel like climbing a huge mountain, so why not beat it to the punch and climb a huge mountain as a couple? You will learn a lot about each other and accomplishing this together may bring you together in ways you hadn’t imagined before.

7. The views on the way to climb Kilimanjaro

On the way to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, don’t forget to enjoy the view. You don’t have to wait until you reach the top to see some incredible views. The entire journey can be breathtaking if you just take a moment to look.

8. The unpolluted night sky on Kilimanjaro

Fans of stargazing will get a treat while camping on the way up Mount Kilimanjaro. This lucky climber got to enjoy the night sky during a Full Moon.

9. The Kilimanjaro porters

The Kilimanjaro porters and humble workers who make your climb comfortable. Watching the hardworking locals supporting you all the way to the top is one of the most inspiring things that previous climbers say helped them up to the top.

10. The sense of accomplishment from getting to the top

The nighttime climb up to the summit of Kilimanjaro that nearly breaks many climbers’ spirits because of the harsh conditions, lack of sleep, and altitude. But when you get to the top, you will know exactly why it was worth it. Many call it a spiritual experience, and many call it the biggest accomplishment of their lifetimes. What will you call your experience of summiting Mount Kilimanjaro?

How difficult is it to climb Mount Kilimanjaro?

January 22, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Considering its height of 5,895 meters (19,341 feet), Mount Kilimanjaro is a relatively easy mountain to climb. Its slopes are mostly gentle, and there are well-trodden paths. One can literally walk up to the summit. Even though it is common to refer to “climbing” or “trekking” Mount Kilimanjaro, technically it is more a hike or walk than a climb or trek. No mountaineering skills are required, and visitors usually do not carry more than their daypack as porters take care of the heavy-lifting.

The list of outstanding climbers is long and varied, from the currently oldest person to summit at the age of 88, to Kyle Mynard who was the first quadruple amputee to reach the summit.

These extraordinary feasts and the notion of a “walk in the park” leads many climbers to underestimate how difficult it can be to reach the summit. With an average summit success rate of only around 60%, reaching the summit is obviously not as easy as one might expect from a hike or walk.

The difficulty of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro arises from its altitude of almost 6,000 meters (20,000 feet). This puts most of the climb into the so-called “high altitude” zone which starts from 3,500 meters and above, and the summit into the “extreme high altitude” zone over 5,500 meters of elevation.

Travelling to the “high altitude” zone can lead to medical problems. Most climbers will experience symptoms of altitude sickness or acute mountain sickness (AMS), such as headaches or nausea. With increasing altitude, the symptoms can become more severe including loss of orientation or eyesight. If not treated properly, AMS can be fatal. The best treatment against AMS is immediate descent.

This is the predominant reason why climbers need to return from the mountain before reaching the summit. Sadly, for those who do not descend in time, their vacation may end lethally. An estimated 10 tourists die on Mount Kilimanjaro every year, and AMS is the main reason for those tragic fatalities.

Hence, it is imperative to be well informed about altitude sickness and the risks involved before attempting your climb, and to acclimatize well before and during your climb.

If you follow the golden rules of acclimatization and avoid the dangers of high altitude, it is not too difficult to summit Mount Kilimanjaro. With the right preparation and mental stamina, this bucket list goal should be well within reach for most of us.

How to get started? Fair Voyage will guide you step by step and help you book your climb with a qualified responsible tour operator – making responsible travel easy and adventures possible.

Getting started

July 24, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Organizing a Kilimanjaro hike means reading up upon and getting your head around a lot of information. I would recommend to proceed in the following step-by-step sequence:

  1. Why – is Kilimanjaro for you, will you be able to truly enjoy it?
  2. Who with – do you want to organize a private hike or join a group tour?
  3. When – which are the best months?
  4. How long – what can you afford versus what is recommendable?
  5. Which route – join the masses or go off into the wild?
  6. Which operator – what are the criteria to watch out for?

When to hike?

July 24, 2016 / / 0 Comments

The first question to get your head around when planning your own trip, and perhaps the easiest to solve, is when to go.

While theoretically hard-core hikers could go any time, practically Kilimanjaro has its seasons with vast differences in expected temperatures, sunshine, clouds, rain and snow on the summit.

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Videos

July 19, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Here are my favorite Kilimanjaro videos – informative and helpful. There still seems to be a big blank in the world of commercial movie production. I see great potential for a blockbuster that enlightens everyone about Kilimanjaro in a both entertaining and educational way – action, romance, drama, comedy, documentary… all in one. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, there is no such movie yet. My wake-up call to all the movie producers – please go for it!

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Which route?

July 18, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Kilimanjaro spoils you for choice. There are six common routes as well as few less popular ones, all leading to the summit. By stated order of popularity, the traditional routes include the Machame, Marangu, Lemosho, Shira, Rongai and Umbwe routes. Choice is good, but it also adds complexity. How to even start?

Kilimanjaro Routes

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About the author

July 18, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Alexandra is a passionate traveler and explorer. Born in Austria and currently living in Switzerland, Tanbai is her pseudonym as a hobby writer. It is Mandarin Chinese and derived from the combination of the first character for Tanzania (坦, pronounced tăn) as well as her Chinese surname (白, pronounced bái). Incidentally, the two characters in combination (坦白, pronounced tănbái) have the meaning of being frank and honest, perhaps to the degree of confessing. And that’s what Alexandra also hopes to reflect in her writing, an authentic account of her experience including innermost feelings and emotions, positive and negative, strong and vulnerable alike. Via her writing, she hopes to foster transparency and mutual understanding, and thereby provide her tiny little contribution to making this world a better place.

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Books

July 18, 2016 / / 0 Comments

For more detailed information and your further reading pleasure, I would highly recommend the following books. Not all of them are directly related to Kilimanjaro, but they all had an impact on my own Kilimanjaro Uncovered journey – by providing useful information, by inspiring me, by putting things into perspective, or simply by providing good entertainment.

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Websites

July 18, 2016 / / 0 Comments

For more detailed information regarding Kilimanjaro and related topics, check out the following websites and blogs.

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