Kilimanjaro Marangu Route hiking guide: route map, stages & where to stay

The Marangu Route is the oldest and best-known way up Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa (5,895 m). It climbs the south-east side from Marangu Gate, the park headquarters, through rainforest and moorland to the Saddle between Mawenzi and Kibo, then up the summit cone to Gilman's Point and Uhuru Peak. It is the only route on Kilimanjaro where you sleep in huts, not tents: the park huts at Mandara, Horombo and Kibo have bunks, dining rooms and toilets. You go up and come down the same way, and you must climb with a licensed guide and crew. Locally it is still called the "Coca-Cola route", after the drinks once sold at the huts.

The route

Day 1 is a walk of about 8 km through the montane forest from Marangu Gate (about 1,860 m) to Mandara Huts (2,720 m); before dinner you can walk 15 minutes up to Maundi Crater for the view. Day 2 leaves the forest for heath and moorland and climbs steadily for about 12 km to Horombo Huts (3,720 m), with Kibo and the jagged peak of Mawenzi ahead. On the 6-day climb you spend day 3 at Horombo and walk up to Zebra Rocks or towards Mawenzi Hut and back to acclimatise. The next day crosses the Saddle, a wide stony plain, past the Last Water Point to Kibo Hut (4,703 m), about 9-10 km. You rest for a few hours and leave around midnight. The summit path zigzags up loose scree past Hans Meyer Cave to Gilman's Point (5,685 m) on the crater rim, usually at dawn, and then follows the rim for one to two hours past Stella Point to Uhuru Peak. The same day you descend via Kibo Hut to Horombo, and on the last day you walk about 20 km down to the gate.

This guide follows the line mapped on OpenStreetMap from Marangu Gate to Uhuru Peak (34 km) and splits it into 4 stages, about 8.5 km each: the classic hut-to-hut climb. The descent on the same path (about 35 km in 1.5 days) is described in the text and stage notes. Operators quote about 70 km for the whole climb.

Highlights

• The rainforest on day 1: tall trees, moss and black-and-white colobus monkeys
• Maundi Crater: a short walk from Mandara Huts with views to Lake Chala, Lake Jipe and Nyumba ya Mungu
• Mawenzi (5,149 m): the jagged second summit of Kilimanjaro, above you from Horombo and across the Saddle
• The Saddle: a high, silent desert between two volcanoes
• Sunrise at Gilman's Point and the walk along the crater rim past the glaciers to Uhuru Peak

When to climb

KINAPA describes two dry seasons: late June to September and December to early March. July, August and the New Year period are the busiest, and the huts can be full. The main rains fall from March to May and the short rains in October and November; the forest path is muddy and the summit can be deep in snow, but the huts give shelter, so Marangu is a common choice in the wet months. Summit night is often -10 to -20 °C with wind chill at any time of year. Fires sometimes break out in the dry heath: in October 2020 a fire between Mandara and Horombo closed the route for several days.

How many days do you need?

Book 6 days. The 5-day climb goes from 1,860 m to 5,895 m in four days and gives the least acclimatisation of any route on the mountain, which is the main reason Marangu has a lower summit rate than its gentle path suggests. Plan a night in Moshi or Marangu before the climb for the briefing and gear check, and one after.

Permits, fees and booking

You cannot climb Kilimanjaro on your own. KINAPA issues permits only through licensed tour operators, who book the hut bunks and provide a guide, assistant guides, a cook, porters and food. The huts have a fixed number of bunks (about 60 at Mandara and Kibo, 120 at Horombo), so book early for the dry seasons. Choose a partner operator of the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP), which treats porters fairly. The operator price includes park fees. In the latest published TANAPA tariff (valid from January 2025; no newer tariff had been published by October 2026), a foreign adult pays USD 70 a day in conservation fees, USD 60 a night for the huts, a USD 20 rescue fee and a USD 10 forest fee, plus 18% VAT: about USD 885 for 6 days. Porters may carry no more than 25 kg, and children under 10 are not allowed above 3,700 m. Tipping the crew is expected; ask your operator for its tipping guide.

Getting there and away

Fly to Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO). Marangu Gate is 41 km from Moshi and 86 km from the airport, about 1 to 1.5 hours from Moshi by road via Himo; the village of Marangu below the gate has several hotels. You need a passport valid for 6 months, a tourist visa (e-visa before travel, or on arrival at the main airports) and a yellow fever certificate if you arrive from a country with yellow fever risk. Regulations published in September 2026 also require a USD 44 Tanzanian inbound travel insurance policy for most foreign visitors; check whether it is enforced when you travel. Plastic carrier bags are banned.

Money and phone signal

Climbs and tips are usually paid in US dollars; bring clean, recent notes. ATMs in Moshi give Tanzanian shillings. Soft drinks, beer and bottled water are often sold at the huts for cash. Mobile signal is patchy: often some at Horombo, Kibo and the crater rim, little in the forest. There is no charging for climbers, so bring a power bank.

What to pack

Pack for every climate: light clothes, a fleece, a down jacket, waterproofs, thermal layers, a warm hat, thick mittens, a sleeping bag rated to -10 °C or lower (the huts are unheated; mattresses are provided), a head torch, trekking poles, sunglasses and high-factor sunscreen. Carry 3 litres of water and purification tablets. Earplugs help in the shared huts. Porters carry your duffel; keep water, snacks, rain gear and warm layers in your daypack.

Difficulty and safety

The Marangu route is not technical, but it is hard. The danger is altitude, and the short itinerary makes it worse: most climbers get headaches and poor sleep, and some get acute mountain sickness, which can turn into life-threatening HAPE or HACE. Walk slowly, drink well, report every symptom to your guide, and go down if they get worse. Summit night is 6-9 hours of slow climbing on loose scree in the cold and dark, followed by a descent of about 2,200 m to Horombo. In an emergency, your guide and the KINAPA rangers at the huts organise rescue; a vehicle track reaches about Horombo, so evacuation from the lower huts is relatively fast. The national emergency number is 112, and the nearest major hospital is KCMC in Moshi. Your insurance must cover trekking to 6,000 m and helicopter evacuation.