Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) – Emergency Department
- 24/7 emergency
- Stages 1, 2, 3, 4
Sokoine Road, PO Box 3010, Moshi
Kilimanjaro Marangu Route · Checked October 2026
Kilimanjaro Marangu Route emergency & health guide: altitude sickness, rescue and hospitals
How rescue works on Kilimanjaro, the signs of altitude sickness, the nearest hospital for each of the 4 stages, and the park rules: licensed operators, fees, porter loads, children, fires and drones.
On the mountain, tell your guide at once. Guides and the KINAPA rangers at every hut have radios, first aid and stretchers, and the treatment for altitude sickness is to go down, at night if needed. Severe headache that does not ease, vomiting, breathlessness at rest, confusion or stumbling are danger signs. A rescue track lets vehicles reach about Horombo Huts; higher up, evacuation is on foot, by stretcher or by a helicopter that your operator calls with your insurer. In towns, call 112 (police, fire and ambulance); it does not always connect outside the cities, and the call-taker may speak only Swahili.
Emergency numbers
| Number | What it is |
|---|---|
| 112 | Tanzania's emergency number for police, fire and ambulance. It does not always connect outside the cities and there is no government ambulance service; on the mountain your guide and the KINAPA rangers organise rescue. |
| +255 759 359 741 | KCMC (Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre), Moshi: emergency line. Most evacuated climbers are taken here. |
| +255 766 909 113 | Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre (ALMC), Arusha: emergency line |
| +255 27 275 6602 | Kilimanjaro National Park (KINAPA) headquarters, Marangu: office line, not a 24-hour rescue line |
Save your operator's 24-hour emergency number and your insurer's assistance line before you start. Mobile signal on the mountain is patchy, often available at Horombo, Kibo and the crater rim but weak in the forest. Your insurance must cover trekking to 6,000 m and helicopter evacuation; the park rescue fee does not pay for a helicopter. Ask which evacuation provider your operator uses in 2026, after the rescue helicopter crash on the south side of Kibo on 24 December 2025.
Rules to know
- You cannot climb Kilimanjaro independently: every climber needs a licensed guide booked through a licensed Tanzanian tour operator, which buys the park permit and books the hut bunks. On the Marangu route you enter and leave through Marangu Gate, the park headquarters, and you sign in at the gate and at every hut.
- Park fees in the latest published TANAPA tariff (valid from January 2025; no newer tariff found by October 2026), per foreign adult, plus 18% VAT: conservation USD 70 per day, Marangu hut fee USD 60 per night, rescue USD 20 per climb, forest fee USD 10. Children 5–15 pay USD 20 a day. A 6-day Marangu climb comes to about USD 885 in park fees with VAT (5 days: about USD 730); operators include this in their price.
- Children under 10 are not allowed above 3,700 m, about the height of Horombo Huts. Porters may carry no more than 25 kg including their own belongings; loads are weighed at the gate.
- Altitude: do not push on if you are exhausted or have severe mountain sickness. This is a park rule. Walk slowly, drink 3–4 litres a day, and go down if symptoms get worse.
- Sleep only in the park huts and stay on the trail. Do not litter, light fires, pick plants or feed animals; pets and firearms are banned. The dry heath burns easily: in October 2020 a fire between Mandara and Horombo closed the Marangu route for several days, and in September–October 2026 fires closed routes on the west side, when TANAPA sent climbers to Marangu instead. Check the route status with your operator before you travel.
- Entry to Tanzania: 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 require most foreign visitors (not EAC or SADC residents) to hold a USD 44 inbound travel insurance policy from a Tanzanian insurer, bought before travel or on arrival; check whether it is enforced when you travel.
- Plastic carrier bags are banned in Tanzania and are taken off you at the airport; ziplock bags for airport security are allowed. Pack your gear in dry bags or stuff sacks.
- Drones need permits from the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority, the Ministry of Defence and TANAPA, and are usually confiscated at the airport without them. Paragliding from the summit needs a separate park permit.
- Seasons: the dry months, late June to September and December to early March, are best. In the main rains (March–May) and the short rains (October–November) the forest path is muddy and the summit can be deep in snow; 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.
Nearest hospital for each stage
| # | Stage | Hospital (24/7 emergency) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marangu Gate → Mandara Hut | Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) – Emergency Department |
| 2 | Mandara Hut → Horombo Hut | Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) – Emergency Department |
| 3 | Horombo Hut → Kibo Hut | Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) – Emergency Department |
| 4 | Kibo Hut → Uhuru Peak | Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) – Emergency Department |
Hospitals
Mawenzi Regional Referral Hospital
Hospitali ya Rufaa ya Mkoa Mawenzi
- 24/7 emergency
- Stages 1, 2, 3, 4
Moshi town centre, Moshi
Kiitemboni Hospital
- Stages 1, 2, 3, 4
Marangu Mtoni, Moshi Rural District
Kilema Hospital
- Stages 1, 2, 3, 4
Kilema, Moshi Rural District
Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre (ALMC)
- 24/7 emergency
- Stages 1, 2, 3, 4
Fr. Babu Road, Block 54, Levolosi, Arusha
Clinics and first aid
There is no clinic or doctor on the route; the KINAPA ranger posts at the huts have first aid only. Below the gate there is a small dispensary next to Marangu Gate and small hospitals in Marangu (Kiitemboni) and Kilema, but their emergency services are not confirmed, and serious cases go to KCMC in Moshi.
Kibo Dispensary
- Opening hours only
- Stages 1, 4
Next to Marangu Gate, Kilimanjaro National Park
Pharmacies, cash and supplies
- Pharmacies:
- ATMs:
- Shops:
- Gate and transfers:
There is no pharmacy on the mountain or at Marangu Gate. Buy everything in Moshi or Arusha before the climb: acetazolamide (Diamox) if your doctor prescribes it, painkillers, rehydration salts, a blister kit, sunscreen and lip balm. Bring prescription medicines from home in their original packaging. The huts have no charging for climbers: carry a power bank.
Pharmacies, ATMs, shops and stops: © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hospitals and health centres checked online.
Have the nearest help on your map, offline
Outest shows these hospitals, pharmacies, ATMs and stops on the Kilimanjaro Marangu Route map, offline, together with the route, water and places to sleep.