Daily Routine On Mt. Kilimanjaro

For the camp staff, the day begins well before sun-up. The team prepares hot water for your washbasin, tea, and other hot beverages and breakfast. Your day will start bright and early, with a friendly wake-up call as the sun peeks over the horizon. A team member will bring you a basin of warm water to wash your face and brush your teeth, and a hot beverage, to warm you up before breakfast.

You’ll need to re-pack your duffel bag and daypack, taking only what you’ll need for the day’s hiking. Roll up your sleeping bag, (make sure you’ve packed any loose bits and pieces) before you leave your tent, dressed and ready for the day’s trek.

Breakfast is served in the mess tent, and we’ll all gather here for the day’s briefing, followed by a hearty breakfast, and daily medical checks. Take this opportunity to refill your water bottles or hydration reservoirs.

Once everyone’s pronounced fit and healthy, we’ll hit the trail, usually at around 8 am. Trekking poles in hand, we’ll be hiking at a slow-to-moderate pace, with plenty of rest stops for you to catch your breath, eat a snack, and appreciate the dramatic scenery of this unique mountain.

The team will stay behind to break camp, and will most likely overtake you during the course of the morning, moving quickly to establish our next camp.

Your guides will hike with you, making sure the group stays together, giving frequent reminders of “pole pole” (slowly, slowly). Keeping the pace slow helps with acclimatization and prevents anyone from getting unnecessarily fatigued.

Be sure to let your guide know if you have a headache, nausea, disorientation, or any other unusual symptoms.

We’ll stop for lunch along the way, some days this will be a hot lunch served in a mess tent; on other days we’ll have a picnic lunch, depending on the weather conditions, route or schedule. We aim to do most of the hiking in the morning so that after lunch it’s a shorter trek to our campsite.

On arrival at camp, you’ll find your tent ready for you, and your duffel bag inside. It’s important to change out of any damp clothing (whether from rain or perspiration), roll out your sleeping bag so it has a chance to “fluff up” (a compressed sleeping bag doesn’t insulate well), before heading over to the mess tent for a tea time snack and hot beverage.

Some afternoons we’ll do an acclimatization hike, up to a higher elevation, as part of the “hike high, sleep low” protocol, others we’ll rest and relax in preparation for the following day.

An early dinner will be served, after another medical check and briefing. Most trekkers crawl into their sleeping bag for an early night, others prefer to stay up talking. The mess tent is comfortable and well-lit, a good place to catch up on your diary or a bit of reading.