Kilimanjaro Weather
Weather in Northern Tanzania is a good illustration of a typical tropical climate with a dry and a rainy season. The temperature rarely falls below C⁰ 25-35 (77- 95 F). March-May is the rainy season with high precipitation. November-beginning of December is the small rainy season. Check your luggage in accordance with our Kilimanjaro climb packing list
Mount Kilimanjaro has a special temperature regime. Traversing five climatic zones, it features different temperatures, ranging from “hot” at the beginning of your trek to “very cold” (especially on the summit night, when the temperature may fall below 15 C⁰) in the summit areas. The closer you are to Uhuru Peak, the colder the air becomes. Rainfall and wildlife decrease progressively.
What is the Best Time to Climb Kilimanjaro
In short, you may climb Mount Kilimanjaro all year round. Climbs during the dry season are, however, more comfortable. The dry season spans the periods from the second half of from December till March and from June till November.
At the same time, a Kilimanjaro climb during the rainy season has some advantages as well.
Kilimanjaro Climbing Tips
For all those climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with us and with other tour operators, we have prepared the following insider tips:
- Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is not about your level of fitness only. Determination, motivation and well-planned acclimatization transition are more important.
- Do not save up on your personal equipment. Branded high-quality clothes and sleeping bags often have decisive impact on successfulness of your climb. All personal equipment is available for rent in our office.
- Be ready to have no shower for a week or so. Portable showers are, however, available for extra fee.
- Public toilets may be uncomfortable, especially for the ladies. Thus, renting a portable toilet makes sense.
- Taking an mp3 player or an IPod is a good idea. Enjoy the sceneries on the way and better preserve battery for the summit rush.
Safety precautions
RajaTours Tanzania delivers the highest quality safety measures on Kilimanjaro. We take the following steps on your climb while you enjoy your adventure in Tanzania:
- We carry oxygen tanks on all our climbs.
- We carry a portable hyperbaric chamber (Gamow bag) on all our climbs and have a system in place for immediate evacuation off the mountain.
- We are using a pulse ox meter we will monitor your oxygen saturation and heart rate twice a day or more often if necessary.
- Every morning we listen to your lung sounds with a stethoscope to assess if there is any fluid on the lungs, a sign of HAPE.
- We will monitor your water intake to assure proper hydration. Safety precautions on Kilimanjaro climb.
- Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). If AMS is not treated it can lead to more serious conditions like High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) and/or High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE) each year a very small number of climbers die on Kilimanjaro. These deaths could be avoided if all licensed first aid guides who had high altitude medical training and carried oxygen and a portable hyperbaric bag. We travel with life saving equipment at all times when at high altitude. This equipment includes oxygen tanks, and a pressure bag, which are only used in the most life threatening altitude sickness cases.
- As part of our daily safety routine, we record and monitor various information pertaining to your body’s reaction to increasingly higher elevations.
- Our trips have been arranged to use daily climbing schedules and sleep to enhance your body’s acclimatization.
- Our meals emphasize carbohydrates and other foods that increase the generation of heat and energy as we move to higher altitudes.
- Moreover, we move slowly with light exercises and celebrations at every camp to make your trip in the mountains enjoyable.
