Below the arctic peak of Kilimanjaro, a misty jungle covers the mountain slopes. Moss-covered trees, seas of ferns and elusive monkeys abound in one of the Seven Summits’ only rainforests. This is where every Kilimanjaro trek begins. Lemosho, Umbwe, Machame, Marangu, Rongai – your first step is always into a sprawling jungle filled with…
Whether you’ve been dreaming of climbing Kilimanjaro for years, or have just recently decided to make the trek, we are excited to help you summit Uhuru Peak! The Kilimanjaro climb is a challenging, life changing, and wisdom imparting experience that will provide a lifetime of incredible memories. Need inspiration to get you started? Here…
Ngorongoro once rose much, much higher than the 7500 foot rim. Photo: Andy Biggs Today, the Ngorongoro Crater’s rim rises just 7,500 feet above sea level; visitors might experience chilly nights, and anyone peering from the rim down to the crater floor, which sinks 2,000 feet below, might have a momentary sense of vertigo…but then…
Thomson Safaris staffer shares expert tips on packing for Kilimanjaro. Amy just returned from her successful Kili trek in November, and she attributes some of her success to a basic (but often ignored) tip: Don’t overpack.
One particular formation on Kilimanjaro has been fascinating and awing climbers for decades, now: Lava Tower. The tower is around 300 feet tall, and previously, climbers were able to hike up it (a scramble that could be treacherous on icy days).
We sat down for a chat with James to learn about his life as a Thomson Safaris guide on Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Kilimanjaro is especially remarkable as an incubator for isolated, mutated, or rare species found almost nowhere else. One of the most striking of those species is the giant groundsel varietal Dendrosenecio kilimanjari.
On Kilimanjaro—where each day means physical challenges and adjustment to a new altitude, and your nights are spent in a sleeping bag instead of on a feather bed—getting all the sleep you need in order to reach the summit can be difficult. Luckily, the Thomson Safaris team has learned a few tricks on their treks that will help ensure you have more restful nights.
Porters carry not only trekkers’ luggage, they carry the sleeping, dining, and toilet tents; the chairs trekkers rest on in camp; the gear needed to cook up meals, and the food that goes into them. So how much does all that extra stuff come out to?
Partnering with SmartWool, Thomson Safaris Kilimanjaro trekker, Karen Capaldi, managed to gather 1,200 pairs of socks to donate to the Kilimanjaro Porter’s Assistance Project. We got in touch with Karen post-Kili to learn more about what led to this incredibly generous gesture.