Kilimanjaro: what to bring

You will walk through four climates

Rainforest, moorland, alpine desert, then arctic. That is the whole problem in one sentence: you are packing for a hot wet forest and a summit night that can reach −20°C with wind, on the same trip.

Everything below is about layers you can add and remove, and about keeping the things that must stay dry, dry.

The three that decide your summit night

If you get only three things right, make them these.

• A sleeping bag rated to −10°C or lower — comfort rating, not extreme rating, which is a survival figure and not a sleeping one
• An insulated jacket, down or synthetic, that packs small
• Boots that are broken in. Summit night is not the night to discover a hot spot

Layers

• Base layers, merino or synthetic — never cotton, which holds sweat and then chills you
• Mid layers: fleece, and a second thinner one
• Waterproof jacket and trousers, properly waterproof rather than showerproof
• Trekking trousers, two pairs
• Warm hat, sun hat, buff or neck gaiter
• Inner gloves and warm outer gloves — summit night, and your hands are what fail first
• Trekking socks, several pairs, plus one thick pair kept clean and dry for summit night only

The rest

• Trekking poles — they save your knees on the descent, which is where most people hurt
• A head torch with spare batteries; the summit push starts around midnight
• A daypack of 30–35 litres for what you carry yourself
• Two one-litre bottles or a bladder. A bladder hose freezes on summit night — carry a bottle too
• Sunglasses with real UV protection; the glare on the glacier is severe
• High-factor sunscreen and lip balm — you burn faster at altitude than you expect
• Personal first aid: blister plasters, painkillers, any personal medication
• Wet wipes and hand sanitiser; there is no shower

Hire rather than buy

A down jacket and a −10°C sleeping bag are expensive for one week of your life. Both, along with poles and gaiters, can be hired in Arusha for a fraction of buying them, and we will arrange it.

Boots are the exception. Never hire boots. Bring your own, and walk in them for weeks beforehand.

The porter weight limit

Your porter carries one bag, and the limit is 15kg. This is not a formality — it is enforced at the gate, and it exists because it protects the person carrying it.

We would rather tell you plainly: the limit is a welfare rule, not an inconvenience, and we will not ask a porter to exceed it.