Month: September 2021

Climb Kili provided an outstanding experience from start to finish, and doing the climb during Covid-19 made for a very special experience. Given the difficulties with flying during Covid-19, and the fact that I was solo, I needed a company that offered flexibility and the reassurance of being able to reschedule if necessary. Climb Kili provided this. When my flights were cancelled (twice), and I had to shift my schedule by a day or two, Climb Kili adjusted my trip without any problem and ran it even though I ended up being the only client on the trip. I also chose Climb Kili because they appeared to be an ethical organisation, and my various discussions with their crew in Tanzania supported this being the case. The head office (Tiffany) was extremely efficient in organising my trip, the information provided prior to my trip was useful, and my family very much appreciated the updates and photos Climb Kili sent them each day during the trip. The staff who took me/from to the airport and met me at the hotel were great, and the hotel was also good. My crew on the mountain were all simply wonderful. My guide (Amani) was everything you would want a guide to be, competent, friendly, helpful, knowledgable, and set a good pace for me during each stage of the trek. Cook and porters were all friendly, very helpful and genuinely happy for me when I made it to the summit. Food was brilliant (and far more than I could eat). They took great care over food preparation and ensuring I was provided with ample clean drinking water to keep me healthy. Everybody made frequent use of hand sanitiser as well as the water and soap that was provided at each camp for washing. I had an excellent Mountain Hardwear tent to sleep in, a mess tent and a private toilet tent, which made for a comfortable stay at each camp. The trek itself was brilliant and everything I had hoped for. The Machame Route lived up to its reputation for providing a good experience of the different habitats while moving up and down the mountain. As well as the remarkable flora, we had good sightings of black-and-white colobus, driver ants, duikers, and even painted dog spoor. Climb Kili include several important modifications to the standard Machame itinerary. At both Shira and Karanga camps we arrived by lunchtime and took short walks in the afternoon to aid acclimatisation. At Lava Tower, we had a full, hot lunch to ensure we spent a couple of hours there for acclimatisation. And on Day 5, Climb Kili stay at Kosovo Camp (4800m) instead of Barafu Camp (4600m) where most companies stay, which meant that we had got the scrambling section from Barafu to Kosovo out of the way, and the summit climb on Day 6 was an hour shorter. Doing the trip during Covid-19 provided a pretty unique experience and I'm very glad I persevered through various flight cancellations. Instead of the normal couple of hundred tourists and more than a thousand porters and crew at each camp, there was never more than just my group and one other group with 1-2 tourists, meaning 19 people in total. On the day I summited, there was one other tourist who summited a bit after me, and the day before I think three tourists summited from Barafu, so we were all in the privileged position of having the summit to ourselves for as long as we wanted. Yes, dealing with all the flight cancellations was challenging, but it was well worth it for the experience. I was never concerned about the risk of catching Covid-19. Everyone was masked up during the flights, and my time in Tanzania was spent outside trekking up a mountain and sleeping in my own tent. Given that the virus doesn't transmit well outdoors, I was quite possibly safer than in normal life back in the UK. One final thing to consider if you're unsure about tourism during Covid-19 is that the people out there really need us tourists. There are no furlough schemes, redundancy pay and unemployment benefits in Tanzania. For all the people out there whose livelihoods depend upon tourism, no tourists means no income to pay for food, kids education etc. They need tourists to come back.

I could not have imagined a more impressive group of porters/guides as well as hotel staff throughout the 8-9 days or so. The attention to detail, friendliness, and overall organization really blew me away. I couldn't have pictured a better experience. The porters consistently went over the top to make sure we were comfortable and feeling well, as well as the guides who were incredibly kind and professional. They also made sure to check our heart rate and oxygen levels frequently to ensure safety. It would be hard to find a better operator with as affordable pricing and flexible dates as Climb Kili

I am now a 60 year old physician. Went with a team of 4 to Climb Kilimanjaro and go on Safari. Led by Uberguide Herment Mosha, along with Godlove, Amani and chef Justin we had a superb trip. It was well organized, putting us in great position to succeed. Much care spent on our well being along the way. Well fed, resourceful when the need arose. The trip moved along beautifully along the Lemosho route. Each afternoon an additional ascent of 200 meters after reaching camp to aid in the acclimation process . Afternoon tea and cards. Large team of 11 porters to keep weight management down. The experience of our team was noteworthy. In current clime, crowding is not an issue, neither on the mountain or on safari. Regular contact with the management team so transfers, hotels all in lockstep. Tiffany took care of arrangements in that regard. Hats off to the Tanzanians who provided excellent services along the way.

Sensational from start to finish. I cannot fault anything - in fact, my only fault would be that there was too much food each day, which sounds a strange complaint, but im not used to eating 3 x 3-4 course meals per day. From the organisation and flexibility, to the hotel, the guide, the ridiculously good hike itself, I would highly recommend Climb Kili. I did the Machame route from 5th-13th September 2020. Mrope was our guide and Felix co guide. A porter team of 10 more staff including chef supported our small group (2 persons only - 2 solo climbers). The whole thing blew my mind- the organisation, the positivity, the energy and efficiency of the porters. It meant you could focus on getting up the mountain.

Once in a lifetime experience!!! Climb Kili was an exceptional company from the very first interaction. They're very easy to get in contact with and were willing to answer any questions or concerns leading up to booking and preparing for the trip. Everything was seamless! Once we booked our trip for this past September, the company immediately sent us a welcome packet with a packing guide and information about the climb. When we arrived in Arusha, a team member picked us up and took us to the hotel. There, we were welcomed by extremely friendly staff that really made our stay comfortable! Before leaving for the hike, we had a debriefing meeting to be sure we had all the gear we needed. The next day we headed out for Mt Kilimanjaro and were welcomed by our team of 15 guides for our group of 4 hikers. We were so lucky to have such an amazing crew to get us to the summit (which all 4 of us did!). Meckson and Evance were our lead guides and went above and beyond to be sure that we were comfortable, healthy, and ultimately having a good time. On summit day, Evance even carried my backpack to be sure I was able to make it to summit. The lead guides were very knowledgeable about all of the fauna and flora and really just became our friends over the course of the 7 day hike. Although we did not interact as much with the entire team, they were all so nice and helpful! One of the guys would even bring us coffee or tea to the tent in the morning! After our 7 day hike, my husband and I did a 3 day Safari which was absolutely amazing!! I would also recommend booking this if you have time. Overall, I would highly recommend Climb Kili and I would highly recommend visiting Tanzania to meet the wonderful people of this country. To note, at the end of the hike there is a donation ceremony, so if there is anything you can spare it is much appreciated by the team. Most of the guides wear clothes and shoes from previous donations :) I only regret that I didn't bring more to give.

Outstanding in every way and exceeded all expectations. I can’t rate our lead guide Veda and assistant guide Steve enough. Their competence, patience, humour and kindness made the trip one of the best adventures I’ve ever had. Our porters and chef were also incredible; setting up our camps, always looking after us and feeding us so much delicious food. How they do this on a mountain is unbelievable! I have so much respect for all these guys. The hiking itself is such an experience, through stunning and constantly changing environments. Even though summit night is tough, it is also quite magical as you summit with a moonlit sky ahead and a deep red sunrise behind. Thank you so much team ClimbKili for an unforgettable trip, I hope to come back with my children one day.

Our ClimbKili team was exceptional. Competent and friendly. The food was excellent. This was a wonderful experience I will never forget. It was great to share the experience with my son. For a 62 year old, I think I did okay. The summit at sunrise was amazing. I enjoyed every step and every view the entire trip. The ClimbKili staff was excellent both on and off the mountain. A special thanks to Emanuel, Johhny and Singa

Highly recommend Climb Kili, both 8 day Kilimanjaro climb and 3-4 day Safari. Tiffany made all arrangements, answered our questions and flexed the itinerary when flights got changed last minute due to COVID. Guides Herment Mosha and Godlove provided compassionate leadership in getting us to the summit with endless insights and good humour. They resolved my mild case of altitude sickness, then sent a guide and porter to rapidly and safely descend one of our team whose altitude sickness wouldn’t resolve. Justin the chef prepared an endless supply of nutritious, delicious, food, snacks and hot drinks to keep us going and the entire support team was terrific. Very important that Climb Kili has license for Kosovo Camp at 16,000 feet for 5-6 hour summit night climb which results in a much higher success rate by saving 1.5 hours over Barafu Camp summit climb at 15,400 feet where most of the other tour companies start summit night. This strategy was key to our success. The Safari included a flight over the Serengeti which gave us a bird’s eye view before landing at park centre where our guide Ben picked us up and over the next 4 days was able to show us almost every type of animal in the park as well as a visit to a Maasai village. Tiffany booked us to stay at Summit Lodge while in Arusha, glamping in the Serengeti and Ngorongo Crater Wildlife Lodge while on Safari. We shopped around before landing on Climb Kili whose value can’t be beat. We will never forget Tiffany, Herment, Godlove, the climb team, Ben the Safari guide, and the wonderful hosts and support staff at all our accommodations that gave us the trip of a lifetime!

My climb to the summit of Kilimanjaro with ClimbKili exceeded all expectations. From planning stage with Tiffany to arrival reception to the actual climb with guides Herment, Desmis and Goodlove Climb Kili excelled. Guides attention to details regarding our safety and health was outstanding. Head guide Herment was nicknamed the magic man: there was no problem he did not magically solve. Entire group summited and had a blast along the way thanks to top knotch team. BTW: food was excellent and abundant. Lots of fun with the crew. Trip of a lifetime... THANKS AGAIN CLIMBKILI!!

The guides, porters and staff organizing the trip were all great! I highly recommend using Climb Kili for climbing Kili and for the safari. Hermant was our guide on Kili and I would ask for him