Home Tanzania Trekking Trekking Routes

Overview

There are many wildlife sanctuaries in Tanzania and forests and some of the best trekking and hiking trails in Africa. Tanzania offers short hikes and long hikes based on your capability through volcanoes, craters, and high plateaus. So, anyone who wishes to trek in Tanzania will find a trek to suit their needs.

Tanzania is open for safaris and trekking all year round, except during the rainy season. Mountain peaks are best seen in January and February when they are clear and glistening. Having pockets of rain that carry over from the rainy season in November, this is an off-season for trekking the mountains. In Tanzania, trekking is most prevalent between July and October.

Here are Famous Trekking Routes

A. Rongai Route:

Rongai routes approach from the north side of the mountain. This route is the easiest way for the Kilimanjaro trek and is suitable for inexperienced hikers.

The north side experiences lower rains, with shadow rain, so this trail will be suitable for the rainy weather since it is more sheltered.

Pros: 

• Fewer tourists and unchallenging 
• Climb and descent are from another side, so hikers get an option to see both mountains.

Cons: 

• More costly because additional routes are covered
• No opportunity to see beautiful scenarios due to its jungle.

B. Shira Route:

It starts from the Shira Gate, situated at 3600 meters, which can only be accessed via car, thus putting your starting point at Shira Ridge. It is not popular among trekkers because of its high altitude. To reach Mount Kilimanjaro, they approach the peak from the west side of the mountain enclosing the Shira Plain and return using the Mweka route.

Pros: 

• Less crowded 
• The route begins from the rainforest; therefore, it is highly fabulous.

Cons: 

• More costly because additional routes are included 
• More challenging due to high elevation.

C. Lemosho Route:

Lemosho is one of the newly added treks to the Kilimanjaro trek to decline the traffic of tourists. An extra day and an easier gradient through the forest is a better option for acclimatizing. Later, the route connects with the Machame and Shira routes.

Pros: 

• less crowded than the other routes
• It gives some time for preparation 

Cons: 

• Trekking is expensive due to the addition of extra days.
• More crowd when it joins with the Machame and Shira routes.

D: Northern Circuit:

Northern Circuit is the latest route on Kilimanjaro and the longest and offers picturesque views of the mountains. You will get a chance to travel through the silent and less visited northern slopes, which gives you an immense feeling of adventure and remoteness on this mountain.

Pros: 

• Safer trail
• It gives some time for preparation 

Cons: 

• Trekking is expensive.

E. Machame Route:

Also called the whisky Route because of its challenging climb. It is a popular and best route for climbing Kilimanjaro. 

This line boasts beautiful natural beauty plenty of flowers on the south side.

Pros: 

• Less expensive and shorter
• excellent success rate of trekking

Cons: 

• Heavily crowded.
• Short trails.

F. Umbwe Route:

Mount Kilimanjaro’s most challenging route is the Umbwe Route, one of the shortest routes to the Southern Glaciers and Western Breach.

Umbwe routes are short, steep, and direct from the south. The least technical route up Kilimanjaro, it is probably the most scenic.

Pros:

• Kilimanjaro’s steepest and shortest route.
• Since most climbers do not pick it up, it remains swarm-free as far as possible up to the Kibo hole.

Cons:

• Unless you are an experienced and prepared climber, it isn’t wise to take this route.
• Climbers must be prepared and experienced to attempt this route.

G. Marangu Route:

It is also known as the “Tourist Route” and as the “Coca-Cola Route.” This is because Marangu is the most popular route on the mountain and is thus considered “touristy,” and because the only sleeping huts on the route serve beverages like Coca-Cola.

Pros:

• The quickest and most direct route to the summit
• The cheapest route

Cons:

• Altitude sickness is very common
• Low success rate