What to pack for Kilimanjaro? — More Active Travel

We just came back from climbing Kilimanjaro via the Lemosho route (8 days) and despite all the packing blog articles out there I thought I could add a few tips…

Packing for Kilimanjaro is a very hard task! You need to plan for hot and humid weather all the way through to sub-zero temperatures as well as medication, snack, electronics etc and all of this under 12kg… If you are like me and can’t pack light hopefully this article will help.

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is a lifetime experience and it’s important to remember one of the reasons… You have an incredible team of mountain crew spanning from guides, porters, cooks… all here behind you and helping you achieve your dream. Most of your personal gear will be carried by dedicated and hard working porters. For this reason we decided to choose a responsible travel company that was part of Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP). This not-for-profit organisation has a mission to improve the working conditions of the porters on Kilimanjaro.

Porters will carry your bag on their head so it is important that the bag is soft and weighs no more than 20kg when full including sleeping bag (some companies like Kandoo Adventures limit the weight to 15kg).

Bags

We recommend travelling to Kilimanjaro with 2 checked luggages: 1 you will leave at the hotel with the stuff you won’t need on your hike and a duffel bag for your trek. We bought a waterproof 85 litre model like the one below and it worked really well.

A waterproof dry bag set is essential to keep important things dry - we were pleased with this set. Make sure you keep your summit day socks in one of them.

You will need padlocks for both bags. The bag you leave at the hotel and the one you bring on your hike.

You will need things organised in your duffel bag to avoid looking for something for hours especially in a confined space like a 3 man tent! These packing cubes did the job for me. Also I will reuse them on all my travels!

You will need a backpack for the day, I had a 20l and felt it was a good size. However I was putting far too much in it each day and my shoulders were quite sore. Try to bring with you the strict minimum, 2-3L of water, a few snacks, layers, waterproof top/bottom, hat, medicine bag with diarrhoea and headache tablets, sunscreen and mosquito repellent on the first and last day. Osprey is usually the go to brand for hiking backpack: Osprey Women's Tempest 20 Hiking Pack.

Sleep

The travel company will provide a tent and mat. Most of the time you can rent the sleeping bag from them too. We were super pleased with the one we got from Kandoo Adventures, they were clean and very warm. (Mountain Hardwear Lamina -34c)

The one thing you should definitely bring however is an inflatable pillow, we got one that does not require too many breaths and we were very happy with the quality of the one below. It is lightweight and small. Sleeping in altitude can be a challenge for some so it is best to come equipped with anything that will let you get some rest and a good night sleep. Think of eye mask and ear plugs too!

As you go up the nights will get colder… I would usually sleep with an extra warm leggings and top from Uniqlo with some extra layers depending on the days. Most nights I would also wear my fleece hat to keep me cosy.

You will need a sleeping bag liner for 2 reasons: 1 for hygiene (even though the sleeping bags feel clean it’s best to sleep in your own sheet!), 2 for warmth… The liner's extra insulation can raise temperature by up to 5 degrees!

I had made a little mix of essential oils (peppermint, eucalyptus and lavender mixed with almond oil) to rub on our temples and chest to help with breathing and sleeping. It was very nice to have this with us!

Outdoor gear

You will need hiking poles, you won’t use them all the time but they are essential for going down! you can rent some if you won’t use them again. I personally was not keen on them either but after our trek to Mont Blanc, I will never go without hiking poles! Black Diamonds are the most famous ones.

Gloves, you will need 2 pairs. A lightweight pair for lower hike and a pair of ski gloves for summit day. Some days like for example Baranco Wall hike, you will touch /grab rocks which can be wet/cold). You can find some cheap waterproof ones on Amazon.

Hats, you will need a sun hat and a warm wool hat/beanie for colder temperatures. Some might chose merino wool hat.

Waterproof gear, definitely required especially if you go in October like us! We had rain nearly every afternoon so we were glad we spent a bit more on this part of our kit. Dan’s waterproofs were all from Patagonia and mine a mix, the jacket from Arcteryx and the bottom from Berghaus. It’s worth spending a bit more cash on GoreTex. We never got wet! Make sure your backpack also has a rain cover. Now we brought some ponchos but never used them. It was windy and not the best suited for hiking in my opinion. We gave them to the porters who seem to like them as it protects their bags.

Sunglasses. Best to buy a pair of high UV protection glasses as sun intensity above 4,500m is very high. We are big fans of Sungod glasses, we have ski goggles so we decided to buy ours from there, it’s the Sungod Renegades model. They have nice customisable design and great protection.

Gaiters, you may think they are unnecessary but because you will only have a small amount of trousers with you it is best to keep them clean for as long as you can and gaiters are great for this.

Head torch is non negotiable! You will need it in the evening at the camp, during the night for going to the toilet and through the night for summit day. Buy one that is waterproof too. Petzl has a great range. You should also bring spare batteries and store them in a dry bag.

A set of carabiners is also a good idea to hang things on your bag: water bottle, camera, solar power battery…

For camps, we had brought trail running trainers which were easier to put on and off as you go to your tent. Since you drink a lot of water, you will go to the toilet a lot through the night so it is convenient to have a pair of trainers you can easily put on…

Layers

I won’t go into too much details on this as everyone has different resistance to cold! I am always cold so I might have brought and worn a few more layers than everyone else… Most of our kit was bought from Decathlon, a famous French sport shop trying to make sports accessible to all selling affordable kit.

Bottoms - I brought 3 types of hiking trousers and I am super pleased with them. A lightweight for the first 2 days, followed by a mountain trekking one and finally for summit day a warm hiking trousers which I complemented with my Uniqlo leggings underneath and waterproof bottoms too.

Tops - We used a combination of Icebreaker and Uniqlo extra warm tops as well as fleece. We also brought our ski merino jumpers from a brand we discovered recently called Snow Finel. You will also need a hooded down jacket for evenings at the camp and on summit day.

Socks - ideally you should try to change socks everyday to avoid blisters. Also I used the lining socks for the first time and thought they were incredible! For summit day, best to get a pair of mountaineering extra heavy crew socks…

Hydration & snacks

You will be supplied water during all your trek. Now it is not your typical fresh Evian. The tap water in Tanzania is generally not drinkable. And during your hike the porters will get water from nearby streams. They will then purify it with chlorine tablets. Some people in our group had water filtration system too. With the altitude, it’s recommended to drink between 3 and 4 litres of water per day. You will therefore need to carry 3 litres with you in your backpack. The best way is to have a 2L water bladder and an additional 1L water bottle. For the bottle, Nalgene bottles are ideal due to their big opening. Why does this matter? Because on summit day, there is high chance you water will freeze and having a wide mouth bottle will help.

We had very tough conditions on our climb to Uhuru peak in minus temperatures and snow coming in sideways. Our 2 Thermos flasks saved us on summit night! Being able to drink something warm through the night has been very comforting and I really thought that was the best purchase! We would also get them filled and always have warm tea in our tent. Bliss! Make sure you pack some herbal infusions: a mix of night time and energise.

Note that disposable plastic bottles are not permitted on Kilimanjaro.

We brought a lot of healthy snacks from the UK. We love the nut butter balls (mixed dried fruit, hazelnuts and cacao filled with nut butter) from Deliciously Ella so this was definitely our « go-to » snack. We also had some nut and sea salt bars from Kind but this were not ideal at cold temperatures as it was quite hard to break and it’s not the moment to damage your teeth! A few dry fruits and nuts as well as some last minute purchase of sweets and chocolates from Heathrow airport...

We ate well during meal times which were very copious and we never felt hungry at all.

Toiletries

You won’t need a lot in your wash bag but there are some essential things to bring:

Hand sanitising gel is a must. Most of the time, you won’t have access to water to wash your hands. Get one you can tie at the front of your bag, then a couple more in your duffel bag.
You should be provided with toilet paper but I did bring a roll just in case! I will not go into details but as you drink a large amount of water you will need to pee often. You will often find a spot on your hike to hide and do your stuff. I do not think it is worth bringing a she wee or pee bottle, there are enough areas everywhere for a wee but warning you will be shocked to see how much rubbish people leave behind. Please pick your toilet paper with you until you get to the camp to dispose it.
Biodegradable body and facial wipes. Forget your shower for 8 days! Say hi to wipes as an alternative… That’s what we used to wash and it worked fine. It won’t replace your shower but that’s better than nothing. Buy larger one for body and more specific ones for face.
Moisturising cream. You face will be exposed so make sure you get a good moisturiser like Avene for extra dry skin.
Lip balm. Protect your lips from wind and sun. My lips got in really bad shape after the summit and I wish we had brought some Papaw ointment.
Hand cream. As you will live for 8 days outside you might suffer dry hands. I would pack some cream to apply overnight.
Vaseline. A small tub will do and can be useful for cracked fingers and lips or blisters!
Hair brush and dry shampoo (for women). You won’t need make up but you will enjoy a bit of clean hair, or at least a feeling of cleaning hair. I discovered this Klorane dry shampoo, got it in 50ml.
Toothbrush and toothpaste in miniature size. The tip is to go to dinner with your toothbrush so you can do it straight after leaving the tent where you eat and you don’t need to go back to your tent to go and get it.
Sunscreen. I made the mistake of not wearing any one day and my nose got badly burnt. I would apply some every morning (and through the day) even if overcast… Best to use a SPF50+ - we were using Shiseido one.
A mini microfibre towel - useful for drying your face or hands. We also used a bigger size one to dry up the tent when it was heavily raining!

I wear contact lenses so I needed contact lenses case and solution (travel size) as well as a small mirror to be able to put them on.

That’s really all you need in your wash bag. Do not bother with make up!

Medicine

Here is a list of the most common things you need apart from your own medication of course:

Diamox if you decide to take it. We started taking it on second day and we were lucky enough to have very little altitude sickness symptoms but some people have seen some bad side effects with it…
Ibuprofen - in case of headache or soreness in your body. It seems like it works better for altitude sickness too but I cannot guarantee this!
Imodium - this is not to forgot as sorry to break the news but you will most likely need it! Change of environment, poor water conditions, hands not always clean…
For your feet - since you are using your own boots you should not get any blisters but I had a terrible experience when doing the Tour du Mont Blanc with big nasty blisters (poor socks was the issue!) that I wanted to make sure I had a kit if required. Compeed, baby talc to reduce the effects of rubbing and chafing and I discovered this amazing hiking cream to avoid blisters Gehwol Foot Cream.
Sterimar cold defence to keep a potential cold at bay!
Hydration Electrolyte Tablets like O.R.S.
Malaria tablets - despite the fact you don’t need it on the mountains you will still go through Moshi which is in the Malaria zone…
For nausea, I usually take a drop of peppermint essential oil on a sugar cube.
Mosquito repellent. This will only be required on your first and maybe last day so take a small spray only on your hike.

Electronics and other bits

You will be amazed by the free time you get some days when you get to the camp. Obviously that gives you time to discuss with the people you met in your group but we still recommend the following:

Kindle or other electronic book - you can’t bring too many physical books for obvious reasons (weight!). Load it with a few good books and audiobooks. You can also download series or film on your phone to watch in your tent.
Notebook and pen - I made a diary for each of our days. It was hard enough to remember what we had done through the day so I thought it would be nice in a few years time to go through it and relive the experience. On that note we also did a video diary every day which will be brilliant to watch in the future...
Power bank for charging your devices (and cables!). We found this monster of power bank from Anker! It lasted through the 8 days and charged multiple times phone (always on “battery saving” mode), watch, GoPro, digital camera and headphones! Unbelievable… We didn’t even use the solar power bank we brought. Still a good idea to bring one anyway and tie it on your backpack when walking (with a carabiner).
Digital camera - I own a big Canon EOS 600D but frankly I was never going to bring this on this trip. Too bulky, too heavy… So I looked for smaller alternatives and I came across Panasonic Lumix DC-TZ90 Super Zoom digital camera. It was not a disappointment. Small enough camera with a fantastic zoom! It also does videos. It’s obviously a budget not everyone is willing to spend. I used a lot my iPhone for photos and videos too. I also had a GoPro which I only used a few times mainly on summit day as it was snowing quite a lot and the digital camera would not work well then. The cool kit I had for the GoPro is a rotational backpack clip mount, that’s very handy to not have to hold the device which is clearly awkward when walking with poles! I am a keen photographer and video maker so having the right amateur kit for documenting our trip was important to me but obviously bring what you think is right for you.
Bluetooth earphones - to listen to music, series or audiobook. Some people like to listen to music on summit day too. I personally did not as I was keen to speak to or hear people around me, just a matter of choice! These waterproof earphones did the job for us and I now use them for running…

We left behind to our amazing porters a lot of our kit: most of our base layers, water bottles, socks, hat, ponchos, solar charger (they need it more than us to call and re-assure their families when on the trek…), microfibre towel, ski gloves, snacks... Those guys go up the mountains with no gloves, some have no socks or not enough warm stuff. The smile on their faces when we gave them our kits/snacks was so incredible. A small gesture from us that can improve their daily lives…

Good luck with your packing and if you have some questions reach out to us!