Rongai Route (6-8 days)

The Rongai route is the only route that approaches Kilimanjaro from the north, close to the Kenyan border. Though gaining popularity amongst climbers, this route still experiences low crowds. Rongai has a more gradual slope than the mountain’s other routes. It is the preferred route for those looking for an alternative to the popular Marangu route, for those who would like a more remote hike, and for those who are climbing during the rainy season (the north side receives less precipitation). Rongai is a moderately difficult route and is highly recommended, especially for those with less backpacking experience.

Although the scenery is not as varied as the western routes, Rongai makes up for this by passing through true wilderness areas for nearly the entire way. Descent is made via the Marangu route.

Chief's Tours is happy to offer you the chance to get to the roof of Africa via Rongai route from 6 to 8-day tours.

Please find detailed itineraries and prices of each option in the following links and CHIEF'S TOURS GALLERY.

- Rongai Route 6 days 5 nights: https://goo.gl/zEE4Rg

- Rongai Route 7 days 6 nights: https://goo.gl/SqAX2w

- Rongai Route 8 days 7 nights: This option is for those who wish to extend the hike based on physical and mental conditions.

Below is the sample of a 7-day 6-night Rongai Route tour.

Itinerary

DAY 1: NALEMORU GATE TO SIMBA CAMP

This morning we will drive to the village of Nalemoru for the starting point of the Rongai route. The first stage of the trek is through farmland and pine forests. You may have a chance to see the beautiful Colobus monkeys or if you’re lucky enough, elephants or buffalos en route. Our first camp will be the Simba Camp located at the edge of the moorland zone at 2625m.

Elevation: 1990m to 2625m
Distance covered: 8km / 5mi
time taken: 4 - 5 hours
Meals: Lunch & Dinner

DAY 2: SIMBA CAMP TO 2^ND CAVE CAMP

The morning hike is a steady ascent up to the Second Cave Camp located in the moorland zone with superb views of Kibo and the Eastern ice fields on the crater rim.

Elevation: 2625m to 3480m
Distance covered: 5km / 3.1mi
time taken: 3 - 4 hours
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 3: 2^ND CAVE CAMP TO KIKELEWA CAMP

Leaving the pine forest behind, we carry on with a steady ascent walking though moorland. There are superb views of the Eastern ice fields on the crater rim of Kibo, the highest of the three volcanoes which form the mountain. We will leave the main trail and strike out across moorland on a smaller path towards the jagged peaks of Mawenzi, the second of Kilimanjaro's volcanoes. We will set up camp today in the sheltered valley near Kikelewa caves at 3630m.

Elevation: 3480m to 3630m
Distance covered: 5km / 3.1mi
time taken: 3 - 4 hours
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 4: KIKELEWA CAMP TO MAWENZI HUT

This morning we have a short but steep ascent up grassy slopes which is rewarded by a superb view of the Kenyan plains to the north. We leave vegetation behind shortly before reaching our next camp at Mawenzi Tarn Hut directly below the towering cliffs of Mawenzi. This afternoon you have a chance to rest or explore the surrounding area to aid acclimatization.

Elevation: 3630m to 4310m
Distance covered: 8km / 5mi
time taken: 4 - 5 hours
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 5: MAWENZI HUT TO KIBO HUT

We leave our campsite and cross the lunar desert of the ‘saddle’ between Mawenzi and Kibo After a couple hours trekking, reach this spectacular place, with the summit of Kilimanjaro in the background and our trail to the high camp stretched out before our eyes. Upon reaching our camp the remainder of the day will be spent resting in preparation for the final ascent after a very early night!

Elevation: 4310m to 4700m
Distance covered: 8km / 5mi
time taken: 5 - 6 hours
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 6: KIBO HUT TO UHURU PEAK DOWN TO HOROMBO HUT

Today is “The Big Day” - the summit stage. You will begin your final ascent around midnight which will be long and strenuous. Passing the Hans Meyer Cave at 5220m, the climb slowly but surely goes upwards. At sunrise, you will reach Gillman’s Point (5681m) – the crater rim of Kilimanjaro – where the sun will slowly start to warm up the land. You will have soon forgotten the cold of the night and after a further hike of 1 - 2 hours, you will reach Uhuru Peak at 5895m. On your return to Kibo Hut, a warm meal awaits you followed by a 1 - 2 hour break before proceeding back down to Horombo Hut.

Elevation: 4700m to 5895m down to 3700m
Distance covered: 22km / 13.7mi
time taken: 12 – 15 hours
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 7: HOROMBO HUT TO MARANGU GATE, BACK TO TOWN

The last stage passes through the heath and moor zone to the Mandara Hut (2700m) where a warm lunch is waiting for you. Soon, you will once again pass the tropical rainforest and after a total time of 6 hours trekking, you will be back at the Kilimanjaro National Park Gate (1860m). After saying goodbye to your mountain guides, a short transfer follows to take you back to your hotel in Moshi. Once there, you can take a warm and relaxing shower and celebrate your success in reaching the summit of the Kilimanjaro.

Elevation: 3700m to 1860m
Distance covered: 20.8km / 12.9mi
time taken: 8 hours
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

PRICE OF 2018

To meet a significant number of climbers’ demand, we are happy to provide you with a wide range of Kilimanjaro tours divided into 03 types: Budget – Standard – Luxury. Below is the price of Standard offers. For Budget and Luxury options, kindly contact us. Asante sana!

Route	1 person	2 people	3 people	4-5 people	6-8 people	9+ people
Marangu Route 5 days	$ 1350	$1250	$ 1180	$1150	$ 1140	$ 1120
Marangu Route 6 days	$ 1510	$ 1450	$ 1400	$ 1380	$ 1340	$ 1350
Marangu Route 7 days	$ 1680	$ 1630	$ 1600	$ 1570	$ 1550	$ 1530
Rongai Route 6 days	$ 1690	$ 1650	$ 1620	$ 1590	$ 1580	$ 1570
Rongai Route 7 days	$ 1800	$ 1780	$ 1750	$ 1730	$ 1720	$ 1700
Rongai Route 8 days	$ 1920	$ 1890	$ 1860	$ 1830	$ 1820	$ 1800
Umbwe 6 days	$ 1800	$ 1770	$ 1740	$ 1710	$ 1700	$ 1670
Umbwe 7 days	$ 1850	$ 1830	$ 1800	$ 1770	$ 1750	$ 1740
Umbwe 8 days	$ 2000	$ 1970	$ 1940	$ 1910	$ 1900	$ 1880
Shira Route 6 days	$ 1690	$ 1670	$ 1630	$ 1600	$ 1590	$ 1570
Shira Route 7 days	$ 1800	$ 1770	$ 1730	$ 1700	$ 1690	$ 1680
Shira Route 8 days	$ 1920	$ 1890	$ 1860	$ 1830	$ 1820	$ 1800
Machame Route 6 days	$ 1690	$ 1670	$ 1630	$ 1600	$ 1590	$ 1570
Machame Route 7 days	$ 1780	$ 1750	$ 1720	$ 1690	$ 1680	$ 1660
Machame Route 8 days	$ 1920	$ 1890	$ 1860	$ 1830	$ 1820	$ 1800
Lemosho Route 6 days	$ 1690	$ 1660	$ 1630	$ 1600	$ 1590	$ 1570
Lemosho Route 7 days	$ 1800	$ 1770	$ 1740	$ 1710	$ 1700	$ 1670
Lemosho Route 8 days	$ 1920	$ 1890	$ 1860	$ 1830	$ 1820	$ 1800
Lemosho Route 9 days	$ 2100	$ 2070	$ 2040	$ 2100	$ 2000	$ 1980
Northern Circuit Route 7 days	$ 1690	$ 1660	$ 1630	$ 1600	$ 1580	$ 1570
Northern Circuit Route 8 days	$ 1920	$ 1890	$ 1860	$ 1830	$ 1820	$ 1800
Northern Circuit Route 9 days	$ 2100	$ 2070	$ 2040	$ 2010	$ 2000	$ 1940

Inclusion

Exclusion

2-night accommodation in Moshi town: before the first and the final hiking day
Arrival and departure airport transfers
High-quality 4-season camping equipment
Experienced and professional mountain guides
All park fees and rescue fees
All large-portioned, nutritious food and purified drinking water on the mountain
Guides, porters and cook salaries
Pulse Oximeter for daily health check
Crisis management and safety procedures
Fair and ethical treatment of porters
Beds (for luxury tours)

International Flights & Visa & Insurance
Tips to porters and guides (customary and much appreciated)
Meals while in Moshi town
Items considered to be non-essential, such as alcohol, beverages, cigarettes, snacks, etc.
Optional Tours (for example, short safaris after your climb or Moshi day tour, etc.)
Oxygen tanks (included in luxury tours - can be rented in budget and standard tour)
Portable toilets (included in standard & luxury tours - can be rented in budget tours)

Thank you for considering us. We look forward to guiding you to the holy mountain Kilimanjaro!

Contact: +255 732 973893 / +255 7555 49872 / + 255 686 952 599 (Call/WhatsApp)

Email: info@chiefstours.com | Website: https://chiefstours.com/

Testimonials

Successful and Amazing Kilimanjaro Trip!

We used Chief's Tours to book our Kilimanjaro trip. It was the most AWESOME and AMAZING experience ever!. What a trip!

Adidas and wife Upendo were so good, polite and accommodating. After our experience they arranged us to stay at the Selig Hotel which is only a few minutes from Chief's Tours; transportation to and from the hotel, including the airport. The day we got off the plane we started our hike in the afternoon.

We summited on New Year's day in 2018. We took the Machame route which took us 5 days to reach the top, and a day and a half to reach to the bottom. The guides, Mohammad and Freddy were so so awesome. I truly miss those guys, also need to mention the waiter and cook and the porters. The guides ensured our safety and success to reach the summit and descent. I'm not that fast of a hiker, but they were understanding and set the pace for the climb.

They not only gave us plenty of food for every meal but also brought a lot of snacks, energy bars, and candy, etc. Also after our climb, Chief's Tours arranged us for the Chagga Culture and Coffee, and waterfall tours that are also excellent!

Thank Chief's Tours for everything!

FreddricFrance

I made an excellent decision by choosing to Climb Kilimanjaro with Chief Tours for the following four reasons:

First, in regards to "social responsibility" and the treatment of the crew (food and lodging), after spending 6 days climbing with Chief Tours, I can testify that Chief Tours meets or exceeds other tour operators.

Second, unlike many of the Kilimanjaro operators, Chief Tours is a Tanzanian company. Therefore, instead of losing a majority of the profit to a head office in Europe, America, or Australia, the profit goes toward developing the local community by way of better wages for Chief Tours employees.

Third, Octait (my guide) was exceptional. He knew all of the short-cuts and ensured that I was well rested and hydrated at all times.

Fourth, every day I was served a wide array of fresh and delicious foods. The foods included: Beef, Fish, Chicken, Mango, Pineapple, Avocado, Cassava, and many more.

I would definitely recommend Chief's Tours!

JackNew York, USA

An ethically credible company, with the friendliest and best staff!

My sister and I summitted Kilimanjaro thanks to Adidas and all of the Chiefs Tours crew. We had the trip of a lifetime! We both arrived from different countries on different days and Adidas made sure that the logistics were all taken care of and our arrivals and transfers were seamless.

As for Kilimanjaro, we couldn't have been happier with the experience and the team that we had. We took the Lemosho Route and summited a day early, reducing the climb from 7 days to 6, as we did not suffer from altitude sickness and were ready to go a day ahead of schedule. We organized a day trip to Arusha Hot Springs through Chiefs Tours for the extra day then returned to Moshi, all were so lovely.

I would definitely recommend Chiefs Tours to anyone considering Kilimanjaro, our guides (Msafiri and Heaven) and our entire team (particularly Juma) were amazing. They made sure all of our needs and interests were met at every step of the way, with massive smiles! Also, we really noted and liked that they all were wearing appropriate and proper gear and equipment for the climb which many other porters were not.

Adidas is running an ethically credible company, with the friendliest and best staff. Asante sana!

OleksandrKiev, Ukraine

Definitely book with Chiefs Tours!

Our group of 9 friends had been planning to climb Kilimanjaro for a year. We did a lot of research in terms of tour companies and prices. We found Chiefs Tours to be very competitive and decided to book a 7-day Lemosho route trip with them. This was due to the success rate of this route and because it is one of the most scenics.

Adidas from the first contact was most helpful, nothing was too much trouble. Everything was jointly planned and agreed. From the moment we stepped off the plane at Kilimanjaro (at 1:15 in the morning!) to the moment we stepped back on it, Adidas and his team were on hand to guide us all the way.

Every part of our trip was taken care of from a pre-hike 1-day safari to accommodation before and after the hike to even getting his driver to take us to a restaurant for a post-hike meal!

Adidas employs a professional team who ensure you have an enjoyable, comfortable trek (well, as comfortable as a hike up Kili can be). If it was not for the support of his staff, some members of our group would not have made it to the peak. We were so happy with Chiefs Tours that another group of our friends will be doing the hike next year. Thanks you Adidas and team for a trip of a life time and Hakuna Matata!

PaulEngland

From the first contact onward, the communication went really well. Chief Tours answered all our questions within less than one hour which was excellent as I have booked the tour with them short-notice and still had tons of questions.
We have been warmly welcomed in Moshi at the bus station by the owner and Ceo of Chief Tours, Adidas. He also took immediately care about one of our luggage which went missing in Nairobi.

His Team, especially Julius and Msafiri the two guides have so many experiences with guiding us slowly to the top of the mountain. Both of us made, it thanks to them.
The chef James was providing delicious meals out of his very simple kitchen every day. We could not stop eating and gained actually some weight at the mountain.
The waitress, as well as some porters, taught us some Swahili words which were really great.
If my friends or family would ask me for a recommendation, I definitely would recommend Chief Tours for the Kili hike. They will be in good hands.

Sabina S.England

Rongai Route (6-8 days)

Itinerary

DAY 1: NALEMORU GATE TO SIMBA CAMP

Elevation: 1990m to 2625m

Distance covered: 8km / 5mi

time taken: 4 - 5 hours

Meals: Lunch & Dinner

DAY 2: SIMBA CAMP TO 2ND CAVE CAMP

The morning hike is a steady ascent up to the Second Cave Camp located in the moorland zone with superb views of Kibo and the Eastern ice fields on the crater rim.

Elevation: 2625m to 3480m

Distance covered: 5km / 3.1mi

time taken: 3 - 4 hours

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 3: 2ND CAVE CAMP TO KIKELEWA CAMP

Elevation: 3480m to 3630m

Distance covered: 5km / 3.1mi

time taken: 3 - 4 hours

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 4: KIKELEWA CAMP TO MAWENZI HUT

Elevation: 3630m to 4310m

Distance covered: 8km / 5mi

time taken: 4 - 5 hours

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 5: MAWENZI HUT TO KIBO HUT

Elevation: 4310m to 4700m

Distance covered: 8km / 5mi

time taken: 5 - 6 hours

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 6: KIBO HUT TO UHURU PEAK DOWN TO HOROMBO HUT

Elevation: 4700m to 5895m down to 3700m

Distance covered: 22km / 13.7mi

time taken: 12 – 15 hours

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 7: HOROMBO HUT TO MARANGU GATE, BACK TO TOWN

Elevation: 3700m to 1860m

Distance covered: 20.8km / 12.9mi

time taken: 8 hours

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

PRICE OF 2018

To meet a significant number of climbers’ demand, we are happy to provide you with a wide range of Kilimanjaro tours divided into 03 types: Budget – Standard – Luxury. Below is the price of Standard offers. For Budget and Luxury options, kindly contact us. Asante sana!

Inclusion

Exclusion

DAY 2: SIMBA CAMP TO 2^ND CAVE CAMP

DAY 3: 2^ND CAVE CAMP TO KIKELEWA CAMP