How Hard Is It To Climb Kilimanjaro? (My Honest Take)

I climbed Kilimanjaro in 2019 via the 8-day Lemosho route. Made it to Uhuru Peak. Didn’t die. Didn’t even come close to turning back.

Short answer: Kilimanjaro is not technically difficult. No ropes, no climbing skills, no mountaineering experience needed. The hard part is altitude. Your body either copes with 5,895m or it doesn’t – and you won’t know until you’re up there.

The overall success rate across all routes is about 65%. But that figure is skewed by people attempting 5-day routes with almost no acclimatisation. On an 8-day Lemosho route? It’s closer to 85-90%. Route choice and preparation matter far more than fitness.

Do You Need To Be Fit?

Fit helps. But you don’t need to be an athlete.

If you can comfortably hike 5-7 hours with a daypack – think a decent trail with 800-1,000m elevation gain – you’ll be fine physically. Kilimanjaro isn’t steep (except summit night and the Barranco Wall). Most days are long, gentle inclines at altitude.

I trained for about 3 months beforehand. Weekend hikes with elevation gain, some running during the week. Nothing extreme. The people in my group who struggled weren’t the least fit – they were the ones who went too fast on Day 1 and never recovered.

Tip: The golden rule: go slowly. Pole pole (slowly, slowly) in Swahili. Your guides will say it constantly. Listen to them.

Altitude Is the Real Challenge

This is the thing that makes or breaks your summit attempt. Not your legs, not your lungs, not your gear. Altitude.

Above 3,500m your body starts struggling with the reduced oxygen. Headaches, nausea, loss of appetite, poor sleep. Above 5,000m it gets properly uncomfortable – I had a persistent dull headache from Day 5, my appetite vanished, and sleeping felt more like lying there with my eyes closed.

The scary part: altitude sickness is largely genetic. You can be 25 and marathon-fit and still get hit hard. You can be 55 and moderately active and feel nothing. There’s no predicting it until you’re at elevation.

I took Diamox as a precaution and had no serious symptoms. Whether that was the Diamox or my genetics, I’ll never know. But the peace of mind was worth it.

How Cold Does It Get?

Summit night was -15°C. That’s genuinely cold. Your water bottle freezes. Your phone dies. Your ginger tea goes cold in 20 minutes.

During the day, though, it’s surprisingly warm at lower camps. Days 1-3 I hiked in a t-shirt. By Day 5-6 you’re wearing thermals during the day. Summit night is full alpine kit: four layers, balaclava, thick gloves, headlamp.

A proper layering system is everything. I break down exactly what I wore in my Kilimanjaro packing list.

What Do the Days Actually Look Like?

Most days are 4-7 hours of hiking. You wake up around 7am, eat breakfast in the mess tent, and walk to the next camp. Porters carry everything except your daypack. You arrive mid-afternoon, drink tea, eat dinner at 6pm, sleep by 8pm.

It’s… simple. Almost meditative. No phone signal above about 3,000m. No decisions to make. Just walk, eat, sleep.

The exception is summit night: midnight start, 6-7 hours of steep switchbacks in the dark, reach the top at sunrise, then descend all the way to high camp. 12-14 hours total. That day is hard. I wrote about it in detail in my Lemosho itinerary.

The Camping Situation

You sleep in tents every night. Your operator provides them – you don’t carry one. The quality varies wildly between operators. Mine were decent but not luxurious. Cold at altitude, obviously.

Toilets are long-drops with squat holes. They’re exactly as bad as you’ve read. I almost dropped my phone down one. Some camps have slightly better facilities than others, but don’t expect anything approaching comfortable.

Food was surprisingly good. Three meals a day plus snacks, all prepared by your cook crew. Expect carbs: porridge, toast, pasta, rice, soups. You won’t be hungry – but your appetite disappears with altitude, so eating becomes a chore by Day 5.

The Mental Side

Honestly? The mental challenge surprised me more than the physical. Eight days is a long time to walk towards one goal with no certainty you’ll make it. The boredom between camps. The doubt creeping in when your headache won’t shift. Summit night, when every step is slow and you can’t see the top.

Most people who turn back don’t do it because their legs gave out. They do it because the altitude makes them feel awful and they can’t face another 4 hours of it.

My advice: commit to reaching at least Stella Point (the crater rim). That’s 90% of the effort. From there it’s a flat hour to Uhuru. If you can get to Stella, you’ll almost certainly summit.

So Is Kilimanjaro Hard?

Physically: moderate. Technically: easy. Mentally: harder than you expect. Altitude: unpredictable.

If you choose a longer route (7-8 days minimum), go with a reputable operator, train for 2-3 months, and take Diamox as a precaution – you’re giving yourself the best possible shot. The success rate on 8-day routes is 85-90% for a reason.

The people who fail are usually the ones who chose a 5-day route to save money, didn’t acclimatise, went too fast, or ignored early symptoms. Don’t be that person and you’ll probably be fine.