With a height of 5895 meters, Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and the world’s tallest free-standing mountain. This magnificent mountain is like going from the Equator to the North Pole in a very short time, passing through ecological zones. The journey up Kilimanjaro experiences a variety of climatic conditions, starting in the jungle and ending in the Arctic ice zone. On the lower slopes of the mountain, farmland where crops such as coffee and corn are grown, a tropical rainforest belt at 3000 meters, and higher up, at 4400 meters, a high altitude desert and a landscape similar to the surface of the moon welcome climbers. At the summit is a permanent ice and snow zone. This unique climb is an extraordinary opportunity for climbers to discover the different beauties of nature in a week.
Climbing Kilimanjaro means a lot
I saw this magnificent mountain for the first time while on a wildlife safari with my family in Tanzania and Kenya during the summer vacation in 2000. The adventure of getting up in the middle of the night to watch the lions hunt in the wilderness of Masai Mara and Serengeti, around Kilimanjaro in 4×4 vehicles was amazing. It was on that vacation that I set myself the goal of summit climbing.
When I suggested climbing Kilimanjaro to my Pakistani nature lover friend Abdulsamad, whom I met five years ago at a young leaders training camp I attended as a speaker in the Himalayan Mountains, he shared my excitement and we immediately started preparations for the climbing program. After completing our preparations, our adventurous friends Fatih Akaydın and Ömer Lütfi Soylu joined us.
The primary purpose of this climb for me was to push my limits, get out of my comfort zone and get to know myself better. I believe that reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro is a turning point, both physically and mentally. Therefore, I wanted to overcome this turning point by climbing to the summit and to be a role model for young people by demonstrating the success of reaching the summit. I wanted to inspire young people by showing what we can achieve when we push our limits instead of giving up in the face of difficulties and obstacles. My other very important goal in this climb was to draw attention to our brothers and sisters who are persecuted in Palestine. This journey, which carries both a personal challenge and a social message, has a great meaning for my personal development on the one hand and for inspiring others.
Climbing diary
For this climb I would need strong legs, a strong head and clean lungs.
I focused on these requirements both physically and mentally during the preparation process. I completed my preparations with a strict sports and diet program in a short period of 2 months. At the end of this journey, I think words are not enough to describe how much I look forward to experiencing the satisfaction of pushing the limits and reaching the goals:)
There are six routes to climb Kilimanjaro: Marangu, Rongai, Machame, Lemosho, Shira, and Umbwe. We chose Marangu, which is the fastest and most comfortable route. Although this route is the most popular, the success rate is only around 50-60% due to the short acclimatization period and the very difficult summit ascent on the last day. Here is a suggestion for other climbers: if you have more time, choose another route! The Marangu route can be extended to 6 days like we did by adding an extra acclimatization day, increasing your chances of success. This is the only route that offers bungalow-style accommodation for 4 people without the need to camp.
The day before the climb, we had a meeting with our guide Gerrard and his team at the hotel we stayed in Moshi and discussed the final program. Apart from us, a team of 14 people will accompany us. The team includes a chef, porters, waiters and helpers.
And the day I have been waiting for months with excitement has arrived…
Day 1: Marangu Gate (1860m) – Mandara Hut (2720m)
We set off at 9.00 am for the approximately three-hour drive to Kilimanjaro National Park. The journey was accompanied by our guide’s information about Kilimanjaro and the different tribes in the Masai region and local songs. Eunoto, which is similar to climbing Kilimanjaro, is the name of the ritual that the Masai tribe performs for their boys to become warriors. This ritual symbolizes the transition of young men (called Moran) to warrior status. The young men prove their courage and skill through traditional ceremonies and rituals. I am very interested in this subject and I will write a detailed article about it in the future.
After registering and having dinner in Kilimanjaro National Park, we started our trek around 14:00. The porter team prepared their bags containing food, water and most of their equipment and set off before us. It would be impossible not to thank this team for their hard work. This legendary team not only arrived at the campsite before us, carrying our heavy load on their heads and backs, but also came back and took our medium-sized backpack from us containing our daily needs (drinking water, lunch pack and extra clothes) in the last kilometer, making us feel like a bird by lightening us at our most tired time.
On the first day, we started climbing the ridge of the mountain in the rainforest. Our guide Gabriel kept telling us “pole pole”, meaning “slowly, slowly!” because this is the most important trick of climbing Kilimanjaro; walking very slowly, drinking 3 liters of water a day, eating as much food as possible and getting plenty of rest at night. The forest is covered in fog and full of moss, so naturally there are a variety of animals. We were lucky because the wild-life stayed below us because of the weather and altitude, we only saw monkeys and the ants which kept biting our legs.
We successfully completed our first day after 5 hours in the rain in a pitch dark forest. The first night we stayed at Mandara Hut, a camp in the middle of the forest, full of bungalow-like houses with 4 sleeping beds and solar-powered lighting. We had a very delicious dinner prepared by our cook, with lots of ginger. After dinner, we measured our blood oxygen levels and heart rate, which we should routinely do every morning and evening to see how your body reacts to altitude. And that was the end of the first day of climbing Kilimanjaro. I don’t remember how I fell asleep when I got into my sleeping bag, exhausted.
Day 2: Mandara Hut (2720m) – Horombo Hut (3720m)
As we would do in the following days, we woke up at 6 in the morning, completed our preparations and set off after breakfast. I was well rested, I woke up without pain and I was very excited again. A little tip for climbers again: When choosing your group, if possible, pay attention to the night snoring habits of your friends, it is very important. We had two lions 🙂
With the path starting from Mandara camp, we followed the view of the villages of the neighboring country Kenya on the right, through a short forested area, and then transitioned from the rainforest to the part where the tree heights became shorter and then turned into steppe. Here we had the chance to see some of Kilimanjaro’s most spectacular plants, such as the giant lobelia, which grows up to 3 meters tall, and the giant groundwort (Senecio Kilimanjari), which can reach 5 meters.
When I asked our guide on the last day, I learned that the main purpose of his frequent stops was that the more he slowed us down, the easier it was for our bodies to acclimatize to the altitude and climate. But he did it without making it obvious. There were 3 reasons for breaks. One of them was the frequent ‘sip sip’ sipping water, the second one was ‘pis pis’ for needs and the other one was for snacks.
After about 8 hours of walking, we reached Horombo Camp. We were now above the clouds and the coldness of the air started to make itself felt. Our team brought hot water to wash our feet. After a short rest, we get in the sleeping bags and sleep.
Day 3: Horombo Hut (3720m) – Acclimatization Day (4300m)
Horombo was the main campsite, the groups coming in and out met here. The conversation with the other groups at Horombo Camp was quite enjoyable. In our conversations with the groups on the way down, we were trying to get preliminary information about what we would encounter on the way to the summit. As for the groups that did not make it to the summit, I stayed away from them as much as possible in order not to spoil my psychology because I knew that 70% of success is in the head and my motivation was at its peak, I believed in myself and I was ready. I will successfully climb to the summit of Kilimanjaro and aim for higher peaks!
Spending this extra day at base camp was very important for acclimatizing the body to the climate and high altitude for a successful summit. If we had not spent today with acclimatization, there would have been a higher chance of getting altitude sickness at any moment in the following days of the climb. Today we climbed to a height of about 600 meters and descended. We spent a comfortable day walking to the zebra cliffs overlooking Mount Mawenzi and rested a lot.
This was the point where we could get a last comfortable sleep, now the hard days were waiting for us.
Just in front of the camp, a stream was flowing from the mountain the mountains. I hadn’t showered for about 3 days and I took this opportunity to take my soap and have a nice wash in the stream, the water was like ice. The guide was very surprised that I was in this water, he said, ‘I have never seen anyone enter this water until this age, you are a real Masai Warrior’. I also entered this stream on the way back. The icy water took away all the pains in my body and made me feel refreshed.
Day 4: Horombo Hut (3720m) – Kibo Hut (4730m)
Today we were going to realize the importance of the sleep we got at night in the base camp, if we got enough sleep, because our sleep patterns were a bit confused. After breakfast, we passed the last water point at 4130 meters and continued climbing towards the alpine desert habitat. To our right, the magnificent view of Mawenzi, the third highest mountain in Africa, and the summit of Kilimanjaro, the white elephant. A track that makes you feel like you are on a different planet.
At Kibo Camp (4730 m) there is no water source, instead there is a slight headache and shortness of breath. Only 1195 meters to the summit and we will make the final ascent tonight at 22:30. In the afternoon we prepared our equipment and thermal clothing, tried to sleep and rest at 17:00. At 20:00 we got up, ate something and prepared for the climb to the summit. One more important information for climbers; it is important to carry water in a thermal bottle here. We missed this and all our water was frozen at the summit:(
Day 5: Kibo Hut (4730m) – Uhuru Peak (5895m) – Horombo Hut (3720m)
It was 22:30, we started climbing again, there is excitement and adrenaline. It was very cold and confusing, we were moving very slowly, taking each step in about 3 to 5 seconds. Luckily the full moon was illuminating our way, but it was extremely cold again because of the full moon.
It was a stony road until Hans Meyer Cave (5150 m) and here most people give up. Of course we didn’t give up, we stopped for 5 minutes at Hans Meyer Cave, ate energy bars, drank water and rested. It was impossible to rest any longer, otherwise we would have frozen, the temperature was about -10°. Here Ömer Lütfi Soylu scared us for the second time; his pulse dropped to below 70 and he started shivering; he was suffering from hypothermia. We gave him gel for energy and warmed him up by moving his body. Since the gloves he was using didn’t work, we forced him to climb to the summit by putting his hands in his pockets and moving his body left and right. Maybe he was the only person who climbed all the way to the summit with his hands in his pockets 🙂
We continued in zigzags until Gillman’s Point (5681 m). This part of the climb was very steep, the ground was stony and icy. This required great physical and mental effort. If our climb so far required 50% physical and 50% mental strength, today’s route required 70% mental and 30% physical strength. It was a bit scary as we could only see 2 meters in front of us in the dark. This was the most challenging part of the route. I switched to automatic mode and just walked without feeling pain or cold.
Finally we reached Gillman’s Point; we were now at the top of the mountain. Abdulsamet was a little bit behind, but we didn’t wait for him too long because we had to keep going, the sun was rising and we started to see the first rays. Here we encountered snow and a big glacier, the view was really impressive. After taking some photos we walked towards Uhuru Peak (5895 m). The last 1.5 kilometers were not as easy as I thought. Every step felt like ‘running a marathon’. It was very difficult to move here because of the lack of oxygen. We started to see many travelers coming from different routes, the atmosphere was great. And the sign of the summit appeared on the horizon… We had made it… I entered a different state of emotion, I was in a state of euphoria. I was on the summit of the world’s highest standing alone mountain, looking out of the window of Africa towards the continent, watching the sunrise. Behind me, the full moon was still there. The weather was so cold and windy that we could hardly even take our summit photo. Even though we wanted to, we couldn’t spend much time in this view and immediately started our descent. On the way back, we met Abdulsamet, who was not in a very good condition and had difficulty speaking. The guide said, “He needs to descend immediately, otherwise he will seriously harm himself”, so we immediately started descending.
We had about a 4-hour walk to Kibo Camp. We never thought the descent would be so difficult. And as we descended, we were proud of ourselves, not believing how we had climbed this place at night. If we had done this part of the climb in daylight, the possibility of giving up would have been very high. There was a slope of about 80 degrees. We slid down between the rocks, and by now our legs were crying.
When we reached Kibo Camp, we wanted to go down as soon as possible because the weather conditions and oxygen level had become very uncomfortable. We rested very little and started our descent to Horombo Camp. We had walked for 18 hours in total on the summit day. I wanted to go to bed and sleep as soon as possible. I had been sleepless for about 30 hours and my energy was exhausted. We had our last dinner at Horombo Camp and rested.
Day 6: Horombo Hut (3720m) – Marangu Gate (1860m)
The last day had come. Like every day, we woke up early in the morning and had breakfast. Our team of 14 people who accompanied us on this climb organized a ceremony for us.
We sang local songs, we were very happy, happy to have made it…
Then we started our descent towards Marangu Gate, I wanted to reach the destination quickly, my feet were no longer able to carry me. After 5 days, the last night’s sleep was not enough as you can imagine, I wanted to go to the hotel and go to bed as soon as possible.
When we arrived at the gate, they gave us all certificates with a small ceremony for successfully reaching the summit. I now had a mountaineering certificate. I am very sure there will be more to come. It was an unforgettable experience that was worth every difficult step I took. Would I climb Kilimanjaro again? No! But I can definitely say that I will aim for other peaks.
After my posts, there will definitely be those who want to go to the summit of Kilimanjaro. I strongly recommend everyone who loves nature to experience this adventure.
It is a tremendous experience… It adds a lot to your life, whether you realize it or not, and you learn countless things. It allows you to know yourself better. Yes, it is a difficult climb, but if you continue without giving up, you will definitely succeed. Remember, it’s all in the head!
Thank you…
I would like to express my gratitude to Adventure Global for making this unforgettable experience possible, to our guide Gabriel and his entire team, and of course to my fellow adventurers Ömer Lütfi Soylu (the man who reached the summit with his hands in his pockets), Fatih Akaydın (the second oldest person to reach the summit from Turkiye) and Abdulsamad Khan (CEO of Adventure Global) who accompanied me on this unique adventure.