Shimboni Africa is a Tanzanian owned and operated tour company based in the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania. We have a love of our country and a passion for showing our honored guests the wonders of Tanzania.
Things to Know before Booking your Kilimanjaro Expedition
Things to consider after booking your Kilimanjaro tour.
Things to Consider in order to have a successful hike.
Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is a challenging adventure, and timing your ascent is key to increasing your chances of success. The best time to climb is during Tanzania’s dry season, which runs from December to March and from mid-June to October. These months offer the driest conditions, making the trek more manageable.
While climbing Kilimanjaro is a tough feat, it’s achievable for most people, even those with little hiking or camping experience. However, if you’re new to trekking, camping, or high-altitude environments, you may find the climb particularly demanding.
To improve your chances of a successful summit, it’s best to avoid the rainy season, which typically falls in April, May, and November. These months bring heavy rains that can make the trails slippery and difficult, so it’s advisable to plan your hike outside of this period.
The Mount Kilimanjaro weather affects your climb and your success chances. When to climb Kilimanjaro is an important decision. Bad weather on Kilimanjaro not only makes for a miserable trek and ruins your photos, most importantly it simply makes the climb twice as hard! You are a LOT more likely to reach the summit if the weather on Kilimanjaro is good. Mount Kilimanjaro is near the equator. In the tropics there is no such thing as summer and winter. There are only dry and rainy periods. Or “dry seasons” and “wet seasons”.
The main rainy season lasts from the end of March through to mid June. As elsewhere in the world, when exactly it rains and when it stops is impossible to predict. It’s the warmest time of the year in Tanzania, but those months are so wet that many operators simply do not offer climbs in April/May at all.
The rain gradually decreases, and so do the temperatures on Kilimanjaro. The weather on Kilimanjaro is fairly dry and clear but the nights will be bitter cold. June is quiet, but the number of climbers increases as the year progresses.
August and even more so September is the peak climbing season on Kilimanjaro. The weather is good with many clear days and warmer than in June/July. You may, however, get clouds blanketing the forest/moorland zone, and on the southern routes you may get rained on on the first days. But once you leave the rain forest behind all is good! The good conditions last into about mid October when the build up for the short rains begins.
The weather on Kilimanjaro becomes more unstable and the number of climbers drops. As in all tropical regions of the world, the wetter time of the year announces itself with afternoon clouds and occasional thunderstorms. As long as you are equipped to withstand the occasional shower, this should not present any major problems.
November is the small rainy season, and the rain lasts into mid December. The temperatures have dropped and the rain brings with it all the hazards that I described at the top of the page. Not the best time to climb Kilimanjaro.
The four to six weeks around Christmas and New Year are the second peak climbing season on Kilimanjaro. Traffic is extremely high despite there still being a good chance of rainfall and thick clouds in the lower regions. It’s not a time I would choose.
Mid January to mid March is also a good time to climb Kilimanjaro. The weather is reasonable, not too cold, not too wet, and there aren’t as many climbers. The days are mainly dry, beautifully clear with few clouds and occasional brief showers. In March the chances of rain gradually increase as you approach the long rainy season. See above.
We recommend climbing Kilimanjaro in the months of January to February. These months are the driest in Kilimanjaro, offering you the best views and many perfect-pictures opportunities. Furthermore, December to mid-March and mid-June to the end of October are also the best times to visit the mountain. If you would like to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and have your own dates in mind, get in touch with our team of Kilimanjaro specialists here at Shimboni Africa
Shimboni Africa is a Tanzanian owned and operated tour company based in the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania. We have a love of our country and a passion for showing our honored guests the wonders of Tanzania.
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