The Marangu Route : It’s the oldest and the most popular route of climbing Mt Kilimanjaro, this is a route that is very well established in term of accommodation, given its hut amenities namely the Mandra hut, the Horombo and Kibo huts. These will give you a true sense of community that Tanzania boasts itself with, the sharing of the amenities without a bit of embarrassment or without feeling discomfort is the aim of the embracing. For you, you might have a feeling as though it’s a boarding life flash back, the dormitory life and routine shared meals and dining locations, for the locals it might feel just like a regular day of being a communal society that they are, just in a bit higher altitude and lower temperature.
Compared to other routes like the Lemosho route, Marangu offer beautiful scenery and views and if you once heard stories about Kilimanjaro, most probably you heard a marangu route story, because it’s considered the classical experience of the hike.
Marangu is special in a way that the shelters provide protection from the brutal weather incidences that can strike depending on the mood of the mountain on that particular trek. Therefore, unlike tenting style, the dormitory huts assure you to still thrive even in such weathers. If you have happened to visit Tanzania during the rainy season (April and May) and Kili climb is one of the things that you just can cancel on your bucket list, Marangu route can still make your dream come true even amidst an outpouring rain. Also, if you are on a group travel, Marangu route should be top in your list, most high school and college kids uses the route and are always accommodated in the 60 bunk beds in each hut and would have even more bunk beds in the Horombo hut that has twice the number of bunk beds.
Within the Marangu route huts, one is a comfort of a simple mattress and a pillow, is able to freshen up but also to refill for water, soft drinks and energy snacks which are typical things that increases the chances of summiting success rates.
Marangu offers slow and steady ascent to the mountain, with the amenities in each camp, it has been come to be popularly known as the easiest rout to conquer the mountain. However, there are days that one needs to push harder as there is going to be between 1100m -1200m ascent per day, contrary to the usual 900-1000m per day.
This route provides a trekker with a limited time to climb the mountain with an opportunity to fit in the challenge into their itinerary, the downside to that is the obvious limited amount of time to acclimatize. Marangu can get pretty overcrowded too, and if you are not a people person and have travelled to the roof of Africa to have some alone time, it may not be the most suitable root for you!
Marangu route success rate
The success rates for summiting are pretty low down to 50% given the absence of acclimatization day on day three at Horombo hut.
The itinerary of the Marangu route typically begins at the Marangu gate at 1843m, then to Mandara hut at 2700m for 4-5 hours, Mandara to Horombo will take you 6-8 hours an ascent of 3720m. Horombo to Mawenzi ridge an ascent of 4315m for 2-3 hours. From Mawenzi ridge to Horombo and then to Kibo to summit the uhuru peak for 6-8 hour each. From the summit the hike concludes with the descent back to Marangu gate which will take an average of 11 hours from Horombo to Marangu gate all together.
Health tips
Like any other overseas safari, there a couple of health tips that you need to take heed of as a foreigner! The number one is malaria prophylaxis, malaria is endemic in Tanzania, while the body of the indigenous tolerates it pretty well, as a foreigner might not be able to fight it as much! You are likely to get a severe form of malaria if you catch it comparatively to a local. The good news is you won’t get it if you take your prophylaxis well. We don’t exactly expect mosquitos in a high altitude, however given the habitable huts in marangu there are still risks for a bite and malaria should be the last thing that should take you down from summiting. Even though if you do catch it will do a good job taking you down almost immediately.
The other thing is to always have the internationally recognized vaccines done, yellow fever being the top priority. And now the covid19 vaccine or PCR negative proof within the 24 hours of your arrival.
If you do have a debilitating medical condition like a heart failure or chronic lung disease, you may need to check through with your doctor, and even when your doctor approves of it, please notify the guard that will be travelling with you so that they are prepared for immediate action in case of any emergencies.
Additional tips, like any other mountain conqueror you need to follow the general mountain tips below:
High calorie snack!
Kilimanjaro is a calorie -requiring activity, calories to be able to trek and calories to maintain core body temperature. The secret is to always have an immediate and constant supply of the energy. A high calorie snack like nuts, proteins bar, dried sweet fruits and beef jerks would work best. Place them strategically accessible so that you don’t struggle during the hike.
Pack in layers!
The simple science of maintaining temperature is about having as many layers as possible than one whole thick layer. The layers trap air between them that acts a pretty insulator. Top layer has to be weather proof so that you don’t get wet in case it pours, as it often may do! Layers are important also for the lower altitudes that still supports mosquito survival.
