If you have your heart set on climbing Kilimanjaro and taking on the challenge of a lifetime, there are a few things which you can do in advance, to ensure that your hike is both successful and enjoyable. If you’re curious continue reading to discover a guide on how to prepare for climbing Kilimanjaro successfully!
How to Prepare to Climb Mount Kilimanjaro:
- Complete a series of lengthy hikes
Before taking on Mount Kilimanjaro, which happens to be the tallest free-standing mountain in the world, it’s well worth completing a series of hikes, before you head to Tanzania. Ensure to select challenging uphill hikes which are a minimum of five miles in length. If possible complete at least one sizeable hike per week, in the months leading up to your trip to Tanzania.
It’s also well worth getting used to carrying the backpack which you plan on carrying up Kilimanjaro, on your regular treks and hikes. Also make sure to pack your backpack, so that it’s a reasonable weight.
- Increase the time you spend completing cardio based workouts each week
In order to comfortably hike Mount Kilimanjaro, it’s important to increase your current level of cardio. Especially as it will take most individuals several days to hike Mount Kilimanjaro. So if you have a gym membership, it’s well worth increasing the amount of time which you spend at the gym, ahead of your trip to Tanzania. If you don’t have a gym membership you may want to consider going for early morning runs each morning or going for daily hikes in local parks, near your home.
- Make sure that you have the right equipment to climb Kilimanjaro
Items which you will have to invest in or borrow before taking on your Kilimanjaro challenge include quality hiking boots, packing a sturdy, breathable backpack, and a waterproof jacket.
- Make sure to book a guided tour in advance
By far the worst decision which you can make is to try and climb Kilimanjaro without an experienced guide. As you’ll need a professional guide to help you acclimatize to the altitude that you’ll reach and to navigate the mountain’s sometimes precarious tracks. In the event, that you do find yourself in trouble, you’ll be far safer as part of an organized trek, than if you were to try and take on Mount Kilimanjaro on your own.
Make sure to book your trip in advance as escorted tours up Kilimanjaro, often book out, several months in advance. As they are extremely popular.
- Climbing Kilimanjaro
If you’ve successfully increased your fitness level in preparation for your climb, it may be tempting to walk as fast as you can. However, it’s crucial to remember that climbing Kilimanjaro is a challenging feat and the higher you climb, the more likely you are to experience severe altitude sickness, so it pays to walk slowly in order to conserve your energy for the latter stages of your challenge.
So if you’ve decided that you’re going to climb Kilimanjaro, on your trip to Tanzania, it’s well worth following the 5 foolproof tips listed above!
