6-Day Marangu Route: Kilimanjaro Hut Climb, Itinerary and Price

The 6-day Marangu Route: the best way to climb Kilimanjaro from hut to hut

The Marangu Route is the only way to climb Kilimanjaro with a bed in a hut every night. The 6-day version is the one to choose, because it adds a second night at Horombo before you move up to Kibo. That extra day turns a rushed climb into a realistic one for a first-timer. Prices start from $1,845 per person.

People choose Marangu for simple reasons: they do not want to camp, or they are climbing in a wetter month and want a dry place to sleep. In exchange, they accept busier paths and less variety in the scenery, since you use the same path up and down.

6-day Marangu climb at a glance

5 or 6 days on the Marangu Route

The sixth day is an acclimatization day at Horombo: you walk higher, then return to sleep at the same hut. Nothing else in the route changes. It costs $245 more per person, and it gives your body one more night to adapt before Kibo Huts.

Operators publish very different summit figures and none are independently audited, so treat any single number with caution. Commonly quoted ranges run from about 27 to 42 percent on 5-day climbs, and from about 64 to 92 percent on 7-day climbs, with 8 and 9-day climbs reported higher still. The exact figures matter less than the pattern: more days means better odds.

Huts or tents: is the Marangu Route right for you?

Huts suit climbers who dislike camping, and they are drier during the rainy months. In return you get shared dormitories, sometimes with snoring neighbors, and the same view both ways. If you are happy to camp and want a different path down, compare the 7-day Machame, which is only $245 more. If you want a quiet route with no scrambling, look at the 6-day Rongai.

6-day Marangu itinerary, day by day

Here is how the 6-day Marangu climb runs from gate to gate. Distances and walking times are typical figures, and your guide will set a pace that is slower than you expect. You also spend one night in a Moshi hotel before the climb and one after it.

1. 01

   Day 1: Marangu Gate to Mandara Huts

   • Sleep at 2,720 m (8,920 ft)
   • About 8 km (5 mi), 4 to 5 hours

   Marangu Gate (1,860 m / 6,100 ft) is about 45 minutes from Moshi. After registration, a wide and well-kept path climbs steadily through rainforest, and colobus monkeys are often seen near the huts. It is an easy introduction, which makes it tempting to walk too quickly, so let your guide set the pace. Mandara is a group of wooden A-frame huts with bunk beds and mattresses, where you share a dorm and eat in a dining hall.

2. 02

   Day 2: Mandara Huts to Horombo Huts

   • Sleep at 3,720 m (12,200 ft)
   • About 12 km (7.5 mi), 6 to 7 hours

   You come out of the forest into open moorland, with Kibo and the jagged peaks of Mawenzi ahead on a clear day and giant groundsels beside the path. You gain about 1,000 meters (3,300 feet), so this is the first day that really tests your pace. Horombo is the busiest stop on the route, because climbers going up and coming down share the dining hall. It is a good place to ask how summit night went.

3. 03

   Day 3: Acclimatization day at Horombo Huts

   • Sleep at 3,720 m (12,200 ft)
   • A walk of 2 to 4 hours

   This is the day that separates the 6-day climb from the 5-day climb. You walk up toward Zebra Rocks or the Mawenzi saddle, spend time higher, and come back to sleep at the same hut. It feels like an easy day, and it is one of the most useful of the trip, because your body gets another night to adjust before the big climb to Kibo. Rest, read, eat well and drink plenty in the afternoon.

4. 04

   Day 4: Horombo Huts to Kibo Huts

   • Sleep at 4,703 m (15,430 ft)
   • About 10 km (6 mi), 5 to 6 hours

   The path crosses the Saddle, a bare alpine desert between Mawenzi and Kibo that feels like another planet. Vegetation almost disappears and the air feels noticeably thinner. Kibo Huts are basic stone dormitories at the foot of the summit cone, and they are cold. Dinner is early, and you try to sleep for a few hours before a midnight start, although many climbers find sleep difficult at this height.

5. 05

   Day 5: Kibo Huts to Uhuru Peak, then Horombo Huts

   • Sleep at 3,720 m (12,200 ft)
   • About 21 km (13 mi), 11 to 14 hours

   You leave around midnight and zigzag up steep scree to Gilman's Point on the crater rim (5,685 m / 18,652 ft), typically 5 to 7 hours away, in temperatures that can fall to around -20°C (-4°F) with wind. Uhuru Peak (5,895 m / 19,341 ft) is a further hour or two along the rim. You return to Kibo for food and rest, then keep walking down to Horombo. It is a very long day, and you will sleep well that night.

6. 06

   Day 6: Horombo Huts to Marangu Gate

   • Finish at 1,860 m (6,100 ft)
   • About 20 km (12 mi), 5 to 6 hours

   A long downhill through moorland and forest takes you back to the gate, with the air getting warmer and thicker with every hour. Certificates are issued at the gate: climbers who reach Uhuru Peak receive a gold summit certificate, and those who reach Gilman's Point receive a green one. We then drive you back to your hotel in Moshi for a shower and your second included night.

How hard is the Marangu Route on 6 days?

The Marangu Route has the gentlest path on the mountain, and that can mislead people. The nickname "Coca-Cola Route" makes it sound easy, yet the height gain is fast and there is little chance to climb high and sleep low. Summit night is arguably the toughest of any route, because you climb about 1,200 meters (3,900 feet) of steep scree to Gilman's Point after sleeping at 4,703 meters (15,430 feet). The walking is easy, but the altitude is not.

The extra day at Horombo helps a great deal, but Marangu's summit night is still steep and long. Do not let the easy lower days lull you into under-training.

Summit night on the Marangu Route: what to expect

Summit night on the Marangu Route starts from Kibo Huts around midnight. You climb steep, loose scree through a series of tight zigzags to Hans Meyer Cave and then to Gilman's Point on the crater rim, typically taking 5 to 7 hours. The last section is the hardest. Uhuru Peak is a further hour or two along the rim, and some climbers turn back at Gilman's Point, which still earns a certificate. Wear every layer you have, because temperatures can fall to around -20°C (-4°F) with wind.

How much does the 6-day Marangu climb cost?

The 6-day Marangu climb starts from $1,845 per person with two people sharing. Prices differ slightly by group size because of how hotel rooms are shared in Moshi, not because of your crew, who are arranged per climber. For more than six climbers, or a different hotel level, ask us for a quote. Your final price is confirmed in your written quotation.

What the 6-day Marangu price includes, and what it leaves out

Budget separately for flights, your visa, insurance and tips. Our Kilimanjaro cost guide shows what to expect in total, so nothing catches you out.

Your crew and safety on the Marangu Route

Every climber on our Kilimanjaro climbs has one guide, five porters and one cook. A group of two therefore has two guides, ten porters and two cooks. That ratio is higher than many operators offer, and it means that if one climber needs to slow down or turn back, the other can continue with their own guide.

Our guides have worked on Tanzania tours for 7 years. They are graduates of the College of African Wildlife Management, Mweka, and the National College of Tourism, and they hold certification from those institutions. We are also a partner of the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP), which works for the fair treatment of mountain crews.

Altitude is the main risk on this climb

Mild headaches and poor sleep are normal above 3,000 meters (10,000 feet). Severe symptoms are an emergency, and the treatment is to go down. Be honest with your guide about how you feel each day, and read our guide to altitude sickness on Kilimanjaro before you travel. We carry pulse oximeters to track your blood-oxygen levels each day, emergency oxygen cylinders for emergency descents and severe altitude illness, and a Gamow bag, a portable pressure chamber used to treat advanced altitude sickness. Helicopter evacuation is available through providers including Kili MedAir and Proflight Helicopters, with fees starting from $3,500 per person. It is not part of the climb price, so check that your travel insurance covers trekking to 6,000 meters (19,685 feet) and evacuation before you buy it.

How much to tip your crew

Tips are paid at the end of the climb and are not in the price. Common guidance is about $20 to $30 a day for a guide, $12 to $20 for a cook and $5 to $10 for each porter. With our crew of seven, that works out at about $340 to $600 per climber on this 6-day climb. We go through how to do this fairly at your briefing.

Planning your 6-day Marangu climb

Best time to climb the Marangu Route

The driest months are January to mid-March and June to October. Marangu is the only route where you sleep under a solid roof, which makes it a practical choice in the wetter months, although paths can still be muddy and summit views are less likely. Huts can also fill up in peak season, which is another reason to book early for July to September. Our month-by-month guide goes into more detail.

Getting to the start of the Marangu Route

Marangu Gate is the closest to Moshi, about 45 minutes by road. That makes it the simplest start and finish of any route. We collect you from your hotel, handle the registration at the gate and meet you there at the end of the climb to drive you back. Fly into Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), about an hour from Moshi, and we meet you there.

Preparing for 6 days on the mountain

Start training at least 12 weeks before you travel, with long hikes on back-to-back days. Our Kilimanjaro training plan shows you how, and our packing list covers what to bring and what you can rent in Moshi. Two nights in a mid-range Moshi hotel are included by default, one before and one after the climb. If you would prefer a different standard, tell us and we will adjust your quote.

After the climb

Your legs will need a day or two, and then many climbers add a northern circuit safari. We can build this into one quote.

6-day Marangu climb: your questions answered