Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Kilimanjaro, Kilimanjaro!!! Once you complete the hike, the porters and guide will sing the song. Such an awesome experience. First, Kilimanjaro is a WALK UP mountain. No tools needed. Walking sticks were recommended by the guides so I obliged. I flew into Dar es Salaam and caught Precision Air to Kilimanjaro airport. Taxi from there to Rafiki backpackers hostel in Moshi. You can catch the local bus for way cheaper. It is Africa, no need to be scared. Walk around the town of Moshi or flag down a motobike for like 1USD depending on how far you go. You get a pretty surreal view of Kili while in the town. It almost looks like the mountain is floating. Insane! Eat off the street if you can find this lady serving food. It was so good I had a second plate. She is so efficient and has a system in place to serve, wash, and etc. Real hustler. I used Kili Climbers and Safari LTD. I did the quickest route called Coca-Cola or Marangu route. 5 days up and 1 day down. My friend got altitude sickness and could not finish but me and her 55 year old aunt made it! YOU CAN DO IT TOO!!! The package we purchased included three safaris. Ngorongoro Crater (the view point for the crater is amazing), Tarangire National Park, and Serengeti National Park. The company will provde the food and snacks during the hike. It costs $$$$ for Kilimanjaro and the safari. The park fee is around 750USD and the package was roughy 1300USD. Hiking: You carry only your water. nothing else. The landscape leading up to final climb is so epic. You will walk through five different topographical landscapes and climates. The final summit is about 8-hours. Bring something cool like your country flag or something of that sort. What to wear. Anything prior to summit night. On summit night I wore t-shirt, fleece over that, and my snowboarding jacket. Lower body- I wore under armour jogging pants with my snowboarding pants over them. Socks: Smart wool. Gloves. inserts and shells recommended. They will get cold and you will not get the feeling back for one to two months anyway. That was the only hard part of the entire thing. How cold my hands got. For the safari: First, be QUIET once you come to halt next to a lion or pack of cheetahs eating something. It is not cool when people are trying to shoot videos and someone is taking loud or trying to crack a joke. Your camera phone will not do you any justice. You need a DSLR or mirrorless with a good lens. Especially for the rhinos that turn into a rock once the lay down in the distance. Wear long sleeves because the flies bite. TRAVELING WHILE BLACK: Again, it is Africa. The locals probably cannot tell the difference and will speak to you in Swahili. So just say, Jambo, mambo kaka for males and mambo dada for females. Ansante for Thank you and Karibu for welcome. Enjoy!!!