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Journal · · 7 min read

Kilimanjaro Packing List

You will walk through rainforest, moorland, alpine desert and arctic conditions in the same week. Layers, not warm clothes.

Last updated

Kilimanjaro passes through several climate zones in a few days. Rainforest at the bottom, then moorland, alpine desert, and conditions on the summit night that are properly arctic. You can't pack for one of those. You pack layers and change through the week.

The layering system

Base layers. Synthetic or merino, never cotton. Cotton holds sweat against you and stops insulating the moment it's damp, which on a cold mountain is the whole problem.

Mid layers. Fleece or a light insulated jacket. Two thinner layers beat one thick one, because you can shed them individually as the day warms.

Insulated jacket. A proper down or synthetic jacket for camp and for summit night. This is the single item not to economise on.

Shell. Waterproof and windproof, jacket and trousers. The trousers matter more than people expect. The rainforest section can be wet all day.

Boots

Worn in, well before you fly. New boots on Kilimanjaro is the most common avoidable mistake on the mountain, and blisters have ended more attempts than altitude on the lower sections.

Waterproof, above the ankle, with a decent sole. Bring more socks than you think and keep one dry pair reserved for summit night.

Summit night specifically

You will leave camp around midnight in the coldest conditions of the trip. Beyond your layers: insulated gloves plus liner gloves, a warm hat, a balaclava or buff, and a head torch with fresh batteries. Plus spares, because cold flattens batteries fast.

Water freezes on summit night. An insulated bottle or a bladder tube sleeve is the difference between drinking and not, and dehydration makes altitude worse.

Bags and weight

Your main bag is carried by a porter and there's a weight limit, which exists to protect the person carrying it. Check what your limit is and pack inside it. A soft duffel works. A hard case doesn't.

You carry a daypack with water, snacks, a shell, a warm layer, sunscreen and your camera. Assume you won't see your main bag between camps.

Sun

Underestimated at altitude and near the equator both. High-factor sunscreen, lip balm with sun protection, and proper sunglasses. Glare off snow near the summit is severe.

Small things that matter

  • Trekking poles, which take real load off the knees on the long descent
  • Water purification, if it isn't provided
  • A power bank. There's no charging on the mountain
  • Wet wipes and hand sanitiser
  • A small personal first-aid kit including blister plasters
  • Cash for crew tips, in small notes

Hiring rather than buying

Much of the specialist kit, down jacket, sleeping bag, poles and gaiters, can be hired in Moshi or Arusha. Consider that if this is a one-off climb. Boots are the exception: hire everything else and bring your own boots, worn in.

Before you finalise anything

Take medical advice from a doctor or travel clinic on vaccinations, medication and your own fitness to climb at altitude. That conversation should happen well before you book, and it isn't one an operator can have for you.

Itineraries

Kilimanjaro climbs we run

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Kilimanjaro's summit seen from the air, rising above a thick layer of cloud.
Clothing

The layering system that actually works

Kilimanjaro is a layering problem, not a warmth problem. You will walk through rainforest at 25°C and stand on a crater rim well below freezing within the same trip, and often within the same day near the top.

The system that works is four layers. A synthetic or merino base layer next to the skin. Not cotton, which holds sweat and chills you. A mid-layer fleece. An insulated jacket, down or synthetic, for camp and summit night. And a waterproof, breathable shell, jacket and trousers, which lives in your daypack every day of the walk.

For the legs: walking trousers for most of the mountain, thermal leggings under them for summit night, and the waterproof over the top.

Extremities matter more than people expect at altitude. A warm hat, a sun hat, a buff or neck gaiter, liner gloves and insulated over-mitts. Cold hands on summit night are the most common misery.

Socks: several pairs of proper walking socks, and a thick pair kept dry specifically for summit night.

Sunglasses with good UV protection are essential above the treeline. Snow blindness on the glacier is a real risk.

A long line of climbers crossing deep snow on Kilimanjaro's upper slopes under a pale, misty sky.
Kit

Equipment, and what to rent instead of buying

Boots
Broken in, waterproof, ankle support. Climb in your own. New boots are the most common self-inflicted injury on the mountain.
Sleeping bag
Rated well below what you expect to need. Camps sit between 3,000 and 4,600 metres and nights are properly cold. Rentable in Moshi and generally fine.
Walking poles
Genuinely worth it. The descent from Uhuru to Mweka is thousands of metres of downhill on tired legs and poles take a great deal of it off the knees. Rentable.
Headtorch
Plus spare batteries. Summit night starts in the dark and batteries fail faster in the cold. Keep spares inside your jacket.
Daypack, 30 to 35 litres
Carries water, layers, camera and snacks. The rest goes with a porter.
Water
Three litres of capacity. A bladder plus a bottle, because bladder tubes freeze on summit night.
Duffel bag
Soft, for the porter. Weight limits apply and are enforced.
Personal items
Sun cream, lip balm with sun protection, wet wipes, hand sanitiser, blister plasters, and any personal medication.
Climbers scrambling up a steep rock step, using their hands and poles.
Practical

Renting in Moshi, and weight limits

Most kit can be rented in Moshi, and for a one-off climb that's usually the sensible choice, instead of buying equipment you won't use again.

Sleeping bags, insulated jackets, waterproofs, poles, gaiters and duffels are all readily available and the quality is generally fine. Check the sleeping bag rating instead of trusting the label on the shelf, and try the jacket on.

Boots are the exception. Rent anything but those. Boots need to be broken in on your own feet, and rented boots on a five-day walk produce blisters that end climbs.

Porter loads are limited by regulation, and your duffel will be weighed at the gate. The usual working limit is around 15 kilograms for your personal bag. Anything over means repacking in public at the trailhead.

Your daypack is yours to carry all day, so be honest about what goes in it. Two litres of water alone weighs two kilograms.

Leave behind: cotton clothing, jeans, camouflage clothing, which is restricted in Tanzania, and anything you would be upset to see covered in volcanic dust.

Wooden A-frame huts on a bare ridge above a sea of cloud.
Common mistakes

What people get wrong when packing

New boots. This is the most common self-inflicted injury on the mountain and it's entirely avoidable. Boots need to be worn in on your own feet over weeks, not days.

Cotton. It holds sweat, dries slowly and chills you badly at altitude. Base layers should be synthetic or merino, and jeans have no place on the mountain at all.

One big jacket instead of layers. A single heavy coat is either too much or not enough at every point on the walk. Four thinner layers cover everything from rainforest to summit night.

Underestimating the extremities. Cold hands on summit night are the most reported misery, and liner gloves plus insulated over-mitts solve it.

Forgetting a bottle as well as a bladder. Bladder tubes freeze on summit night. A bottle kept inside your jacket doesn't.

Overpacking the daypack. Two litres of water alone weighs two kilograms, and you carry that pack all day, every day.

And leaving the sunglasses out. Above the treeline the UV is severe and snow blindness on the glacier is a real risk.

Climbers walking into a low sun across a snowy summit plateau.
Practical

What to keep in the daypack

Your main bag goes ahead with a porter and you won't see it until camp, so what's in the daypack has to cover the whole walking day.

Water, two to three litres, in a bladder and a bottle. The bottle matters because bladder tubes freeze on summit night.

Waterproof jacket and trousers, every day, regardless of the forecast. The rainforest zone earns its name and weather above the treeline changes fast.

An extra warm layer. You will stop for lunch at altitude and cool down quickly.

Sun cream, lip balm with sun protection, and sunglasses. UV above the treeline is severe.

Snacks. Appetite drops at altitude, so carry something you actually want to eat.

Head torch with spare batteries kept warm inside your jacket.

Camera, and any medication you might need during the day.

Keep it under about seven kilograms including water. You carry this yourself, every day, and two litres alone is two kilograms.

A line of trekkers in bright jackets on a stony path, with Kibo's summit rising behind them.

Breaking in your boots

New boots on Kilimanjaro is the most common avoidable mistake on the mountain.

The climb up is manageable in almost anything. It's the descent that finds every fault in a boot, and the descent is long, steep and relentless. Blisters that appear on the way down are the ones people remember.

Walk in them for several weeks before you fly, on hills if you can find them, and wear the socks you plan to climb in. If they're still not right, there's time to change them.

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