Climbing The Kilimanjaro - Marangu, The Coca-cola Route

Out of the six best-known routes to climb the mountain Kilimanjaro, the Marangu is considered one of the easiest and safest. It is not known why, but the Marangu route is also called the "Coca-Cola Route".

The Marangu route is both breathtakingly beautiful and astonishingly comfortable, with hut accommodation available throughout in cozy huts. Starting from the Marangu Gate, trekkers take a 4-hour hike through the dense rainforests to the second camp called Mandara hut. Mandara hut is at a height of 2743 meters - a fairly steep climb, making it easier to overcome the effects of altitude.

In the next leg, the forest has to be left behind, only to be replaced by the glorious fields of moor heath, as climbers ascend a further thousand meters to Horombo hut at 3760 meters. This leg takes five hours.

Then follows a day to rest and acclimatize at the Horombo hut, doing nothing but enjoying the clean - though rare - mountain air and giving fatigued muscles some relaxation. If you feel adventurous, you can take the walk to Mawenzi Hut or to the Zebra rocks.

After this, climbers renew their acquaintance with the heath-covered moors, only to find themselves face to face in some time with The Saddle - the desert region that separates the highest peak, Kibo, from the jagged edges of the Mawenzi Peak. This is a five-hour hike that leaves you at 4730 meters above sea level, but with a comfortable place to rest in Kibo Hut.

The next day, brings the pinnacle of this trek - the Kibo summit itself. Most of the route so far is pretty much plain sailing, which may leave climbers slightly unprepared to tackle the steepness of the scree that leads to Gillman's Point and its crater rim - 5681 meters high. In the brilliant, almost supernaturally clear and beautiful dawn seen from Gillman's Point, though, most climbers forget their inexperience, fatigue and woes in their eagerness to reach the top.

Once Gillman's Point has been reached, it is time for the final leg - a 1 hour 30 minute trek to Uhuru Peak, the highest point of Mount Kilimanjaro at 5895 meters.

All too soon, it is time to descend. Once again, you pass the lichen-filled, sometimes icy peak areas. After lunch at Kibo hut, the heath makes its reappearance all the way back down to Horombo Hut. This day, climbers will walk a total of 13 hours.

Finally, there is the five-hour descent to Marangu gate, amid the rainforests whose sights and sounds feel at once welcome and unwelcome, familiar and unfamiliar after the ethereal experience of the mountains.

The Marangu route has been deemed suitable for anyone who is in reasonably good health, and will not be taxing for those used to walking in mountainous regions. If you feel you are not "reasonably fit", an hour a day on the treadmill at a 15 degree incline will help you prep your muscles for the trip. Armed with proper mountaineering gear - walking pole, rucksack and sleeping bag - you are good to go on a safari along the Marangu route of the Kilimanjaro.

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About the Author

Roy Hinde lives in Tanzania and works on Tanzania safari with Wild Things

For more information on climbing kilimanjaro or visiting Tanzania's mountains contact Climb Kilimanjaro with Mountain Kingdom Safaris

Author (wildthings). Submitted on Mon, 9 Aug 2010 Time: 1:02 AM

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