The perfect time to climb Kilimanjaro all comes all the way down to discovering the most effective climate circumstances on your trek together with determining your tolerance for a crowded climb throughout peak season. In spite of everything, over 30,000 folks try climbing Mount Kilimanjaro yearly! That’s a whole lot of foot visitors.
Fortuitously, Kilimanjaro’s location close to the equator signifies that this space doesn’t have the acute highs or lows in temperature like North American summers and winters, however there are undoubtedly distinct dry and moist seasons.
Kilimanjaro Climate Month-by-Month
The warmest, driest months make an excellent time to summit. Take it from me, you don’t wish to be scaling a mountain in a downpour whereas carrying a load of apparatus.
Trekkers additionally keep away from the wet season as a result of questions of safety. Landslides and interrupted routes may be detrimental to your ascent, and your physique will take a beating within the moist onslaught.
Though you’re capable of climb Kilimanjaro year-round, not all seasons are created equal. Let’s break it down all through a whole 12 months.
Mid December to March
Mid December/January by way of mid March are the warmest months on your journey, often with clear skies within the mornings and evenings. It might rain typically all through the day, however showers are usually temporary and heat. In the event you carry alongside some rain gear, you’ll be simply high quality.
There’s a great probability of snow being on the summit throughout this time as nicely, making for some superior pictures. I choose this season for tackling treks like Mount Kilimanjaro: it’s technically nonetheless the “excessive season,” but it surely isn’t as busy with different hikers as later within the 12 months.
March to June
The tip of March to June is the lengthy, wet season and isn’t really helpful for climbing Kilimanjaro throughout this time, except you’re a really skilled hiker. Visibility is low; on the upside, you’ll have the mountain nearly all to your self. I’m undecided if that’s such a tradeoff in the event you can’t really see something. Plus the path will get tremendous muddy. Many guides is not going to even provide to take you on the trek throughout this time.
June to October
Mid June to October is when the coldest temperatures hit, so in the event you benefit from the crisp climate, this can be an excellent time for you. It’s tremendous dry throughout this time so that you don’t have to fret an excessive amount of about rain.
From the center of June to October can be the busiest season of all for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, significantly on the Marangu and Machame routes, and particularly because it’s summer season holidays for North America and Europe.
November to Early December
That is the quick wet season on Kilimanjaro, with loads of quick rains within the afternoon, and isn’t a great time to be climbing. I recommend avoiding this time altogether.
Kilimanjaro’s 5 Local weather Zones
Mt Kilimanjaro has 5 completely different local weather zones, which additionally have an effect on your climb relying on the time of 12 months. For instance, the decrease slopes are often known as the Cultivation Zone as a result of they’re used for farmland (together with espresso and banana crops)—throughout the wet seasons, rivers might kind within the run-off from the rainfall.
Subsequent, nonetheless within the decrease altitudes, you’ll end up within the lowland Rainforest Zone which is dense and stuffed with wildlife like monkeys and antelope. This zone gives good cowl from the evident solar when temperatures are excessive.
Vegetation begins scaling down within the Heath and Moorland Zone as you allow the rain forest, and that is when temperatures begin to drop. The Alpine Desert Zone is dry and chilly, and eventually, the final zone is the Arctic Summit zone. It’s extra barren and rocky close to the highest, however the views are unobstructed, particularly with clear skies.
The Arctic Summit zone is the place you’ll expertise extremes and colder climate, as temperatures typically drop under freezing year-round and dangerous climate is extra widespread. However throughout the day you may expertise temperatures over 95°F (95°C), with excessive radiation from the solar.
Figuring out what to anticipate in every of those local weather zones will enable you to put together for a snug trek.
Kilimanjaro Full Moon Summits
In the event you can organize your Kilimanjaro summit to occur throughout the full moon (occurring as soon as a month), I strongly encourage you to take action!
The sunshine from the complete moon lights up Kilimanjaro’s peak and its glaciers, providing a spectacular, glittery view that you just’ll bear in mind for the remainder of your life. Apart from the magnificent moonlit show, the complete moon additionally gives a well-lit path on your summit try (so long as the visibility is nice with minimal cloud cowl).
In the event you’re doing a full moon summit, you’ll wish to guide your information nicely prematurely of your full moon date as these dates are inclined to refill shortly.
For a seven-day climb, you must depart 5 days earlier than the complete moon, however your information or tour operator will know this anyway. They’ll have the option that will help you plan the appropriate timing.
This additionally means you get lots of people on the mountain for this climb. Whether or not you select to summit throughout a full moon or not is fully as much as you, and both approach you’ll love the expertise. Simply do your analysis beforehand to find out the precise full moon date.
New Moon Summits
One thing to bear in mind in your Kilimanjaro trek in the event you’d love to do a full moon summit evening: the extremely vibrant moon date may be very disruptive to sleeping, and also you received’t get to expertise the starry skies.
In the event you actually wish to expertise the magic of starry African skies, do a brand new moon climb as a substitute. Particularly in the event you’re into time-lapse pictures or evening pictures.
New Yr’s Eve Kilimanjaro Climbs
Why not begin off a brand new 12 months by summiting Uhuru Peak? For some folks, that is the most effective time to climb Kilimanjaro merely since you’ll attain the height because the solar comes up on a brand new 12 months.
There’s one thing symbolic about such a feat, particularly since most New Yr’s Eves are spent popping champagne bottles and getting boozy.
In the event you plan to climb Kilimanjaro this time of 12 months, guide prematurely. Because it seems, trekking Kilimanjaro makes for a well-liked New Yr’s decision.
