Kilimanjaro: Marangu Route

KILIMANJARO CLIMB: This trip is led by experienced guides, with a minimum of 1 guide to every 2 climbers. Sufficient porters are employed to carry the group’s equipment.

Many national governments provide a regularly updated advice service on safety issues involved with international travel. We recommend that you check your government's advice for their latest travel information before departure and ensure that your travel insurance covers you for all areas your itinerary covers. Please refer to our website's safety page for links to major travel advisories and updates on safety issues affecting our trip. We strongly recommend the use of a neck wallet or money belt while travelling, for the safe-keeping of your passport, air tickets, cash and other valuable items. Leave your valuable jewellery at home - you won't need it while travelling. Many of our hotels have safety deposit boxes, which is the most secure way of storing your valuables. A lock is recommended for securing your luggage. Your group leader or local representative will accompany you on all included activities, however during your trip you'll have some free time to pursue your own interests, relax and take it easy or explore at your leisure. While your group leader or local representative will assist you with the available options in a given location, please note that any optional activities you undertake are not part of your Intrepid itinerary, and Intrepid makes no representations about the safety of the activity or the standard of the operators running them. Please use your own good judgement when selecting an activity in your free time. Please also note that your group leader or local representative has the authority to amend or cancel any part of the trip itinerary if it's deemed necessary due to safety concerns. For more details on the type of conditions and safety standards you can expect on your trip, please refer to Intrepid's operational safety policy on our website. We recommend that you take a moment to read through this information before travelling, and would appreciate any feedback on how well it's being implemented in the field: www.intrepidtravel.com/safety-guidelines FIRE PRECAUTIONS Please be aware that local laws governing tourism facilities in this region differ from those in your home country and not all the accommodation which we use has a fire exit, fire extinguishers or smoke alarms. BALCONIES Some hotel balconies don't meet western standards in terms of the width of the balcony fence being narrower than 10cm. TRAFFIC AND DRIVING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD Depending on where you come from please note that drivers in this part of the world may drive on the opposite side of the road from what you are used to. Look both ways before crossing any road. Traffic can be a little more chaotic than you might be used to at home. Be aware! SEAT BELTS Please be aware that local laws governing transportation safety may differ from those in your home country and not all the transport which we use is able to provide seat belts. PICK POCKETING & PERSONAL SAFETY While travelling there is always the risk of pick-pocketing and petty theft, particularly in the more touristy cities. We recommend that you exercise caution when walking at night and encourage you to walk in groups and only on main, well-lit thoroughfares. Be particularly vigilant on public transport. Simple measures like carrying your day pack on your front, not hanging your bag over the back of your chair or on the floor and wearing a money belt will reduce any chance that your valuables should go missing. WATER SAFETY Please take care when taking part in any activities in the ocean, river or open water, where waves and currents can be unpredictable. It's expected that anyone taking part in water activities is able to swim and have experience in open water. All swimmers should seek local advice before entering the water. TRAVEL ADVICE & TRAVEL INSURANCE We recommend that you check your government's advice in relation to the areas you will be visiting for their latest travel information before departure and ensure that your travel insurance covers you for all areas your itinerary covers. CLIMBING KILIMANJARO WITH INTREPID - SAFETY FAQs Climbing Kilimanjaro is a pretty tall order – in fact for most people it’s the hardest physical challenge they will ever undertake. It can also be a dangerous environment if the right precautions aren’t taken – and that’s why our number one priority is your safety. Of course – we still want you to have a great time, and we’d love you to reach the summit of Africa’s highest mountain! So – rest assured that not only are you travelling with an operator that puts safety first, but also that around 95% of clients that climb with Intrepid make it to Uhuru Peak! The following are some FAQs on safety on the mountain. Q: Who is your local operator in Tanzania? A: All Intrepid Kilimanjaro climbs are operated by Intrepid Guerba Tanzania Limited, which is a fully owned Intrepid company based in northern Tanzania. Q: How many mountain guides will I have for my climb? A: It depends on the number of passengers in your group. We operate with a strict minimum of one mountain guide for every two clients. Meaning that there will be plenty of mountain guides on your trip to ensure that you are looked after, encouraged, and informed about Kilimanjaro. Q: Do your mountain guides carry first aid kits? A: Yes. We carry multiple, comprehensive first aid kits and our mountain guides are fully trained on their use. All of our mountain guides are first-aid qualified. Q: Are your mountain guides trained to recognise symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness? A: Absolutely! Intrepid have invested in the highest standards of training of any operator on Kilimanjaro. This includes advanced altitude training delivered by a UK doctor and altitude research specialist. One of the key elements of this is training on the Lake Louise altitude assessment system, which allows our mountain guides to effectively monitor clients constantly whilst on Kilimanjaro and assess if they are suffering from AMS and, if so, how severe that AMS is. We also train them on how to respond in the case of a moderate or severe case of altitude sickness – which will always mean organising for the affected client to descend immediately. During your briefing on the first evening of your trip, your mountain guide will talk to you about symptoms of AMS and how to recognise them. Q: Do you carry medicines for altitude? A: Yes – there are two key, potentially life-saving drugs that our teams carry on the Mountain. These are Dexamethasone and Nifedipine and they used to treat cerebral and pulmonary oedema, which are the two potentially life-threatening complications of severe AMS. Our mountain guides are fully trained on the use of these drugs for altitude related illnesses. Q: What about Diamox? A: We don’t carry Diamox on Kilimanjaro. The reason for this is that, although medical research suggests that Diamox can be very effective in aiding acclimatisation to altitude, it has been proven to be far less effective at treating severe AMS. You may wish to talk to your doctor prior to travelling about being prescribed Diamox to assist acclimatisation while you climb Kilimanjaro. Q: Will oxygen be available? A: We carry medical oxygen – and when a group has four passengers or more, this will mean multiple cylinders will be distributed amongst the team of mountain guides to ensure that oxygen is always quickly available in the case of an emergency. The oxygen that we carry is strictly for emergency use only – and cannot be used by clients to assist in climbing or summiting. Q: Do you carry Gammow Bags or PACs? A: No. Gammow Bags and PACs are two types of portable hyperbaric chambers, which are sometimes used for sufferers of severe AMS. What makes Kilimanjaro relatively unique is that it is a “rapid ascent mountain” – meaning altitude gain happens extremely quickly. Logically, therefore, Kilimanjaro is also a “rapid descent mountain” and our policy is that in the case of severe AMS, our mountain guides will immediately evacuate the sufferer down the mountain, usually with the assistance of porters to carry the person affected. Often, a descent of just a few hundred metres will be enough to make a difference. Gammow bags and PACs are more effective in other parts of the world where rapid descent on foot is not possible. Also, a Gammow Bag takes a little while to inflate – which on Kilimanjaro is valuable time lost during which an evacuation down the mountain could already have commenced. Q: How do your mountain guides communicate on Kilimanjaro? A: Cell phone coverage on the mountain is improving – but is still patchy in many areas. For this reason, Intrepid mountain guides carry short wave radios to allow for communication in the case of an emergency. HOMOSEXUALITY IN TANZANIA Homosexuality is illegal in Tanzania (including Zanzibar) and is not tolerated in Tanzania’s conservative society. Public displays of homosexuality like holding hands or kissing in public places could lead to arrest and up to 30 years’ imprisonment. In June 2017, the Tanzanian Government announced a 'crackdown' on LGBQTI rights advocates operating in Tanzania, threatening arrest. We recommend that you refer to your government's official travel advisories for the most up to date advice before you travel.

15 years and up

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