Is Mount Kilimanjaro Too Crowded? (So Many Tourists)

When we venture into the remote wilderness, we expect to find peace and solitude. But as the popularity of certain destinations continues to increase, the reality is that visitors will most likely have to share their experiences with others whether they want to or not.
According to the Tanzania Tourist Board, the country sees 1.5M tourists per year. The main draws are safaris in Tanzania’s famous wildlife parks and climbing Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro.
Between 30,000 to 50,000 people climb Kilimanjaro annually, most of whom visit during the dry seasons. These dry seasons total 7 out of 12 months. If we divide the number of visitors by 7 months, we get an average of 4,285 to 7,124 people per month. Taken further, that’s 142 to 237 people starting a climb everyday. If each person spends 6-7 days on the mountain, that’s actually around 850 to 1,660 tourists on the mountain at any given time.
Now we have to factor in the mountain crews that support the tourists. Depending on the route there are 3 to 4 staff per client. So if we multiply the number of tourists by let’s say 3.5 staff per client, we get about 3,000 to 5,800 total, clients and staff, on the mountain on any given day.
Now whether or not that is crowded is a matter of opinion.
Keep in mind that these people are spread out among all the park’s various campsites and trails. There are quite a few variables that will determine whether or not the mountain will seem crowded. It depends on the route you use, the specific campsite you stay at, the time of year you climb, even the day of the week it is.
Kilimanjaro may feel like an active mountain, but we don’t feel it’s too congested. If it’s particularly important to you to have less people around you, check out the video on how to avoid the crowds, where we offer 5 tips on how to plan a climb with the intention of minimizing the amount of foot traffic you’ll see.
For everyone else, our best advice is to take a less popular route like the Northern Circuit or Lemosho, climb during the dry season for good weather, and forget about the rest. It’s hard to predict who else might be on the mountain at any given time. And for most people, it’s not going to have a bearing on whether you enjoy your time or not.
Of all the peoplewe have guided on Kilimanjaro, not once has anyone said it would have been a great experience but for the other climbers. So, it’s not worth stressing over. You might even find sharing the trail and campsites with other groups more interesting and fun.
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VIDEO CONTENTS
0:00 - Intro
0:40 - Calculation of number of climbers
1:26 - Calculation of number of mountain crews
1:46 - Kilimanjaro campsites
3:31 - My Insight
3:51- Barranco Wall
5:08 - Uhuru Point
5:42 - Active, but not congested
6:04 - My advice
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With more than 15 years of experience, Ultimate Kilimanjaro® has a proven expertise on Mount Kilimanjaro. We lead over 150 climbs per year, with more than 1,000 adventurers climbing with us annually. Literally thousands of climbers have stood on the top of Kilimanjaro with us. Our clients have included celebrities, film makers, senators, ambassadors, authors, journalists, and even the world record holder for the oldest person to summit.
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[@KenMathTeacher]

I hiked Kili during COVID; only saw a fee other tourists on my summit hike, it was a great decision.