The best time to visit Kilimanjaro
Two dry windows a year and two wet ones between them — and the summit is below zero in all twelve months, so you choose by mud on the trail, not by warmth.
- Best
- January–March: dry
- Busiest
- July–September: dry and cold
- Not climbed
- April–May and November
Kilimanjaro is climbed all year, but two windows have a dry trail: January–March, warmer and with fewer people, and June–October, colder and busiest. April, May and November are rain — the path is knee-deep mud, and the chance of the summit drops along with the mood of the group.
A Kilimanjaro climb of six to eight days passes through five climate zones — cultivated land, rainforest, heath, alpine desert and ice at the summit — so the forecast for Moshi means nothing for the summit. Below is when the trail is dry, when it is crowded, and what you carry in which month.
Dry and warmer
The pleasanter window: warmer days, the best morning visibility, and far fewer people on the trail than in summer. Snow on the summit is more common than in August, which looks better in a photograph and does not make walking harder. This is the window we would choose for a first climb, and the one in which agencies are readier to shift a date if someone in the group is late.
Dry and cold
The safest weather and the most people: the trail is dry, the mornings clear, and the summit temperature the lowest of the year. July, August and September coincide with European holidays and safari season, so the camps on Machame and Marangu are booked months ahead. Anyone wanting the same window with fewer people chooses Lemosho or Rongai.
April, May and November: rain
The long rains in April and May, the short ones in November. The forest path turns to mud, gear does not dry, and the summit success rate drops — not from altitude but because you sleep and eat worse in wet clothes. Prices are lower and the mountain empty; anyone who still goes takes an extra day and gaiters.
Month by month
If you only get one — February or September
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
When is the best time to climb Kilimanjaro?
January–March for warmer days and fewer people, June–October for the driest trail and the most company. April, May and November are wet and we do not recommend them for a first climb.
How cold is the summit?
Below zero all year; on the summit night at Barafu and on the ridge it reaches −15 with wind. At the foot the same day it is 25 and humid — which is why you carry everything from a T-shirt to a down jacket.
Is a full moon worth aiming for?
It is if the photograph matters: the push starts at midnight and under a full moon the ridge is visible without a torch. Those dates are booked months ahead and cost a little more.
Ready for Kilimanjaro?
Where to next
What Kilimanjaro costs
→Seven days in park fees alone pass eight hundred dollars a head — before the agency, before the porters and…
Arusha · 72 km
→The town under Mount Meru from which every northern safari starts — and where what you arrange on the first evening decides what the rest will cost
How well does Kilimanjaro suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Front row for the next trip
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