Mount Kilimanjaro
100- This month168mm rain · -6°C
- Best monthJuly
- From Arusha ~2.6h drive
- Our safaris here2
Gateway guide
Moshi
The town at the foot of Kilimanjaro. Almost everyone here is about to climb it, has just climbed it, or works with people who do.
Right now
How these places are looking in July
Arusha National Park
79- This month104mm rain · 17°C
- Best monthFebruary
- From Arusha ~0.7h drive
- Our safaris here1
Scores are computed from three years of rainfall and temperature for each park, and drive times from real coordinates — the same engine behind our safari intelligence. They update themselves. Nobody types them in.
Arrive at least a day early
Not for acclimatisation — Moshi sits at around 900m and does nothing for you physiologically. It is for your bags. Delayed luggage is common, and gear that arrives the morning you are supposed to start walking is a problem you cannot solve at altitude. A spare day is cheap insurance.
The mountain is usually invisible
Kilimanjaro generates its own cloud, and from Moshi it is hidden most of the day. Early morning and around sunset are your windows. People are routinely surprised, having flown across the world to look at a mountain they then cannot see.
What the town is actually for
Gear checks, briefings, and the coffee. The Chagga farms on the lower slopes have been growing arabica for over a century, and a farm visit is the standard, and genuinely good, way to spend the day before you start walking.
Put it into practice