Climbing Kilimanjaro

Is climbing Kilimanjaro safe?

It is the riskiest thing most safari-goers will ever do, far riskier than the safari itself. Kilimanjaro is a walk, not a technical climb, and that is exactly the danger. People with no high-altitude experience go from the rainforest to 5,895 metres in five to eight days, faster than the body can adjust.

No official body publishes deaths against climbers. A 2019 review of mountain sports deaths estimated about 10 deaths a year, porters included, among 30,000 to 40,000 climbers, a mortality rate of about 0.03%. That is roughly 200 to 300 micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary per climb, or about 1 in 3,000 to 5,000. It is far below Everest, at about 7,000, but well above a day of mountain hiking in the Alps at 3 to 6.

What kills climbers on Kilimanjaro

Altitude, overwhelmingly. Doctors at the region's main referral hospital reviewed two years of records and found 62 climbers who had come down sick and 21 who had died. Of the dead, 81% died on the mountain. Causes of death:

Cause	Deaths
High-altitude pulmonary oedema (fluid on the lungs)	16
Pulmonary and cerebral oedema together	3
Trauma	1
Heart and lung disease	1

High-altitude pulmonary oedema (HAPE) caused 76% of deaths. It typically started around 4,600 metres, roughly the height of the last camps before the summit push. Falls and rockfall, which dominate deaths on technical mountains, barely feature.

How common is altitude sickness on Kilimanjaro?

Very. In a 2010 study, 47% of climbers had acute mountain sickness at 4,730 metres. A larger study of 1,237 hikers in 2019–2020 found that 8.6% had severe altitude illness symptoms and 1.1% ended up in hospital. Porters and guides, who live at altitude and climb often, had severe symptoms in just 1.5% of cases.

The same study found that most hikers kept climbing despite mild or even severe symptoms. The only response linked to fewer severe symptoms was simply not going higher. The authors put it bluntly: each year several hikers die from altitude illness although descent is technically easy.

Rescue and route closures

Helicopter evacuation from the higher camps is available in good weather, alongside the traditional stretcher carry. It is not risk-free. On 24 December 2025 a medical evacuation helicopter operated by Kilimanjaro Aviation crashed between Barafu Camp and Kibo, killing two evacuated foreign climbers, a doctor, a guide and the pilot. The Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority opened an investigation.

As of 6 October 2026, the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary reports wildfires in the Kilimanjaro area. The Rongai, Lemosho and Londorosi routes are closed, and climbers are being moved to other routes. Ask your operator which route you will actually climb, because a switch to a shorter route changes your acclimatisation.

Tanzania also carries a US Level 3 advisory since the October 2025 election unrest; see our Tanzania page for the wider picture.

Who should be careful

• Anyone on a five- or six-day itinerary. Short climbs save money and put you at the summit with less acclimatisation.
• People with heart or lung disease, or a past episode of severe altitude illness. A history of severe altitude illness predicted severe symptoms in the 2019–2020 study. Talk to a doctor with altitude experience before you book.
• Younger, fit climbers who feel invincible. Youth was a risk factor for severe symptoms, possibly because young climbers push on.

How to climb Kilimanjaro more safely

1. Choose seven days or more. Lemosho and the Northern Circuit allow a gentler climb profile than five- or six-day Marangu or Machame trips.
2. Use a licensed operator with guides trained in altitude illness, a pulse oximeter and a clear evacuation plan. Ask how many clients they evacuated last season.
3. Agree a turnaround rule before you start. Do not go higher with a headache that does not clear, and descend at once with breathlessness at rest, a wet cough, confusion or stumbling.
4. Ask your doctor about acetazolamide, but do not treat it as a licence to climb faster.
5. Climb high, sleep low where the route allows, and walk slowly from the first day.
6. Buy insurance that covers helicopter evacuation to at least 6,000 metres and confirm it in writing.

How we scored it

Fatality risk (30) reflects roughly 200 to 300 micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary per climb, in our lowest band, though well short of mountaineering on Denali or Everest. Injury risk (35) is low because severe altitude illness is common. Controllability (60) is the strongest factor; most deaths follow a fast ascent or a decision to keep climbing while sick. Rescue and environment (35) reflects the long carry or flight from the high camps.