4 Day Mount Meru trekking

Know before you go

• On the mountain you will sleep in the huts in your own bed but share a room with other 4 to 6 travel companion.
• The diet includes energy-rich and highly nutritious meals prepared by professional high-altitude cooks

Paperwork

• Passport
• Visa (available at JRO)
• Vaccination/Immunization Papers
• Insurance

Do I Need to Carry All My Own Gear on Kilimanjaro?

Absolutely not! Because our trips are fully supported, our porters will carry most of your gear from hut to hut.

You only have to carry a small daypack with the things that you might need while hiking to the next campsite. Generally that would include extra clothing, rain gear, snacks and water.

Everything else goes into your duffel bag, which will be ready in your room by the hut you get to the camp.

Our porters will place your duffel bag and sleeping bag into a large, sturdy, waterproof bag with a roll-top closure.

Is There a Weight Limit for My Kilimanjaro Gear?

Our porters are limited to carrying 33 lbs (15 kgs) of your personal belongings. So be selective in what you take with you.

The most common mistake that climbers make is that they over pack and bring too much gear. If you are having issues getting under the weight limit, review your gear along with our gear list carefully and cut out any extra or unnecessary items

Note that all the gear that the porters will carry for you between campsites should be placed into the duffel bag, including the sleeping bag, but it is OK to pack the sleeping bag separately if necessary. If you rent a sleeping bag from us, note that the bag weighs 5 lbs 6 oz. and this weight does count against the 33 lb limit.

If you have excess weight, you will be required to hire an additional porter. It is rare to require an extra porter and should happen only in special cases, such as for carrying extensive photography equipment.

Can I Store Extra Luggage at the Hotel?

Yes. All extra luggage, items you will not use on your climb, such safari clothing, gear and equipment, can be safely stored at the hotel.

What Happens if My Baggage is Lost or Delayed?

If your baggage is lost or delayed, please notify us immediately upon your arrival so we can assist you in assembling the necessary gear. We will take you to local, independently owned gear shops in Moshi. But you might not be able to find what you need at these stores and the quality and condition of the gear might be substandard. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to carry on the most important pieces of gear as noted above.

We will make reasonable attempts to deliver delayed luggage to you on the mountain. All additional expenses that are incurred by us while resolving lost or delayed luggage problems must be reimbursed locally.

On Mount Meru itself, Saddle Hut, and Miriakamba Hut provide the only accommodation. Huts fill up well in advance, so if you’re planning to trek during the high season (December to February) it is often prudent to pack a lightweight tent. Recommended Mount Meru Accommodations includes:

When people think about backpacking and camping, the food that comes to mind usually involves unappetizing dehydrated food packages and unhealthy powdered mixes. On Mount Meru, this could not be farther from the reality. Up here, you eat real food — and lots of it.

Supplying your body with continuous calories is an important factor in successfully climbing Meru. While an average person on a typical work day burns around 2,500 calories, a hiker on Kilimanjaro can burn 6,000 to 8,000 calories a day! In order to keep well fueled, you have to eat

Meals on Mount Meru
You will be provided with breakfast, lunch and dinner each day spent on the mountain. The food, specifically selected to help your climb, are high energy carbohydrate foods that are easily digestible.

Our Landside Adventure® mountain chefs are brilliant at what they do. The taste and variety of the menu items is very impressive. We regularly receive glowing feedback from our clients that they were pleasantly surprised at how good the food was and how it really helped them in their quest for the summit.

Note that we can accommodate vegetarian and vegan diets.

For those with special diets, please contact us to discuss what we can or cannot do. Note that food selection is limited in Tanzania, so although we will try to please all clients, in some cases clients will be asked to bring their specific food items to us, which our cooks will prepare.
Water and Snacks on Meru
Water is collected from mountain streams and treated with Aquatabs® water purification tablets. Water is provided only at the campsites so you need to carry enough water, usually about 3 liters, to stay hydrated while you hike.

You may want to bring some supplementary “comfort” foods, such as candy, gum, chocolate, health bars or powdered energy drinks.

Carbohydrate Requirements
The primary carbohydrate of the meals are rice, potatoes and pasta. Fresh fruit and vegetables accompany every meal. Meat is served on the mountain but not in large quantities because it is not easily digestible at high altitude and nor does it keep well on the mountain. We resupply the team with fresh food throughout the climb.

It is well known that eating a high carb diet is best for boosting endurance. In general, carbohydrates replace depleted muscle glycogen, prevent muscle deterioration, and require less oxygen for metabolism. At high elevations, this effect is even more pronounced.

When exposed to altitude, there is a shift in the body’s energy source from fat to carbohydrates. Carbs require 8-10% less oxygen for metabolism than protein or fats. Researchers have found that people naturally increase their carbohydrate consumption when at high elevations, presumably as a response to the low oxygen in the environment.

Protein and fat are not well tolerated at altitude. Because absorption of protein and fat drops substantially, you should reduce your intake accordingly.

Carbohydrates are the preferred energy source and should make up the largest percentage of food at high altitude. It is recommended that 60% or more of your calorie intake should come from carbohydrates at high altitude. Therefore, our menu is predominantly made of high carb meals designed to sustain your body’s performance on the mountain.

Not only are carbs the best source of energy for climbing, carbs are also needed for altitude acclimatization. A high carb diet has been shown to prevent symptoms of acute mountain sickness (AMS). Researchers have found that a high carbohydrate intake can reduce the effects of altitude by 1,000 feet at a height of 13,000 feet and 2,000 feet at a height of 17,000 feet.

Tips for Eating at Altitude
At higher altitudes, people struggle with appetite loss and nausea. Try your best to keep eating regardless. You want to avoid going into a calorie deficit on the mountain because it will make acclimatization, recovery and athletic performance more difficult. It is better to eat the “wrong” food than no food at all. So eat whatever you can, whenever you can. Protein, fat and carbohydrates are all sources of calories.

We do recommend that you bring some snacks to supplement your diet on the mountain. Snacks add some variety to the food you eat, are another source of calories, and can provide a little morale boost when times are tough.

Here are some best practices for eating and drinking on Kilimanjaro.

Wash your hands before every meal.
Don’t skip meals. Eat even if you are not hungry.
Eat a high carbohydrate diet (which we will provide).
Bring snacks from home that you love to eat.
Drink at least four liters of water per day.
Take electrolytes.
Avoid consuming alcohol, tobacco or depressant drugs including barbiturates, tranquilizers, sleeping pills and opiates.
Avoid excessive caffeine consumption.

How far in advance should I book my Tanzanian Trip with Landside Adventure?

Peak season (December to February) and high season (June to October) put pressure on the availability of accommodation, so booking well in advance is strongly recommended. We at Landside Adventure suggest that you book your safari trip between six months and one year in advance, as this helps secure the accommodation choices and allows us to sort out all other logistics. We welcome enquiries for last-minute bookings, but the availability of the accommodation will determine if we can provide your last-minute desired safari package.

What is included in the price of the trekking package?

The price agreed for your trekking package includes all lodging, Huts and meals throughout your trip as detailed on your itinerary, all park entrance fees, the services of an expert guide, cook, porters, roundtrip airport and mountain gate transfers, 3ltrs of boiled water per person, per day on the mountain.

The following things are NOT included in the price:

Any international flights, any domestic flights (unless specified and agreed as part of your package), any travel and medical insurance, entry visa to Tanzania, (you should obtain this before you arrive; you can get a visa on entry to Tanzania, but this involves standing in long lines between 30-45 minutes or sometimes more), soft drinks and alcoholic beverages, gratuities for your guide, cook, porters or any other Landside Adventure staff, gratuities for any camp/lodge staff, any extra activities not pre-booked and paid for, emergency evacuation service (unless pre-booked and pre- paid) and any other items not mentioned in this list.

What are the Landside Adventure booking terms and conditions?

Once we have agreed your safari trip itinerary with you, you will be required to make an initial deposit of 30% to us. This allows us to be able to confirm your booking. The full balance must then be paid 30 days before the start of your safari trip. For any last-minute booking made less than 30 days prior to your proposed arrival date, we require payment of the full amount to be made when booking.

What methods of payment do you accept?

We accept payment either by credit card, or by direct wire transfer.

Payment by Credit Card Online:

We accept Visa, Master Card and American Express. This is the fastest and easiest method of payment as it avoids the necessity of complying with numerous banking procedures. You will need to allow for 3.5% on top of the trip cost, this being bank charges for use of the credit card. This 3.5% charge stays with the bank, not Landside Adventure (Tanzania Bank Policy).

Payment by Direct Wire Transfer:

If paying by this method, any bank charges incurred will be at your cost. Beneficiary bank charges are approximately $45 and they will be added by us on to your invoice. It usually takes a minimum of 5 to 7 working days for the funds to arrive into our account. At that point, we are able to issue your booking confirmation.

HOW TO GET THERE

The best airport to fly to is Kilimanjaro international airport (code JRO) and we can arrange transfer from the Kilimanjaro airport to your hotel and back – subject to additional cost. If you are unable to find flights to Kilimanjaro airport can you reserve flights to either Nairobi airport, Kenya or Dar es Salaam airport, Tanzania. You will need to join a connecting flight to Kilimanjaro airport or bus transfer to Arusha town or Moshi town for the start of your tour.

International Flights

We start all our climbs from Moshi or Arusha town, which is approximately 45 km from Kilimanjaro International Airport.

The following airlines fly directly to Kilimanjaro airport:

• KLM: Direct flights from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro airport
• Condor: Direct flights from Frankfurt to Kilimanjaro airport
• Turkish Airlines: Direct flights from Istanbul to Kilimanjaro airport
• Kenya Airways: Direct flights from Nairobi to Kilimanjaro airport
• Precision Air: Direct flights from Nairobi to Kilimanjaro airport
• Qatar Airlines: Direct flights from Doha to Kilimanjaro airport
• Ethiopian Airlines: Direct flights from Addis Ababa to Kilimanjaro airport
• RwandAir: Direct flights from Kigali to Kilimanjaro airport

If you are unable to find direct flights to Kilimanjaro airport, you can fly to Kilimanjaro airport via Dar Es Salaam or Nairobi (Kenya). Kilimanjaro is much closer to Nairobi than it is from Dar es Salaam. Nairobi receives a lot more air traffic than Kilimanjaro Airport, making for more competitive prices.

Domestic flights within Tanzania

The following airlines offer domestic flights within Tanzania:

• Precision Air
• Air Tanzania
• Fly540
• Regional Air
• Zan Air
• Coastal Aviation
• Air Excel

Bus transfers

For a supplementary charge we can help you arrange private transportation or shuttle bus transfers to Moshi or Arusha from Nairobi, and vice versa.

• Routing Schedule Departing Arriving
• Nairobi to Arusha Daily 08:00 14:00
• Nairobi to Arusha Daily 14:00 18:30
• Nairobi to Moshi Daily 08:00 15:30
• Moshi to Nairobi Daily 06:00 14:00
• Arusha to Nairobi Daily 08:00 14:00
• Moshi to Nairobi Daily 10:30 18:30
• Arusha to Nairobi Daily 14:00 18:30
• Bus schedule (subject to change)

Private transfers

It is possible to arrange private transfers to Arusha or Moshi from Nairobi, Dar Es Salaam or Mombassa and vice versa, at extra cost.