What is the weight limit for luggage on Kilimanjaro climbs?

Weight limit for luggage on Kilimanjaro climbs each porter can carry up to 20kg of luggage.

What is the recommended weight for Day Park?

It is recommended that anyone who wants to climb or trek Kilimanjaro should not carry more than ten kilogram. The average is seven kilogram. This means that you allowed carrying the only three up to four liters of drinking water, valuables, camera, and foods and so on. But other items are normally carried by your porters who assist you up to the mountain. These items or equipments carried by porters are always being camping items or camping equipment. But also according to Kilimanjaro porters assistance project (KPAP) every porter should not carry more than 20 kilogram when trekking Kilimanjaro.

How many porters will accompany us when climbing Kilimanjaro?

You will have three and six porters per person. This depends on your group size and the weight of your luggage. Each porter is required to carry to a maximum of ten kg. The porters will carry all the tents, food, and the luggage that you do not require while hiking so you will only need to carry a day pack during the day.

Duties of porter when trekking Kilimanjaro

Porters are an incredible breed of men (and the ones who work on Kilimanjaro are nearly always male), and ones who never fail to draw admiration from the trekkers who hire them. Ranging in age from about 18 (the minimum legal age, though some look a good deal younger) to 40 (though occasionally way beyond this), porters are amongst the hardest workers on the mountain. To see them traipsing up the mountain, water in one hand, cooker in another, rucksack on the back and picnic table on the head, is staggering to behold. And though they are supposed to carry no more than 15kg, many, desperate for work in what is an over-supplied market, carry much, much more.

o Carrying Equipment and supplies also they are responsible of carrying all important equipment each trek is different, but on average, it takes about 225 pounds of total luggage per climber to get to Kilimanjaro peak and back. These equipment including food, camping gear, including all sleeping, dining, toilet, kitchen and tents, personal gear, cooking and serving equipment, safety gear, including oxygen kits, first aid kits and others. Remember that porters are not responsible to carry personal equipment. Every personal equipment should be carried by clients himself like bottle of water personal clothing and so on.

o Carrying clients Luggage Porters usually carry clients and guides luggage that includes your camping gears including tents to portable toilets, clothing gears which including all your clothes that you will need on the your trip, and your hiking gears such as the hiking poles. Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP) which is responsible to register porters keep this law that porter load weight limit of 20 kilograms weighing bags before and during every climb. Not only porters are responsible for carrying equipments or items but also they do the following.

o Setting Up Your Camp Camps are the only way of making a shelter to rest. As the routes except the Marangu are camping routes without any other accommodations. Porters are not only responsible for carrying your luggage. They are the ones who usually set up your camps which involve the sleeping camps, toilet camps, and dining tents.

o Arrange The Necessary Supplies All these work is done by porters because is their work which make them paid. Porters work towards making your trip successful one by dedicatedly working towards keeping you hydrated, food, shelter, and safe climbing. They are usually trained to assist the climbers if they face any kind of health issues such as altitude sickness.

o Assisting the Cook to Prepare Food Also porters they help the cooker for preparing food. Usually, cooks need someone to help for preparing food in big amount, and porters are the one who helps the cooks for making the food to get ready.

o Making Camp Each Day Tent are secured by porters when they make a camp but also after the tents are broken down and packed away, porters often race ahead on the trail to secure the best spot at the next camp ground and to finish making camp before clients arrive. And porters have responsible of supplying clean water and as we know that water has many works including for water for food preparation and washing dishes. Trekkers need water for washing and four liters of drinking water.

o Supporting Mentally and Physically There are countless other things porters do during the trek to support you both physically and mentally. Porters make you to feel comfortable at all time on your trip.

Whose porters?

Porters are peoples who are not usually employed permanently. Some quality responsible operators have teams of porters that they use on all their climbs, the work of porters is to walk to the national park gate every day to carry climbing equipments of clients.

Sometimes operators do not pay their staff well, in some cases not at all. Porters don not have many options. There are many more porters available than needed and they are all desperate for work. According to Kilimanjaro national park authority there is a recommended minimum wage for Kilimanjaro porters. TSH 20000 per day but tours company pays porters less than the salary which recommended by (KINAPA).Your porters will likely still end up with less money in their hands, since few climbers are aware of this. And if you pay all tips to the guide to distribute the porters may see little if any of the money

What are the rules made by KINAPA which every tour operator should do for their porters?

According to Kilimanjaro national park authority (KINAPA) Porters are paid a minimum of 20,000Tsh per day, the wage amount accepted by the porter unions in 2014. Salaries must be paid within 2 days of the descent of a climb loads carried by the porter should not exceed 20 kg for the company excluding porter’s personal kit. Porters are provided with three meals per day, porters have proper shelter conditions and sleeping equipment. Porters are outfitted with proper gear sick or injured porters are properly cared for porters.