Climbing Kilimanjaro: A Comprehensive Guide to Trekking Africa's Highest Mountain

Jim Hopkins: This book is amazing for the comprehensive information about not only Kilimanjaro itself but also the surrounding towns, history, geology, climate and anything else you might want to know about climbing the highest mountain in Africa.

Australia on May 05, 2023

Amazon Customer: With this book there is no need for any other. Period. It is that good.

United Kingdom on Mar 02, 2023

Cliente Amazon: como practicamente no hay LIBROS sOBrE EL KILIMANJaRO EN CASTELLANO ESTE HA SIDO EN INGLES MUY BuENO OJaLa lo traduzcan

Spain on Jan 29, 2022

Sandy C.: If you are going to Tanzania for either a safari or to climb Kilimanjaro (my son and I did both), this book is a necessity. The author really knows his stuff, and this book clued me in on tipping, the culture, travel, the routes up Kili, and even some Swahili phrases (very necessary for a respectful visitor to the country — the people of Tanzania are very polite, and it’s awesome to be able to reciprocate). I recommend this book 100%.

United States on Dec 24, 2021

Gerard Lazorko: The book was accurate and detailed, however in the end, I did not book a trip because I could not find a reasonably priced-vendor who was willing to organize a low impact / footprint trek on the Umbwe route. All companies wanted a full expedition style trek with no fewer than 9 support staff, while I was looking for a more alpine-style experience with a guide and maybe 1 porter - this type of trek is just not done by any of these groups. Personally, I could manage this whole thing on my own, and assume any risk, however existing permitting regulations (aka money grab) do not allow this. So, I'll keep my hard-earned money and do my free-hiking in the beautiful Rockies.

Canada on Mar 27, 2020

James Field: For those foolish enough to imagine they can simply stroll their way to the summit of Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain at 5895m, with little more effort needed than to saunter down to their local pub, think again. Henry Stedman leaves no doubt in the reader's mind of what they let themselves in for.
Full of naive dreams of climbing Kilimanjaro, I browsed through this guide–and it put a firm damper on my enthusiasm. In agitated defiance, my frustrated ego pictured Henry Stedman as a man who had discovered paradise, closed the gate behind him, and written this guidebook to dissuade anyone else from following him.
He explains in graphic detail, about the agonising effects of altitude sickness; about the view-obliterating fog, rain and snow; about the steep, endless, knee-knackering gradients covered in mud, dust and loose scree; about the sub-zero temperatures on the upper slopes and ferociously carnivorous animals roaming the lower slopes; about the inoculations needed: yellow fever, typhoid, hepatitis A, polio, tetanus, meningococcal meningitis, rabies and malaria.
Disappointed and a little bitter, I asked myself why so many people, from all walks of life, had...

United States on Sep 01, 2017

Kindle CustomerKindle Customer: Awesome book, informative on multiple aspects. We planned our trek to Kilimanjaro through a local Moshi company, based on recommendations out of this book, some thoughtful planning. The book is is thorough, well organized, well written and humorous. Our trip was fun, safe and successful, and budget was less than half of what it would be if you booked through a US tour. Expect to put in about 30 hours or more of prep time to learn the routes, decide where to go, weeks of emails to the company and to your fellow travellers (we had 7 close friends in our trip to organize.) Put in due diligence to reassure yourself that the wire transfer is going to a legitimate company. (I checked ours several times through several ways, including checking on the NGO status of a company that ran the hotel we stayed at, who was closely associated with the trekking company we used.) When I was there, I did chat with 2 of the other local guide groups that I had been considering, and they all would have been excellent. picture is of our cheerleaders and guides.

United States on Oct 11, 2015

NickB: Back in 2012 a friend and I decided we wanted to climb Kilimanjaro, but we didn't have a clue where to begin. "There's bound to be a book" I thought, so I had a look and plumped for Henry's; boy am I glad I did! My version was the previous one to this, and we only travelled at the start of July this year (2014), so it would be understandable if some things were a little out of date, or not mentioned at all. For instance in my book there is no mention of Fifi's restaurant in Arusha (on Themi Road which is just off Sokoine Road very near the clock tower) which is absolutely fantastic! The food is wonderful, and, most importantly, the bottles of Kilimanjaro lager are brought with a chilled glass! Delightful.

I digress. The book covers everything you can think of, UK based agencies, local agencies in the cities, as well as the cities/towns themselves, with hotel/lodge/b&b reviews restaurant reviews and maps to help you locate anything you want to find. There is equipment lists, advice on AMS, jabs, malari, and other such things. There is even a small Swahili/English section so you can pick up some basics to help you get by politely (and throw in 'poa kichizi kama ndizi...

United Kingdom on Aug 01, 2014

Nicole: This was a great book to have on the mountain. Each night before bed we would read about the next day's hike. The graphic next to each day's hike showing elevation gain and loss was also extremely helpful just to help us know what was in store. Our guide did not have good things to say about this book (perhaps because he took issue with the tipping guide, saying it was out of date and too low). There were definitely parts of the narrative that we didn't agree with (i.e. Day 2 on Machame is definitely not the "easiest" day), but his description of summit night to Stella Point is pretty spot on. Worth the purchase price.

United States on Jul 30, 2013

kaimu: This book was indispensable for our ascent up Kilimanjaro this March 2012. It was just chock full of information and prepared us very well for each day's journey up the mountain. Although, it was out of stock and had to buy it new for $21 from an Amazon Used book seller, I am very happy with the purchase. It not only includes flora and fauna, but descriptions of the geology and climates which make Kilimanjaro so unique and will give you a deeper appreciation as you ascend "pole, pole -slowly, slowly". It gives very good descriptions of the many climbing routes and gives you a description of what you will encounter during each day of your route. The descriptions of the Kilimanjaro towns are good but could be cross referenced (lodging, restaurants, internet availability...) on line before you go as Tanzania is moving forward with change, too. Grab this book and go. You will not ever regret your days spent on Kilimanjaro. Although it is a hefty little book, we took it on our climb and read it during the day before we retired early each night. Cheers and good luck.

United States on Apr 20, 2012