CLIMBING KILIMANJARO GUIDES AND PORTERS
Our team of guides on the mountain is truly exceptional, and we take pride in that. Unlike other companies who make similar claims, we can confidently say that our statement is entirely accurate. As the top operator in Kilimanjaro, we are able to pay high wages, provide plenty of work, and treat our staff well. Because of this, our guide positions are always in high demand, allowing us to carefully select the most qualified individuals to join our team.
Hiking Kilimanjaro | Our Experience Guides
The Guide at Hiking Kilimanjaro are proficient in English and have undergone thorough instruction in first aid, mountain rescue, plant and animal life, and historical knowledge. Each of our guides is officially registered with Kilimanjaro National Park. It is strictly prohibited to attempt a climb up Kilimanjaro without the guidance of a certified guide.
Our team of Kilimanjaro guides are highly skilled and have a vast amount of experience, having completed over 100 successful climbs. They are experts in their field and have an in-depth understanding of the mountain
- With an unparalleled level of skill and knowledge, our team of 20 hand-selected lead guides are some of the most respected professionals in the industry
- Collectively, they hold over 20 years of experience as guides on Mount Kilimanjaro, making them well-equipped to handle any situation that may arise on the mountain.
- With over 2,000 successful summits on Kilimanjaro, under their belts, our guides are not only strong and capable climbers, but also highly experienced.
- Having led over 15,000 clients to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, our guides have demonstrated their expertise in safely and effectively guiding clients to the top and safety.
When it comes to Kilimanjaro guides, there are many licensed individuals who have collected hundreds of successful summits through their careers. Though it definitely helps, that alone does not make them skilled, competent guides. In addition to experience, competency comes from setting high standards of performance, continuously training to meet or exceed those standards, and maintaining a culture of professionalism.
You can expect the following from our Kilimanjaro guides:
Ensuring High Safety Standards: -The safety of our clients is our top priority. Our clients trust us with their lives, and we take this responsibility very seriously. Our guides are certified Wilderness First Responders (WFR), which means they have the necessary skills to make critical medical and evacuation decisions. They receive annual training in emergency first aid and are well-equipped to prevent, recognize, and treat altitude-related illnesses. Moreover, they are able to identify and avoid potential hazards, such as slippery trails and loose rocks. We closely monitor the health of each client throughout the entire climb.
Exhibiting Professionalism – We understand that there are many options for climbing Kilimanjaro. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to us that we meet or exceed your expectations. At Hiking Kilimanjaro Company, we take pride in the hard work and dedication of our staff, and we continuously strive to maintain and enhance our reputation for excellence. Our guides maintain a high level of professionalism while also ensuring a fun and enjoyable experience for our clients.
Expertly Skilled – Our guides have extensive experience working on Mount Kilimanjaro. With their training and expertise, they are fully acclimatized to high altitudes and are well adapted to the challenges of mountain life. Climbing Kilimanjaro has become like second nature to them. Our guides are resilient and can impart their knowledge and skills to teach our clients everything they need to know about trekking at high altitudes.
Mountain Experts – Our guides are highly knowledgeable about the mountain and its surroundings. They can provide information about the various climate zones, distances to campsites, and details about the geology, flora, and fauna. These fascinating facts add to the overall enjoyment of the trek by giving our clients a deeper understanding of their surroundings.
Climber Ratio: A Comprehensive Guide:
Our guides can effectively manage our clients due to the high guide-to-client ratio of our groups. Because each climber generally needs a few porters, each additional client multiplies the number of people in the entire party.
We staff additional guides to ensure that each client receives individualized attention. This way, our guides can effectively monitor the progress of each individual climber and the collective group. Our guides have the opportunity to interact with each climber to assess how he or she is doing and to ask and answer questions when needed. Our porters can also provide better service by catering to the varied needs of each member.
Why Our Guides Love Working for Us
- Our Kilimanjaro guides love and enjoy working with us because we arrange well-prepared groups on the best routes.
- Our teams work together – often. This familiarity creates a strong team dynamic amongst the staff and with the clients, making the days on the mountain more fun and safer as well.
- We also lead longer trips, which, due to proper acclimatization, increases the probability of successful summits, which in turn gives a sense of satisfaction to the guides and staff.
- We appreciate that employment with HK-Hiking Kilimanjaro is highly sought after. It is a testament that we are doing things right. Most of our guides have been with us for many, many years.
- Our clients are great too.
- Our guides tell us that our clients are the best because they come to Kilimanjaro well-informed, well-trained, and well-prepared. This means our clients are more likely to be successful on the mountain, and happy clients mean happy guides. So just as our clients love our guides, our guides love our clients back.
- We comply with Kilimanjaro National Park guidelines to ensure our team of porters have the appropriate equipment, that they are paid fairly, given adequate food and accommodation, and that their loads are not excessive.
Our Kilimanjaro Mountain Guide
About Jordan John :
Jordan John Mollel Born and raised in Arusha is from A Maasai tribe, has been leading guests up Kilimanjaro for more than 15 years and has summited more than 350 times. He started Hiking Kilimanjaro as a porter and worked in different positions like camp crew and porter and worked his way up to being one of the best guides |
About David Malembela:
David was born and raised in Arusha. He started as a mountain porter, and became an assistant guide. He received his diploma in Wildlife Management and is a certified. He has summited more than 250 times. He has been trained by KINAPA as a guide and is also he is a certified Wilderness First Responders (WFR)
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About Innocent Christopher:
Innocent is from Moshi Tanzania, and moved to Arusha to wrking with us and become a mountain porter. He worked his way up to become a head guide . Innocent has summited Kilimanjaro more than 400 times and has received a certification in Mountain Guiding.
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About Filomena:
Filomena Born and raised in Arusha is from A Maasai tribe likes the mountain and dedicated his life to work as a mountain guide. she has good experience in leading groups and is a certified Wilderness First Responders (WFR) |
About Eric Geoffrey Benedict:
was Born in Kilimanjaro’s foothills, Geoffrey has more than 100 professional summits. He has been trained by KINAPA as a guide and is also he is a certified Wilderness First Responders (WFR) . A charming guide and always smiling, he knows what guests need, just by observing. |
About Kasian John:
Kassian is a chef. Our chefs are well-trained to cook fresh and nutritious meals throughout your trek. The meals are planned for the right balance of protein, carbohydrate, and nutrients to support your climb. |
About Godfrey:
Godfrey Born and raised in Arusha is from A Maasai tribe and he is a chef. Our chefs are well-trained to cook fresh and nutritious meals throughout your trek. The meals are planned for the right balance of protein, carbohydrate, and nutrients to support your climb. |
About Peter:
Peter is a fantastic safari guide and very talented. It’s as if he has a sixth sense for the animals. So he can sit very quietly behind the wheel to observe something and then suddenly starts with the car. Before you know it, you are standing by masses of wildebeest crossing the river exactly at that location. How could Peter know? Pter is the peace itself, has a lot of knowledge that it shares with you in a very calm way. |
About Mtanaa:
Mtanaa has been a safari guide for over fifteen years and has lived in Arusha for most of his life. He thrives on the fact that every day is really different during a safari. He enjoys the fact that nature changes every season.
“The amazing diversity of the landscape and the species of animals makes a visit to Tanzania absolutely worthwhile. I look forward to meeting you and sharing the beauty of my country with you! ” |
Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP)
We take porter welfare very seriously and we do our best to ensure that all our staff is treated well. We are a partner company of the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP), an independent organization whose mission it is to protect porters from mistreatment on the mountain, and the International Mountain Explorers Connection (IMEC) Partnership for Responsible Travel, which recognizes climbing companies with fair treatment practices.
We are one of KPAP’s strongest supporters, and we strive to have the best porters through fair and honest treatment of our staff. We ensure that:
- Our staff is paid a set wage, which means they do not have to rely entirely on tips for payment.
- Our staff is paid more than the standard compensation on Kilimanjaro. In fact, we are the highest paying mid-range KPAP partner company operating on Mount Kilimanjaro.
- Our staff is paid immediately upon completion of a trip.
- Our staff is paid tips in a fair, transparent manner.
- Our porters have the proper gear and equipment to handle the mountain. Their clothing, sleeping bags and tents are sufficiently warm and/or waterproof.
- Our porters are fed three nutritious meals per day, in adequate amounts, of their preferred local foods.
- Our porter loads are limited to 20 kgs. The porter to client ratios we utilize are sufficient to handle the equipment needed. If more porters are needed for a party, we will add more.
Why is it important to climb with a KPAP partner company?
You may be thinking, don’t all Kilimanjaro operators abide by the protocols listed above?
Sadly, the majority actually DO NOT. Although they claim to care about porter welfare, some of our largest competitors are the biggest facilitators of porter abuse. They force porters to carry more than the stated limit. They feed porters only once a day. They pay their staff half of what ours receive. And though it would be easy to believe that only budget operators are at fault, even popular midrange operators are known to do this!
That’s why It is very important to only climb with certified KPAP partner companies.
(See Are All Kilimanjaro Crews Treated Fairly?).
On each and every HK-Hiking Kili.climb, there is a KPAP representative porter staffed among our crew. We do this voluntarily so that everything is constantly evaluated – porter loads, meals, shelters, wages, tipping.
We welcome this scrutiny by an independent organization so we know that Hiking Kilimanjaro Kilimanjaro in full compliance, from the top down. We do nottolerate any deviance, by anyone, from our welfare guidelines.
