It takes five to nine days to climb Kilimanjaro, from bottom to the top and back down again.

Mount Kilimanjaro routes and their variations take between five to nine days to complete. Although Kilimanjaro is known as a “walk-up” mountain, you should not underestimate it and its risks. The overall statistics show that less than half of all climbers reach the summit.

Altitude sickness is the main reason why people fail on Kilimanjaro. The human body needs time to acclimatize to high altitude. Gaining altitude too rapidly doesn’t allow the body enough time to adjust to reduced oxygen and changes in air pressure. This is very apparent when examining Kilimanjaro’s overall success rates based on the number of days spent on the mountain.