years. That said, in the main, the porters are still woefully kitted out for mountain climbing and often make do with whatever they can scrounge or cobble together. Outfitters are now obliged to provide tents for their teams since the porters have been banned from sleeping in caves along the routes.
Nonetheless, the porters are still at very high risk on the mountain. Although they appear superhuman, carrying massive loads, seemingly unaffected by altitude and surviving in the harsh conditions without the benefit of modern equipment or clothing, many of them are inexperienced, unsure of what to expect on the mountain and lack the proper equipment and clothing. They are still susceptible to appalling accidents, frostbite, altitude sickness and death. In bad weather it is not uncommon for a porter to die of exposure or hypothermia, most often because of a lack of appropriate mountain clothing.
Although extreme, this issue is symptomatic of a major problem of exploitation by unprincipled outfitters. There are a number of things that you can do as an individual to try and address this problem. Before booking your trek ask the tour operator or outfitter what policies they have in regard to porters’ working conditions, and make sure that they know that it is important to you that your trip does not exploit its team of porters. If booking in the UK, only travel with an operator that has policies on porters’ rights. Tourism Concern has a list of over 35 registered tour operators in the UK who have written policies on working conditions for porters. Before you set off, try to make sure that adequate clothing is available for the porters. While on the climb check to see how the porters are being treated, noting the standard of kit they have, the amount that they have to carry and where they sleep at night. Once you have descended from the mountain, tell the outfitter if you thought they were mistreated and report this to Tourism Concern. Equally, make sure that you tell the outfitter if you thought that the porters were treated fairly and make it clear that this was very important to you and your enjoyment of the climb. This sort of interest and concern will compel the trekking industry to improve itself and sharpen its practices.
Tipping
In addition to the fee agreed with the outfitter for your climb on Kilimanjaro, you must include in your budget an amount to be allocated as tips for the guide and porters. While it is not mandatory to tip those who accompany you on your climb, a situation has developed whereby the local people depend upon the tips to supplement their meagre income. To this end, tipping is no longer strictly discretionary and has become more-or-less obligatory. Nonetheless, do not let yourself be bullied into tipping excessively and make the team aware of the fact that the tip is for work well done. In fairness, once you see how much effort goes into making your climb a safe and successful one you will not begrudge the guide and porters the extra money.
When it comes to distributing the tips, you can either hand the money to the guide and allow him to share it among his team, or you may choose to give it to the individuals yourself. The second option is more personal and allows you to say thank you. It also ensures that each member of the group actually receives what is meant for them. If you do hand the money to the guide, make sure that you write down what each member is to receive so that they can see that they have been treated fairly and haven’t been swindled by an unscrupulous leader.
Bear in mind that tips can be sought quite aggressively and that there are a host of tricks designed to help you part with additional cash, but equally also keep in mind that what is a fairly small amount by western standards means an awful lot to the guides and porters on the mountain.
The play-acting and aggrieved faces are designed to prick your conscience and open your wallet.
Make sure that you are only tipping members of your own team.
Ascertain how many people are associated with your group and make sure that you actually see them working on your behalf during the course of your climb.
Don’t let the guide persuade you that there was an additional porter accompanying the group that you simply didn’t see. Be especially sceptical if this mysterious individual fails to appear to collect his tip and the others volunteer to take it on his behalf.
Kibo cone seen from Shira Plateau on the Machame Route (photo: Steve Lagreca/Shutterstock.com)
What to tip?
There are several ways of determining how much to tip the team. In the case of large groups, it has become common practice for each member of the group to contribute 10% of the cost of the climb to a tip kitty. The total amount is then shared between all of the porters and guides associated with that group. If there are only a few members in the group you should consider increasing the percentage donated to the kitty.
Alternatively, you might like to consider allocating a set amount to each individual in the team. Although there are no hard or fast rules, a general guideline for the Marangu Route would be to tip the porters US$20–25, the cook US$30–35, and the assistant guides US$35–45. The guide ought to have made the most effort on your behalf and accompanied you to the summit, and so should be tipped US$55–65. On each of the other routes, which are all slightly longer and more arduous, you should consider being slightly more generous. Thus for the Machame Route, the porters might earn US$20–30, the cook US$30–40, the assistant guide US$40–50 and the guide US$60–70.
If the team accompanying you worked especially hard or did additional work, you may wish to recognise this by increasing their tip. Almost all of the local people will be very grateful for any shoes or clothes that you may wish to give them after the climb, but these should be gifts and not offered as an alternative to a cash tip.
Environmental and cultural considerations
Kilimanjaro is a very important area of biodiversity and it has a very high value to local people. The slopes of the mountain support high density populations, whose numbers have increased fivefold over the last century. These people rely on the mountain to provide them with water for drinking and irrigation and a pleasant and relatively disease-free environment. Consequently, in order to preserve this situation, the Tanzanian national parks’ authorities have declared that Kilimanjaro should be at the centre of a substantial area of wilderness, where the evidence of man and man’s activities are minimal. Thus, all land above 2700m constitutes Kilimanjaro National Park.
The Tanzanian policy for park management is to conserve the natural environment with as little interference as possible. This involves the national parks’ authorities taking responsibility for providing and maintaining facilities and routes on the mountain. Funds and manpower are scarce, and they rely on trekkers adhering to the various regulations and making a conscious effort not to damage the mountain in the course of their visit.
Crossing the Saddle on ascent to Kibo Huts (Machame Route) (photo: Mountaintreks/Shutterstock.com)
Every trekker on Kilimanjaro will have an impact on the mountain and the region simply by virtue of being there. On its own, this may be minimal; but with up to 60,000 people visiting Kilimanjaro every year the effect on the environment and the people that live in the area is greatly magnified. Each visitor has the potential to make their impact a positive one. By being aware of this and following the requests below, you will secure the future of the mountain.
Remove all litter
Sadly, although steps have been taken to improve the state of the mountain and instill in trekkers the need to collect and remove from the mountain all of the rubbish that they generate in the course of their climb, the slopes are increasingly littered. This can pose a health risk and is dangerous to animals.
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