You will be amazed at variety, quality and quantity of the food we served on your mount Kilimanjaro, Meru climb.

As we’ve already mentioned, staying hydrated and well-fed on your climb is absolutely vital, especially when conditions are such that you might not want to eat or drink as much as you should.

Hot lunch break on Kilimanjaro

Because so many climbers experience a loss of appetite at altitude, our head chef has developed special menu plans that are appealing, healthy, and filled with all the energy you need to make it to the summit. By default, our food on kilimanjaro include fresh fruit and vegetables every day. You will have fresh meat for the first part of the trek and on the southern routes where it is feasible we resupply the group at Karanga Camp.

As a special reward after your summit ascent, we’ll have an “All Day English Breakfast” ready and waiting for you when you arrive back at Base Camp – just let our cook know how you like your eggs done!  And before you leave the mountain, you also get to sample some of the local Tanzanian cuisine such as Njegere and Machalari.

If you have special dietary requirements or are a vegetarian then just let us know when you book so that we can be sure to have a suitable menu planned.

A typical day’s food on Kilimanjaro

Breakfast is usually fairly hearty, and includes porridge, sausage, eggs and toast with marmalade or jam. Of course, you’ll also have hot drinks, generally a choice of tea, coffee or hot chocolate. Let your guide know if you are still hungry, or even if you think you could ‘pack in a few more bites’. Our cooks always try to provide more food than necessary to ensure everyone gets enough.

Lunch is either packed for you, to carry in your rucksack, or we stop for a hot cooked lunch depending on your itinerary.  A typical packed lunch is a boiled egg, sandwiches, a portion of chicken, crisps, snack bar, fresh fruit and a drink.

Afternoon Tea is served at the end of the day’s walking, once you get to camp. In addition to tea and other hot drinks, there are plenty of peanuts, popcorn, biscuits and snacks to help restore some of the energy you’ve just burned off.

Dinners are quite filling. They usually begin with a nice healthy vegetable soup, and then a main course such as chicken curry, spaghetti bolognese, fresh vegetables, and plenty of rice, pasta or potatoes, followed by a yummy dessert such as pancakes or banana fritters with maple syrup or nutella!

We understand how much comfort there is to be had in a little taste of home. We make an effort to stock many brands that will be familiar to our UK and US climbers, including Heinz, Nestlé and Nescafe

Do you cater for different dietary requirements?

Yes, we do!

All reputable Kilimanjaro tour operators should cater for various dietary requirements. At Kili Footprints this includes the following diets:

The cooks are knowledgeable about pretty much every dietary requirement under the sun, and are very experienced to boot.

At Kili Footprints , we collect trekkers’ dietary info before the climb and pass it on to the team on the ground. They’re then equipped with all the necessary details for their pre-climb grocery shop.

What snacks should I bring for Kilimanjaro climb

Snack ideas

Here are some snack ideas:

If you’re planning to bring bitty snacks, like individually wrapped sweets, you might like to place the snacks for each day in a separate little baggie to make things simpler for you the trail, and ensure you don’t run out. Just a thought. (And also please note that Tanzania doesn’t permit single-use plastic carrier bags to be brought into the country. But resealable, reusable bags like Ziploc bags are allowed.) Electrolyte sachets could be also added to water in the evening to help you recover from the day’s trek.