HEALTH & SAFETY

HEALTH
If you have any respiratory or heart conditions, then trekking at this altitude is going to be very hard on your
system. You will need to seek serious medical advice before attempting Kilimanjaro.Remember that it is a
long way up, so if you have any medical conditions that require daily attention, such as Type 1 diabetes, a lot
of companies will insist that you travel with a friend who can support you. If you have a diabetic episode, it
can take 6-7 hours to get you down the mountain under emergency measures. Also, guides are trained in first
aid, mountain sickness and emergencies, but they won’t dispense drugs or give injections.Treat altitude with
respect. Guides are well trained in recognising the symptoms, and do what they can to avoid it, such as
descending to a lower position to sleep, which puts less pressure on the body at rest. If your guide tells you to
stop, then do. It does not matter how fit you are, or how many times you’ve been at high altitudes before – the
symptoms are unpredictable, and the only real cure is descending. Dehydration makes altitude sickness
worse – you need to drink much more at high altitudes.Visit your GP 6-8 weeks before travelling to
Tanzania to ensure you have all the necessary vaccinations and medication. You may be requested to show an
up to date Yellow Fever certificate on entry to Tanzania, so we recommend getting this vaccination as
well.Malaria is present in Tanzania below altitudes of 2,000m so antimalarial medication should be taken.
Wear long sleeves and trousers and use your mosquito nets. Dengue fever (also carried by mosquitoes) is also
present, particularly in cities, and tse-tse flies have a painful bite, as well as carrying sleeping sickness. They
are attracted to the colour blue – so don’t wear it!Purchase comprehensive travel insurance to cover your
trek and any other activities. Ensure this covers emergency medical repatriation; you may have to be
evacuated if the hospitals in Dar es Salaam are unable to provide adequate care.Tanzania is close to the
equator and the sun is fierce – especially on Kilimanjaro, where it’s magnified by the altitude, despite the
cold. Remember to bring sunscreen, a hat, good quality sunglasses and lip salve with a high SPF .Water
carried by porters should be safe for drinking, although many people bring water purification tablets just to
be extra safe. The EU banned iodine to be used to purify water on 25 Oct 2009, so chlorine tablets are the
usual choice now. However, chlorine doesn’t eliminate giardia bacteria. Check out Biox Aqua drops or tablets
as they kill giardia and crytosporidium.

SAFETY
It goes without saying that when you are trekking on Kilimanjaro, do what your guides advise. This is no
walk in the park, but a serious long distance and high altitude trek over at least five days.Be sure to use
a reputable company for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. You can’t go up Kili without a local guide who has
undergone the rigorous national park training. However, the tour operators hire them directly and, therefore,
get to know the best. So check out any feedback available on their guides to make sure you are walking with
the ones with the most common sense, most safety aware and most switched on.Tanzania is generally a safe
country to travel in, with relative political stability.Tanzania is a conservative country and all travellers
should dress modestly. Women in particular should not wear shorts or sleeveless tops, especially when you
have non-mountain days in coastal areas and on the islands – including Zanzibar – where the population is
largely Muslim.Homosexuality is illegal in Tanzania; same sex couples should act discretely.

When ascending mountains at high altitudes, perhaps the most significant factor
contributing to success is the trekker's power to weight ratio. If you're heavy, you're
going to struggle, whether the reason you're heavy is that you're carrying a lot of
muscle, or your body is well equipped with unused "emergency reserves".
 So, while we leave the choice of whether or not to join one of our climbs to you, we
prefer climbers to be properly informed about what are realistic expectations for heavy
people.

The following are our recommended physical limitation guidelines for joining a Team
KIlimanjaro trek.

Body Mass Index Result

 Maximum of 29
 Aim for 18 - 25

Basic Fitness Test Result

Maximum best time of 15 mins 30.

This is a mile and a half run (2.4km), usually including only a very slight incline.
However, we suggest you test yourself either on a treadmill at a gym, or by running 6
times around an athletics track.

Although no running is required on the expedition, nonetheless, a BFT is a good

indicator of cardio-vascular output, a reasonable level of which is required on
Kilimanjaro.