Mawenzi Peak

Not part of the trekking product

Mawenzi is the eastern cone of Kilimanjaro and the second-highest point on the mountain at 5,149 metres. It is far older and far more eroded than Kibo, and what remains is a shattered mass of cliffs, gullies and rock faces rather than a walkable dome.

The important thing to establish at the outset is that it is not a trekking objective. TANAPA describes it as rugged and opened for technical climbing, and publishes separate guidelines for it. Those guidelines restrict Mawenzi to experienced and equipped climbers by special permit, two climbers at a time, in daylight hours only. A Kilimanjaro permit does not cover it and no ordinary itinerary includes it.

What climbers find on it

TANAPA describes Mawenzi as having seven sub-peaks, which technical climbers can hike while taking in the cliffs, the complexity of the gullies and the rock faces. The rock is notoriously loose, which is the reason the two-climbers-at-a-time restriction exists.

Beyond that, very little is published. No route descriptions, grades, approach times or bivouac arrangements appear in TANAPA’s material, and this site does not invent them.

What most people actually see of it

Mawenzi is the mountain’s best feature to look at and almost nobody climbs it. Trekkers on the Rongai route pass closest to it — the route’s upper section runs by Mawenzi Tarn, under the peak’s western face — and the Marangu route has it in view across the saddle from Horombo. From the saddle on summit night it stands as a black jagged silhouette against the first light while everybody is looking the other way.

The saddle between Kibo and Mawenzi is the mountain’s high alpine desert zone, one of the five eco-climatic zones TANAPA describes as taking a climber the equivalent of a journey from the equator to the arctic in a short trek.

A caution about itineraries

Operator material occasionally advertises a “Mawenzi climb” or a “Mawenzi Tarn trek”. These are almost always trekking itineraries that camp near the peak rather than ascents of it, and that is a perfectly good thing to do — Mawenzi Tarn is a spectacular place to sleep. It is simply not the same as climbing Mawenzi, which needs a special permit, technical competence and equipment, and which TANAPA limits to two people at a time.

Anyone considering the real thing should treat TANAPA’s guidelines as the starting point and confirm the permit arrangements directly with the park. The climbing Mount Kilimanjaro guide covers the trekking routes, none of which goes up Mawenzi.

Common questions