What Does it Take to Summit Kilimanjaro?

By Rami Rasamny, Founder of Life Happens Outdoors

Climbing Kilimanjaro is not about having the perfect gear, the strongest legs, or the best cardio score. Those help, sure. But they’re not what it takes. The real starting point, the one thing you truly need, is simple:

You have to want it.

That’s it. The desire to stand on the roof of Africa, to rise above the clouds under your own power, to see just how far your feet and your will can take you.

The “why” behind your want is yours alone. It doesn’t need to be noble. It doesn’t have to impress anyone. It doesn’t even need to make sense to others.

When I first decided to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, I did it to show an ex-girlfriend that I could do big things on my own. Yeah… the mother of all wrong reasons. But here’s the thing — that reason got me moving. And once I was in motion, the reason evolved. It turned into something deeper, something that belonged to me. More than a decade and over thirty summits later, my reason continues to evolve. What started as ego turned into exploration. What began as proving something to someone else became a lifelong journey of proving what’s possible to myself and to others.

Your reason might be adventure. Or escape. Or healing. Or proving to your kids that courage matters. Maybe it’s curiosity. Or grief. Or growth. There is no right or wrong reason to take on the Kilimanjaro trek — only a personal one that drives you forward.

Mental Readiness: The Quiet Backbone of Every Climb

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro isn’t a sprint. It’s a slow and deliberate march that demands a marathon mentality. You’ll move slowly — pole pole, as the guides say — but the mental game never stops.

You’ll face doubt. Maybe at midnight on summit night when the air thins and your legs ache. Maybe during a long stretch of scree when the summit still feels impossibly far. A successful Kilimanjaro climb is about more than physical ability. It’s about mental focus, emotional endurance, and the ability to keep going when your body wants to stop.

This isn’t about being fearless. It’s about being focused. About remembering why you’re doing this when it gets hard — and it will get hard. You don’t climb Mt Kilimanjaro on sheer strength. You climb it on grit, discipline, and belief.

Physical Preparation: The Body That Carries the Will

Let’s get one thing straight. You don’t need to be an ultra athlete to hike Kilimanjaro. You don’t need to carry a weighted backpack up 1000 meters of stairmaster. But you do need to respect the mountain and give your body a fighting chance.

Focus on endurance. Whether it’s long walks, hikes, swims, or cycling — what matters is time on your feet and the ability to keep going. If you’re planning to hike Mount Kilimanjaro, train your body to move for hours at a time, to recover overnight, and to repeat the process for several days in a row.

Train smart with the resources you have. Live in a flat city? No problem. Walk everywhere. Use stairs when possible. Get out for long weekend hikes. Do what you can with what you’ve got and be consistent.

Because climbing Mt Kilimanjaro isn’t about outperforming others. It’s about outlasting your own doubt.

So, what does it take to climb Kilimanjaro?

It takes wanting it.
And then, step by step, it takes becoming the kind of person who turns that want into action.
Mentally focused. Physically prepared. Emotionally committed.
It’s not just about reaching the top. It’s about discovering what lives inside you when you try.

And trust me, the view from the summit is worth every single step.

One Final Word of Advice

Avoid the forums. Seriously. Skip the threads filled with self-proclaimed experts who’ve done the Kilimanjaro hike once and now want to tell you exactly what to do and what not to do. There is so much garbage out there — opinions disguised as facts, outdated recommendations, and recycled fear-mongering.

If you’re preparing for a Kilimanjaro trek, talk to the professionals. The guides, the expedition leaders, the people who’ve been climbing Kilimanjaro for decades. The ones who have done it ten times, twenty times, even a hundred times. The people who know the mountain today, not the version of it someone remembers from years ago.

Trust the experience. Respect the process. And climb with clarity.

About the Author

Rami Rasamny is the founder of Life Happens Outdoors, a community-driven adventure company dedicated to helping people experience transformation through the outdoors. A seasoned mountaineer, Rami has led and completed over 30 climbs of Kilimanjaro and countless other expeditions across the Alps, Andes, and Himalayas. He believes that what matters most isn’t the summit — it’s what you discover about yourself on the way there.