Kilimanjaro National Park

- Climate -

- Seasons and Weather Conditions -

The best time to visit Tanzania is during the dry season, especially just after the rains have finished and the vegetation is lush and green.

Kilimanjaro with its enormous size has its own weather pattern. Strong winds are noted to travel across the oceans, drawing up moisture, and eventually collide with the large mountain. The winds are then pushed up as they hit the mountain slopes, and the fall in temperature and atmosphere pressure leads to snow and rain (Precipitation).

There are two main rain bearing seasonal winds affecting Kilimanjaro. The 'south-east trade' wind brings rain from the Indian Ocean and arrive between March - May. A lot of rain falls on Kili this time of year and for this reason the season is known as 'The long rains'. A second seasonal rain bearing wind,'the north-east monsoon', brings 'the short rainy season' usually occurring in October and November.

The rainy seasons are the months when rain can be expected as opposed to the dry seasons where it will be unlikely, but it does not mean that it rains all the time. Naturally conditions on the mountains can become very slippery in the rains and snow can become a problem on some of the routes to the summit.

Dry season months of June to September and December to February can usually be counted as the best months for trekking.

- Temperature -

Being only three degrees south of the Equator, it is the altitude and time of day which affects the temperature, noted to drop 1 degree Celsius for every 200m gain in altitude. Day-time temperatures on the lower parts of the mountain are often pleasantly warm (70 - 80 degrees Fahrenheit/ 21 - 27 degrees Celsius), even hot, although a brief rain shower in the afternoon is always possible. As soon as the sun goes down the air temperature becomes cold and as the trek progresses, on the higher parts of the mountain the temperatures often drop to below freezing (0 and -15 degrees Fahrenheit/ -18 - -26 degrees Celsius. (Warm clothes and a warm sleeping bag are essential).

For more detailed weather information on Kilimanjaro visit:

University of Massachusetts - Kilimanjaro weather information