Mt. Kilimanjaro Weather - When is the Best Time to Climb?
The Mount Kilimanjaro weather affects your climb and your success chances. When to climb Kilimanjaro is an important decision.
Bad weather on Kilimanjaro not only makes for a miserable trek and ruins your photos, most importantly it simply makes the climb twice as hard!
You are a LOT more likely to reach the summit if the weather on Kilimanjaro is good.
Mount Kilimanjaro is near the equator. In the tropics there is no such thing as summer and winter. There are only dry and rainy periods. Or "dry seasons" and "wet seasons".
Climbing Kilimanjaro during the wet season means you have to slog through very deep mud during the first days. At higher altitude you have fog and drizzle, and slowly but surely the moisture will creep into your clothes, your gear, your bones...
|
Recommended
|
|
Good
|
|
OK
|
|
Not Recommended
|
|
Month
|
Temperature
|
Precipitation
|
Cloudiness
|
Crowds
|
| January | Warm | Medium | Low | High |
| February | Warm | Medium | Low | High |
| March | Moderate | High | Medium | Low |
| April | Moderate | High | High | Low |
| May | Moderate | High | High | Low |
| June | Cold | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| July | Cold | Medium | Low | High |
| August | Cold | Low | Low | High |
| September | Moderate | Low | Low | High |
| October | Moderate | Low | Medium | Medium |
| November | Moderate | High | Medium | Low |
| December | Moderate | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Some climbers prefer to summit during a full moon.
When the peak of Kilimanjaro and magnificent glaciers are lit up by the full moon, the view is absolutely stunning. For this reason alone, some climbers schedule their trek to coincide with this celestial event, occuring once a month. However, a practical reason for climbing at these times is that a bright moon along with a clear sky will improve your visibility throughout your climb, and most importantly, during the summit attempt.Below are full moon dates:
|
Month
|
2016
|
2017
|
2018
|
2019
|
| January | 23 | 12 | 2, 31 | 21 |
| February | 22 | 11 | --- | 19 |
| March | 23 | 12 | 2, 31 | 21 |
| April | 22 | 11 | 30 | 19 |
| May | 22 | 11 | 29 | 19 |
| June | 20 | 9 | 28 | 17 |
| July | 19 | 9 | 27 | 17 |
| August | 18 | 7 | 26 | 15 |
| September | 16 | 6 | 25 | 14 |
| October | 15 | 5 | 24 | 14 |
| November | 14 | 4 | 23 | 12 |
| December | 13 | 3 | 22 | 12 |