Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro is one of the most expensive treks in the world. The lowest option starts at upwards of USD 1100 per person. And the main reason for this is the park fees charged by the park department – Kilimanjaro National Parks Authority (KINAPA).

Considering that the park fees are almost 75% of the trek cost, it’s important that we understand what we are paying. In this article, we would like to break down the park fees into its various components and explain what they mean. We would also explain how to calculate the park fees yourself, and what the important discounts available.

Don’t have time to read the whole article? Here are the park fees for the most common routes up Mt. Kilimanjaro. The prices are updated as of December 2018. All prices you see on our website include park fees and VAT.

Park fees for the trekker for various routes

Listed are the park ENTRY fees for various common routes. This figure does not include guide and porter entrance fees.

• Machame 6 days = USD 814.20 per trekker
• Machame 7 days = USD 955.80 per trekker
• Lemosho 7 days = USD 955.80 per trekker
• Lemosho 8 days = USD 1097.40 per trekker
• Marangu 5 days = USD 719.80 per trekker
• Marangu 6 days = USD 873.20 per trekker
• Rongai 6 days = USD 814.20 per trekker
• Rongai 7 days = USD 955.80 per trekker
• Umbwe 6 days = USD 814.20 per trekker
• Umbwe 7 days = USD 955.80 per trekker

What are the various components of the park fees?

Park fees are made up of various components. It depends on how many days and how many nights you spend inside the park. Here are a few major ones.

Conservation Fees

This is fees charged by the park department for the upkeep of the national park. The fees are USD 70 per trekker per day. This fee is charged for the number of days you spend inside the park. For e.g., on a 7 days Lemosho route, the conservation fees would be USD 490 (USD 70 x 7 days).

Camping Fees

On all routes except Marangu, you would be camping at the public campsites. These campsites as well common areas such as toilets are maintained by the park department. The camping fees is USD 50 per trekker per night. This is charged for the number of times you camp on a trip. Continuing the previous example, on a 7 days Lemosho trip, you would be camping 6 nights. So the camping fees would be USD 300 (USD 50 x 6 nights).

Hut Fees

On Marangu route, you would be sleeping in huts along the route instead of camping. The hut are maintained by the park department. Some of the huts are Mandara, Horombo and Kibo. The hut fees is USD 60 per trekker per night. So on a 5 days Marangu route, hut fees would be USD 240 (USD 60 x 4 nights).

Rescue Fees

Rescue fees are charged by the park department to provide rescues on the mountain. The current cost is USD 20 per trekker per trip.

Crater Camping Fees

In case you wish to camp on the crater, the cost would be USD 100 per trekker per night.

Guide and Porter Entrance Fees

In addition to paying park fees for yourself, you are also responsible for paying the park entrance fees for your crew, for your guides, cooks and porters. The park entrance fees is USD 2 per trip per person.

VAT

The Value Added Tax (VAT) is charged by the government of Tanzania. The government started charging VAT on Kilimanjaro treks from July, 2016. Currently it’s set at 18%. All the components above would have to be charged with 18% VAT.

How to calculate the park fees?

Now that we know all the components of the park fees, it’s trivial to calculate how much the amount will be.

Let’s say you are doing 6 days Machame route. This would mean you would be spending 6 days and 5 nights on the mountain. On Machame route, you would be camping at the public camp sites. So here is how you would calculate the park fees.

1. Conservation fees = USD 70 x 6 days = USD 420 per trekker
2. Camping fees = USD 50 x 5 nights = USD 250 per trekker
3. Rescue fees = USD 20
4. Total (exclusive of taxes) = USD 420 + USD 250 + USD 20 = USD 690
5. VAT = 18% of USD 690 = USD 124.20
6. Total (inclusive of taxes) = USD 690 + 124.20 = USD 814.20

Let’s take another example for Marangu 5 days. On Marangu route, you would be spending the nights in huts instead of camps.

1. Conservation fees = USD 70 x 5 days = USD 350 per trekker
2. Camping fees = USD 60 x 4 nights = USD 240 per trekker
3. Rescue fees = USD 20
4. Total (exclusive of taxes) = USD 350 + USD 240 + USD 20 = USD 610
5. VAT = 18% of USD 610 = USD 109.80
6. Total (inclusive of taxes) = USD 610 + 109.80 = USD 719.80

How to pay the park fees?

You have two options when it comes to paying the park fees when trekking with Monkey Adventures.

The most common and popular option is to pay the park fees upfront to us, along with the trek fees. All prices on our website include park fees as well as VAT. We will then pay the park fees to the park department.

Another option is to pay the park fees directly to the park department. You can do this with any Visa card at the park gate. You would be doing this on the first day of the climb at the park gate we would be entering from.

While booking, you can indicate your preference to us on how you wish to pay the park fees.

What are the discounts available from the park department?

The park department offers discounts for children under the age of 16 years at the time of the climb, residents and expats of Tanzania and East African citizens. Let’s look at these discounts in detail.

Children aged between the age of 5 and 15 years

Children aged between the age of 5 and 15 years get a discount on conservation fees as well as camping fees. There is no discount on hut fees or rescue fees.

• Conversation fees are reduced from USD 70 per day to USD 20 per day.
• Camping fees is reduces from USD 50 per day to USD 10 per day.
• No change in hut fees. Hut fees are still USD 60 per day.
• No change in rescue fees. Rescue fees are still USD 20 per trip.

Children below the age of 5 years

Park department charges no conservation fees or camping fees for children below the age of 5 years. Hut and rescue fees are still applicable.

• No Conversation fees.
• No Camping fees.
• No change in hut fees. Hut fees are still USD 60 per day.
• No change in rescue fees. Rescue fees are still USD 20 per trip.

Expatriates/Residents living in Tanzania

If you are an expat or a resident living and working in Tanzania, the park department discounts your conversation fees. There are no discounts on camping fees, hut fees or rescue fees.

• Conversation fees are reduced from USD 70 per day to USD 35 per day.
• No change in camping fees. Camping fees is still USD 50 per day.
• No change in hut fees. Hut fees are still USD 60 per day.
• No change in rescue fees. Rescue fees are still USD 20 per trip.

East African Citizens

You can get discounts if you are a national of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda & South Sudan. Please note that this is applicable to the citizens of these countries and not residents. If you are a national of one of these countries, you must produce your passport at entry gate.

When you book with us then be happy that we will charge you the exact park fees charged by the park department. We have no markups. You are free to pay the park fees directly to the park department as well on the first day of the climb at the different park gates. Our prices on the website are inclusive of the park fees listed above as well as VAT to give you a true and transparent picture of the costs.

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