Park Fees for Kilimanjaro Trek (2023)

Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro is one of the most expensive treks in the world. The lowest option starts 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 is almost 75% of the trek cost, it's important that we understand what we are paying. In this article, we would like to breakdown the park fees into it's 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 is the park fees for the most common routes up Mt. Kilimanjaro. The prices are updated as of March, 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 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
Northern Circuit 8 days = USD 1097.40 per trekker
Northern Circuit 9 days = USD 1239.00 per trekker

What are the various components of the park fees?

Park fees is 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 is USD 70 per trekker per day. This fees 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 is charged by the park department to provide rescues on the mountain. The current cost is USD 20 per trekker per trip.

Crater Camping Fees

Incase 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.

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

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

How to pay the park fees?

All prices on our website include park fees as well as VAT. We will pay the park fees to the park department and get the park permits.

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

Childern 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 is 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 is still USD 60 per day.
No change in rescue fees. Rescue fees is 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 is still applicable.

No Conversation fees.
No Camping fees.
No change in hut fees. Hut fees is still USD 60 per day.
No change in rescue fees. Rescue fees is 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 is no discounts on camping fees, hut fees or rescue fees.

Conversation fees is 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 is still USD 60 per day.
No change in rescue fees. Rescue fees is still USD 20 per trip.

East African Citizens

You can get discounts if you are a national of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, 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.

Monkey Adventures

At Monkey Adventures we 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.

Updates

October, 2018 - The option to pay the park fees directly to the park department at the gate on Day 1 of the trek has been removed by the park authorities. Now, only tour operators can pay the park fees using the online system.