Food on Kilimanjaro

What do you eat on Kilimanjaro?

You eat better than most people expect. On a fully supported climb, a cook travels with the group and prepares hot meals in a kitchen tent, and porters carry fresh food up from the gate. Menus vary by operator, but a typical day looks like this:

• Breakfast: porridge or millet porridge, eggs, toast or chapati, sausages, fruit, tea, coffee and hot chocolate.
• Lunch: either a packed lunch on longer walking days (sandwiches, boiled eggs, fruit, juice) or a hot meal at camp.
• Afternoon tea: hot drinks with popcorn, biscuits or roasted peanuts when you arrive at camp.
• Dinner: a vegetable or cucumber soup to start, then rice, pasta, potatoes or ugali with a meat or bean stew and cooked vegetables. Sometimes a simple dessert.

Fresh ingredients run out as the climb goes on, so the last days before the summit lean more on dried and tinned food. That is normal.

Why don't I feel hungry at altitude?

Loss of appetite is one of the most common effects of altitude. The NHS lists it among the main symptoms of altitude sickness, and the Lake Louise score used by guides includes appetite and nausea as one of its four scored items. Many climbers find that from about 3,500 m food looks less appealing, and on summit night almost nobody feels like eating.

The catch is that you are burning a lot of energy. Long days of uphill walking in the cold use far more fuel than a normal day at home. Eating too little leaves you weak and cold, and it makes it harder to tell tiredness apart from altitude illness.

What helps:

• Eat little and often rather than forcing a large plate.
• Start with soup. It is warm, salty, easy to swallow and adds fluid.
• Favour carbohydrates such as porridge, rice, pasta and bread, which most climbers find easier to face at altitude.
• Keep snacks in your jacket pocket so you can eat on the move.

If you cannot eat at all, feel sick, or vomit, tell your guide. Those can be signs of altitude sickness rather than simply a poor appetite. See our altitude sickness guide.

Is the food safe to eat?

Food cooked on the mountain and served hot is generally among the safest things you will eat on your trip. The CDC advises travellers that fully cooked food served hot is safest, and that fruit is safest when you peel it yourself.

Stomach upsets on the mountain are more often about hands than kitchens. You are camping, touching trekking poles, tent zips and toilet doors all day. The CDC recommends washing with soap and water before eating and after using the toilet, and using a hand sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol when soap is not available. Sanitiser does not work well on visibly dirty hands, so use the washing water crews provide at camp.

Good mountain kitchens boil water for cooking and hot drinks and keep food covered. Before you book, ask any operator how they store fresh food and how kitchen staff wash up.

Can Kilimanjaro climbs cater for special diets?

Most common dietary needs can be managed on the mountain if the operator knows well in advance. Vegetarian meals are straightforward, because Tanzanian cooking already relies on beans, lentils, vegetables and grains. Vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and halal diets take more planning, because every ingredient has to be bought in Moshi or Arusha before the climb and carried up.

Tell your operator at booking and again at the pre-climb briefing. Be specific: "no gluten because of coeliac disease" gets a different response from "I prefer to avoid bread". If you have a serious allergy, carry your own emergency medication, make sure your guide knows where it is, and discuss the trip with your doctor.

Should I bring my own snacks?

Yes. Even with good meals, a small supply of your own snacks is worth the weight. Tastes change at altitude, and a familiar food you actually want to eat is worth more than a nutritionally perfect one you cannot face.

Good choices:

• Energy or cereal bars that do not freeze solid
• Nuts, trail mix and dried fruit
• Chocolate or sweets for summit night
• Electrolyte sachets to flavour water
• Something salty, such as crackers

Keep summit-night snacks in an inside pocket. Below freezing, bars can turn rock hard and water bottles can freeze. Carry your wrappers back down; Kilimanjaro National Park rules prohibit littering. The packing list covers what else to bring.

What about drinks, caffeine and alcohol?

Hot drinks are part of mountain life: tea, coffee, hot chocolate and soup at almost every stop. They also count towards your fluid intake, which matters because dehydration can mimic altitude illness. Our drinking water guide covers how much to aim for and how water is treated.

Leave alcohol for the celebration afterwards. The NHS advises not drinking alcohol while climbing, and the 2026 BMJ review on preventing altitude illness recommends avoiding it for the whole of high-altitude travel. Alcohol can worsen sleep and breathing at night and makes it harder to judge how you feel.

What do the porters and crew eat?

The crew eat separately, usually Tanzanian staples such as ugali (maize porridge), rice, beans and vegetables. Their food needs matter just as much as yours: porters carry heavy loads for the whole climb. The Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP) guidelines state that porters should be given three meals a day of an adequate portion. It is fair to ask any operator how they feed their crew. The porters guide explains the wider guidelines.

If you have questions about meals or a specific diet, you can ask Kili Aventura before you book.

On a supported climb you are usually offered more food than you can eat, with three meals a day plus afternoon snacks. The challenge is appetite, which often drops at altitude, rather than the amount available.

Yes. Vegetarian meals are easy to prepare on the mountain because beans, lentils, rice, vegetables and eggs are all standard ingredients. Tell your operator when you book so the right food is bought and carried.

Loss of appetite is a normal effect of high altitude and also a symptom of acute mountain sickness. Eat small amounts often, start with soup, and tell your guide if you feel nauseous or cannot eat at all.

Most climbers eat a light meal in the early evening and have tea and biscuits before setting off around midnight. Carry easy snacks such as chocolate or soft bars in an inside pocket so they do not freeze, and nibble during breaks.

It is best avoided. The NHS advises not drinking alcohol while climbing at altitude, and medical reviews recommend avoiding it for the whole time you are at high altitude. Save it for the celebration in Moshi or Arusha.