BootsnAll Travel Community

I climbed Kili with Zara on September. We did the Machame route over 6 days. Here's what our experience was:
- Our guide Daniel and our 12 porters were great. I can't say enough about Daniel. I thought he was fantastic. And, no they aren't paid much but neither are any of the other porters and guides. We tipped them all between 2 - 3 times what their daily pay was.
- The equipment wasn't bad but we knew to bring our own North Face sleeping bags rated to -30C. If I had to do it all over again I would also bring my own sleeping pad. The pads we were given weren't too thick which bothered the two men on our group, not us two women. If only I'd thought about taping up the tent! What a great idea!
- The food was good, hearty soups, stews, chicken, etc., with eggs, sausage and porridge each morning for breakfast.
- Since there was only the four of us we kept to our own pace and never felt pushed beyond our physical capabilities. (regarding the level of fitness comments made, I had never been up a mountain before nor can I run 3 miles and I made it to the top with little more than a headache and shortness of breath.. oh yeah, I'm 45 years old btw).

I agree with wrldtrvlr's assessment of a C for Zara, A+ for the guide and porters.