Meet the men who climb Kilimanjaro every day

While the lucky few of us will get the chance to scale Mount Kilimanjaro once in our lives and live to tell the tale, there is a group of local men who spend each and every day climbing up and down the rocky slopes of Africa’s highest peak. With expert knowledge of the terrain and with a good few kilograms weighing them down, the porters of Kilimanjaro help visitors traverse  the mountain all year round.

The Mount Kilimanjaro Porters Society (MKPS) was founded by Edson Matauna, who has been guiding travellers up the mountain himself for many years. Recognising the lack of support that porters faced, from insufficient salaries to dealing with tips, Matauna set out to advocate for the rights and recognition of hardworking porters. The mission for the programme was designed to build the capacity of porters in managing tour operations more professionally, while also improving the living and working conditions of the porters through education and acquiring special skills.

Mountain porters pride themselves on enhancing the experience for climbers, befriending them and taking care of their needs in the highly unfamiliar slopes of Kilimanjaro. 

With the flexibility and independence made possible by the MKPS, the porters can actually own homes and run businesses on the side. Learn from the porters who have spent decades travelling up and down the storied slopes of Kilimanjaro as you make your own historic climb.