Reviews

Average User Rating
4.8/5

Rating Breakdown
  • 5 star 24
  • 4 star 0
  • 3 star 0
  • 2 star 0
  • 1 star 1

Sort By: Date Most Helpful 1-10 of 24 Reviews
Julia   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: September 2023 Reviewed: Oct 29, 2023

Email Julia

Safe, successful & incredibly enjoyable summit thanks to Kilisa
5/5

For the quick readers: We had an incredible trip up to Mt Kilimanjaro with Kilisa, on the 8-day Lemosho route, resulting in a successful summit. Our guides (Goodluck and Abraham) and a phenomenal team of porters, cook & back office ensured our group (3 hikers, 64, 29 and 30 years) were safe at all times, but also learned a lot about Tanzania. Not booking with Kilisa would be a huge mistake - they are local, are embedded in the community, and will ensure you have the best journey with the highest chance of summiting.

For the detail-interested-ones :)
Why this route & Kilisa at first: We decided to take a trip to Mt Kilimanjaro in September 2023 - we included my mother, 64, my partner (30) and myself (29). The fact that we had my mother with us, and that we love more varied landscapes made us choose the 8-day-Lemosho Route with varied vegetation zones and highest chance of summiting.
We choose Kilisa due to their good reviews, but also, as they are from Kilimanjaro and ensure the money goes back into the community. This choice was verified to be the best we could have made!
Organisation: The backoffice (Naik & Julia) ensured that the organisation of the trip was smooth. We had received detailed packing lists and trip plans beforehand to prepare. From the moment we arrived in Tanzania, to the moment we left, we were constantly taken care of and felt very pampered. For example, our guides did not only brief us prior to leaving, but also checked every piece of our equipment before starting the trip. As a result, they provided us with warmer trousers - Thank god, as I saw people climbing in leggings at minus degrees.
The route itself: You will find lots of details on the route itself, distances, hiking time per day on here. We took the 8 Day Lemosho Route, as the duration makes it much easier to acclimatise resulting in a much higher chance of summiting (more on this below). The best part of that tour specifically, though, I think is the varied vegetation. Some people were dropped at higher altitudes and missed the rainforest, which I enjoyed almost the most. Right when we started the hike we saw several different monkeys, birds & exotic species’. Then you enter Heather & Moorland, as gorgeous as you can imagine. Finally you arrive at the alpine desert and the peak. This varied vegetation makes you appreciate nature from a different angle, and is truly special!
Success & Safety: Our guides made it clear from the start that it’s about the journey and NOT about reaching the top. By taking this to heart, we made sure to enjoy every day on the hike, learning lot’s from our guides, pushing our limits without compromising our health (“pole pole”). Our health was always first - from the equipment check before even starting, to continued check- ins during the hikes all the way to oxygen and pulse checks in the night. For many of you readers this might sound irrelevant - but you’d be surprised of how many do not summit, because of a bad guide-hiker-relationship where a slower “pole pole” approach could have helped, or even worse: die. We submitted successfully and happily - but even if we had not, we would have had an amazing trip!
Guides & Team: Our team (4 porters per person so 12, 1 cook, 2 guides) were a dream team! Starting with the guides (Goodluck and Abraham) who became our family. Highly competent - they know the mountain like the back of their hand, but also how to assess a hiker's health. Both throughout shared lot’s about Tanzania, were very friendly and helpful and took great care in particular of my mother. In fact - the entire team did: I remember how one of our porters carried my mothers backpack every now and then, or how others helped her clean the shoes whenever we arrived at camp. They all worked on a common goal: making our journey as memorable as possible. And all of them are kind and helpful!
Food & Accommodation: Of course, our camp was all already set by the time we arrived on site - bags in our rooms, warm water to wash our hands, tea ready in our dining tent. Our cook (Amos) ensured that we had plenty of food for every meal with a varied menu - from chicken with fries, to Fried Rice with Vegetables, daily fruit such as Watermelon and more - we were fed well! He even took notice of what we really liked on his menu - on day 3 when resupply arrived we suddenly had an abundance of tea choices on a camping trip.

You can tell, I could go on for hours on how amazing I thought this trip was. If you book with Kilisa, I know they will do their best so that you have a trip of a lifetime!

Berny   –  
United States US
Visited: August 2023 Reviewed: Aug 27, 2023

Email Berny  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Extremely thoughtful, dedicated, and caring tour operator
5/5

My friend and I just finished a 7-day Lemosho route trek with Kilisa Tours that ended in the successful summit of Kilimanjaro. I cannot praise our team from Kilisa enough and highly recommend them for any Kilimanjaro trek. From our pre-trek communications to our airport transfers and throughout our time on the trek, we were treated and cared for exceptionally well.

Kilisa seemed to us to be a smaller tour operator. While this meant they didn’t have a fancy bus to drive us around, it also meant we didn’t get a “big tour” experience and received more attention and heart than what we expected, truly living out their mantra “One Team, One Dream.” It starts with our guides, Goodluck and Nickson. As the primary leaders of the expedition and the ones most directly responsible for our wellbeing, they were both exceptionally professional throughout. They were both concerned about our experience, maintaining an open dialog about daily expectations and about any questions that came up. On the health front, they measured our blood oxygen levels and pulse nightly, and we openly discussed our feelings and concerns to ensure we were all on the same page. Importantly, I felt they did a great job picking the right hiking paths and maintaining the right hiking pace for us. We felt this was critical to successful acclimatization, minimizing exhaustion, and ultimately to our successful summit. Lastly, they really encouraged us to enjoy the journey and not just the destination. They were very knowledgeable about the geology, ecology, and history of Kilimanjaro and they freely shared their knowledge. Having the right guides is essential and I feel like we got the best in Goodluck and Nickson.

But our positive experience didn’t end with our guides. Incredibly we had 9 additional people (11 in total) supporting my friend and me on our adventure. And they were all wonderfully caring, too (“One Team, One Dream”). Our chef made wonderful, filling meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we had a waiter/water attendant, we had a person who attended our private toilet, and six additional porters who were incredibly hard working setting up, breaking down, and transporting our camp from site to site. To a man, they were exceptionally supportive, friendly, and fun-loving, and it was truly heartwarming to be surrounded by a wonderful group of people who all wanted to see us succeed. A great example: After we summited, my friend and I were struggling to come down the mountain due to exhaustion. Our guides messaged the base team, and six additional members met us 1/3 or 1/2 way up the mountain, carried our packs, and arm-in-arm helped us get back to base camp where they all congratulated us with hugs and high-fives.

The Kilimanjaro trip was the fulfillment of a decades long dream, and the exceptional experience with Kilisa Tours made it wonderful. I highly recommend them.

Mina   –  
United States US
Visited: December 2022 Reviewed: Jan 7, 2023

Email Mina  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Great experience!!!!
5/5

What an amazing 7 days expedition we had with Kilisa!!!!!! Enjoyed every minute of it. The hike to Mandara hut was outstanding. Guidance of Bakari and Nixon helped us get to the top even though we started hiking a bit late. All along they were patient and kept pouring out all the knowledge they had and encouraged us to ask questions as well as climb “pole pole “( slowly, slowly).
On the Safari, Beatus kept us entertained. His eyes in locating the animals as well as his skill of taking pics thru binoculars was amazing. The accommodations for four nights during the safari was GREAT. It was like an Oasis in desert!!!!!! The meals were well thought of.
Naick, the big boss is perfect in his own place…… what fun memory we made on the very first day

Imran   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: July 2022 Reviewed: Jul 11, 2022

Email Imran  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Qualified, professional and very personal service
5/5

Outstanding experience with a great team that was Personal , Friendly , Professional and qualified to make my dream come true . Helped me
To feel safe and comfortable at all times and Tammy the guide was so sincere that I can say I have a new brother for life . Thanks Kilisa for your great work you doing . Happy to recommend you to others and be available for any feedback

Ryan S.   –  
United States US
Visited: February 2022 Reviewed: May 30, 2022

Email Ryan S.

Unforgettable experience, amazing tour company
5/5

Kilisa Tours and our guides, FC and Matthew, as well as our porters, far exceeded any expectations I could have had for our climb. Before we even set foot in Tanzania, they were welcoming, informative, and helpful. Day 1 we were greeted by our driver Nixon and our guides, who walked us through the climb and checked our gear to ensure we had everything we needed. Any equipment we didn’t have, they provided high quality items to rent at a very reasonable rate. The Lemosho route was an incredible experience, with beautiful, sometimes alien landscapes, but was truly made unforgettable by our knowledgeable and encouraging guides, the porters, our cook Tom, and our waiter Musa. The food prepared on the mountain was probably the most unexpected, as it was different and delicious each day and was truly appreciated. Every aspect of the trip was well planned and executed by Kilisa. Thank you again for everything.

Max   –  
United States US
Visited: March 2022 Reviewed: Apr 22, 2022

Email Max  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

FANTASTIC FIVE STAR TOUR COMPANY!
5/5

THIS WAS FANTASTIC!!! I could not recommend this tour company any more highly. Every aspect of the trip was exceeded and we were surprised everyday with a new adventure. The mountain and the route were fantastic, but what really made this such a worthwhile investment were the guides. Everyone encouraged us, the entire time. The food was fantastic, the accommodations were superb and the equipment was top notch. I also really appreciated the organization of the tour company, which made us feel like we were in great hands. Book local and book with Kilisa!

Max   –  
United States US
Visited: August 2021 Reviewed: Sep 6, 2021

Email Max  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

The greatest tour
5/5

I don’t think this trip would have been so memorable if it weren’t for kilisa. They made this trip an incredible experience and one that I’ll never forget! They were the reason we made to the top of Kilimanjaro and the reason we saw a cheetah hunt in the Serengeti! They are experienced and incredibly kind and accommodating! I highly recommend you choose kilisa!

Bret   –  
United States US
Visited: January 2021 Reviewed: Feb 9, 2021

Email Bret  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Fantastic experiences we will treasure forever!
5/5

We had an amazing safari and Kilimanjaro summit all thanks to Kilisa! Their service was top notch and value was fantastic. The service provided by our guides and supporting staff were top notch!

We started with a 6 day safari that was absolutely epic. Our Safari Guide, Chris, was incredible! You should definitely request him. He was super nice and very accommodating. He found us every animal we could ever have wanted to see! Despite some challenging off-road driving conditions, he never got stuck and always got us to see the best animals around. We saw lions and elephants that were so close, we would nearly reach out and touch them from the landcruiser. He found us two leopards, two cheetahs, tons of lions, two rhinos and more zebras, giraffes, cape buffalos, and wildabeasts than we could count, just to name a few. My favorite was seeing a male lion out in a rain storm who was seperated from his pride. He was calling out to them and you could see the worry in his eye as he walked right by our landcruiser in search of them.

We then did a Kilimanjaro hike to the summit via the Lemosho 7 day route. Our guides, Rama and Bakari, were fantastic and the chef, Kurwa, amazed us with the food he was able to make on the mountain. Our waiter, Arold was gracious and attentive in delivering all the food to our dining tent. I highly recommend requesting them. The team of porters (Salim, Frenk, Mohamed, Josephat, Mwingi, Sigi, David, Siriri, Msafiri, Idd, Abdina and Moyo) amazed us with their kindness, helpfulness and always positive attitudes. They were always smiling even when carrying a heavy load at high altitudes in chilling conditions. Their attitudes were truly inspiring.

Naick is the owner and the lead coordinator. He was very helpful over the course of more than a month of coordination via email to set up and schedule the trip. He was always responsive and able to answer all of our questions and take care of all of our needs. It was challenging to execute this trip during COVID because of our flights getting cancelled but Naick helped us adjust as necessary. Going during COVID turned out to be a huge bonus because the national parks are all virtually empty so you get the animals and Kilimanjaro virtually to yourself.

You can't go wrong with Kilisa! Their prices were the best we found and the experience we enjoyed was incredible. Their safari vehicle was a new Toyota landcruiser Safari conversion that I absolutely loved. It got us through mud and water crossings in style and comfort and never broke down despite many miles on some pretty tough roads. Their trek equipment was all in good shape. Our tents were nice and the gear we rented was also in good shape.

I highly recommend Kilisa!

Gunnar   –  
United States US
Visited: January 2021 Reviewed: Feb 1, 2021

Email Gunnar  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Great.
5/5

They did an amazing job, took care of my every need, and got me up the mountain in style. Big shout out to my guide Rama, my chef Kuruwa, and my porters Muhammad Ali, Sariri, Rezwan (Numba D), Moyo, and Salim.

Paola   –  
Poland PL
Visited: November 2020 Reviewed: Nov 21, 2020

Email Paola  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Incredible Experience
5/5

I NEVER in a million years thought I would be able to make it to the Peak. This was our FIRST hiking trip of any kind and we thought we'd "give it a try".... the Kilisa team were FANTASTIC ! Rama, Tammy and the team checked in with us the day before to run us past a day by day itinerary, ensure we had all the necessary equipment (we didn't), and obtained what was missing. Throughout our hike and especially making it up the Peak, he kept checking our physical conditions and mental motivation. On the ascent day, he made sure we kept busy and distracted to forget how incredibly hard it was climbing that last leg of the route... and it worked! We reached UHURU Peak and the feeling is incredible !! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE IN KILISA!

Average User Rating
4.8/5
Rating Breakdown
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  • 4 star 0
  • 3 star 0
  • 2 star 0
  • 1 star 1
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