Kilimanjaro Company Review: Thomson Treks

I have to say, looking over Thomson Trek’s website, they definitely have an aura of legitimacy, professionalism and knowledge about Mount Kilimanjaro.

Owned by, I believe, an American couple, Thomson Trek’s is famous for being part of an Imax Movie: Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa, which was produced by David Breashears, a well known American mountain climbers who was at the 1996 Everest Disaster highlighted in Jon Krakauers’s Into Thin Air.

Over the years, I have always heard good reviews from other Kilimanjaro climbers, their Thompson guides who works for other companies on occasion, and from some of their local competitors. From what I know, they employ some solid guides, have good equipment and try to take the path less traveled.

Their trips are pretty expensive, though – on average almost $5,000 per person, but they definitely aren’t giving you a run of the mill climb up Kilimanjaro. You get a lot more than a standard seven-day Machame climb. The best climbing option, is their Western Route approach, which starts on the Lemosho route, transitions to the Machame Route, and then a night at the Crater Camp, which is at 18,750 feet. Bring your thermal underwear!

If you are someone who has the money to pay $5000, and want all the extras, then this is the company for you. If you are trying to do Kilimanjaro climb for a bit less, which many people are, then you might want to shop around.