Food Plan and Nutrition on Kilimanjaro Treks
When people think about backpacking and camping, they usually imagine eating bland dehydrated food and unhealthy powdered mixes. But on Mount Kilimanjaro, it’s quite different.
When you climb Kilimanjaro, your body needs a lot of calories to keep going. On a regular day, a person burns around 2,500 calories. But when hiking on Kilimanjaro, you burn 3,500 to 5,000 calories on any day, whereas on the summit day you can burn about 6,000 calories. To stay energized, you need to eat a lot.
So, we serve you freshly-made tasty food 3 times a day, and you get plenty of it.
Meals we Serve on Mount Kilimanjaro
You will get three meals a day while you’re on the mountain: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. These meals are carefully chosen to give you lots of energy for your climb, and they’re easy to digest.
Our Nyange Adventures chefs on the mountain are excellent cooks. The food they prepare tastes great, and there’s a wide variety of dishes to choose from. Many of our clients have told us how pleasantly surprised they were by the delicious food and how it helped them on their way to the summit.
Here’s an example of the food you can expect for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, along with snacks and drinks:
Importance of Carbohydrates in High Altitudes
At high altitudes, many people don’t feel as hungry as usual. But we make sure to provide tasty meals with lots of good carbohydrates. According to US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, carbs are the best kind of food to help you perform well at high altitudes. They also help you recover faster and store energy for the next day’s activities.
Eating a high-carb diet at high altitudes can also help reduce symptoms of altitude sickness. It makes you breathe better and get more oxygen in your blood.
When you’re on the trail and dealing with altitude changes, you might find carb-based foods more enjoyable than foods high in protein or fats. Your body’s needs change because of the altitude and the physical activity. So, you’ll need more energy than you do at home.
Even experienced hikers who are used to eating not-so-great dehydrated food on the trail are often surprised by the tasty and varied meals our mountain kitchens prepare. We use only fresh ORGANIC ingredients, not dehydrated “ready meals,” and our porters carry all the food up Mount Kilimanjaro.
Accommodating Dietary Restrictions
We can make food for people who are vegetarians or vegans.
If you have a special diet, please talk to us about it.
Keep in mind that in Tanzania, there may not be a lot of choices for food, so we’ll do our best to make everyone happy.
But sometimes, we might need you to bring your own special food, and our cooks will cook it for you.
Drinking Water on Kilimanjaro
We get water from the streams on the mountain, and we make it safe to drink with special tablets called Aquatabs. You can only find water at the camping spots, so you should carry around 3 liters of water with you to drink while you hike and stay hydrated.
We make sure all our water is safe to drink (boiled and filtered), even the water we use for cooking and washing.
How much water should you drink on Kilimanjaro?
It’s important to drink enough water to stay healthy while climbing Kilimanjaro. The air is dry, and you use a lot of energy, which can make you thirsty. If you’re taking Diamox to help with altitude sickness, drinking plenty of fluids is even more important.
Try to drink about 3-4 liters (quarts) of water each day. It’s a good idea to bring something called electrolyte powder to add to your water. If you find plain water boring, you can also bring flavor drops.
In the Kilimanjaro camps, you can find tea, coffee & hot chocolate. We don’t have soda or bottled water.
