I recently talked to someone who was bragging about paying $1000 for a 6-day Machame trek. The climbing team had 22 guides and porters for the 4 clients. Yes, that seems like a great deal to the client, but let’s take a closer look.
Just for national park fees per the Tanzania National Parks website, the fees into the Kilimanjaro National Park are
- Porters – $10/porter/day
- Cooks – $15/cook/day
- Guides – $20/guide/day
- Non-Tanzanians over 16 years old (clients) – $60/person/day
- Campsites – $50/client/night
- Rescue fees – $20/person upon entry
Assuming the staff of 22 included 1 guide, 1 cook, and 20 porters, the total national park fees for the entire climbing group of staff and clients comes to $3930.
The clients paid $1000 each, so $4000 total. That leaves $70 total to cover food, transportation, salaries, lodging before and after the climb, and all equipment.
I realize that it is not uncommon to pay (bribe) someone at the Kilimanjaro park gate to reduce the national park fees for a climbing group, so maybe my total fee calculation is a little high. However, I am still a little skeptical about how much the staff actually received in salaries from the outfitter. I would also question whether the staff of 22 was with the climbers the entire trek, or if many of them just showed up at tipping time.
The Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP) states “Porters can be severely underpaid and many climb Kilimanjaro without adequate clothing, footwear, or equipment. Like climbers, porters can suffer from altitude sickness and hypothermia.”
I also agree with KPAP when they say “Those who have climbed Mount Kilimanjaro know that the porters are the heart and soul of your trek. Without their hard work and strength we would not be able to fully experience the magnificence of Kili. But the truth is porters are often impoverished Tanzanians who depend on this labor-intensive employment in order to feed themselves and their families.”
I just ask that people booking a Kilimanjaro trek look closely at how much they are paying for a trek versus what they are getting and not turn a blind eye to the treatment of Kilimanjaro porters.