Porters carry equipment, tents, food and other essential items. Porters also cook, set up camp and provide entertainment. The trek is impossible without them.

Porters are essential on every trek up Mount Kilimanjaro, and every group that hikes the mountain has to have them. Porters are frequently underpaid and overburdened. Please check with the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project to make sure your trekking company adheres to basic safety and equality guidelines regarding porters. While porters get paid by the organization that hires them, their main source of income will be your tip at the end of the trip.

Ask your team leader what's acceptable as a good tip.