My old college roommate and I decided late last year to attempt to summit Kilimanjaro and needless to say our budget was limited with being fresh out of school. We did a lot of research before stumbling on Ascend Tanzania, and right off the bat they hit our main criteria:

-Affordability
-Tanzanian Owned & Operated (This was important to us because we'd heard a lot of companies, though employing native porters & guides, are owned and operated by foreigners and we wanted to do everything in our power to support our host country's economy)

We ended up settling on the 6-day Umbwe route beginning on June 13th, 2019. The Ascend Tanzania team were flexible and communicative when it came to transportation to/from the airport, our hotel accommodations, and any concerns we expressed.

We started off by meeting in the hotel restaurant with our guide, Venance, our assistant guide, Gasper, and another representative from Ascend Tanzania to go over our daily itinerary, make plans for rental gear, and discuss any last minute information.

From start to finish, these two guides, our cook Lugalu, and our team of porters were absolutely incredible. Some of the strongest people physically I've ever met, and they were very communicative, candid, and genuine in all the conversations we shared. They worked with us to find the perfect pace based on how we felt each day, and were constantly checking in to make sure everything about our trip was going the way we'd hoped, clearly ready to make changes if needed to make our experience great.

Gasper, our assistant guide, was truly a major reason that I personally got to the summit. His GENUINE encouragement, easy conversation, openness and humor throughout the trek was exactly what I needed to keep pushing. Our main guide, Venance, was very on top of the organization matters of the trip, ensuring that we knew what was coming next, and sharing his vast knowledge of the local wildlife on the way up.

Ultimately, I can't recommend Ascend Tanzania enough, and if you go into it with a positive mental attitude, these guys WILL get you to the top.