Our hiking tips: Hiking is fun, adventurous, thrilling, physically pushing, exciting, and fulfilling among other things.
It’s the reason most people would take it, on their safari trip.
Some people will have a hike as part of other safari activities, however, there are also hiking enthusiasts who will only take the hiking trip by itself; they will travel to East Africa just to hike one of the famous summits in the region.
Well, hiking safaris are done all year round in East Africa but are most often done in the dry seasons where there is no rain or little rainfall. These are the best conditions for hiking given mountains have their own weather so if the rest of the earth is dry, the mountain weather would be fairer.
Mountains that are hiked in East Africa include but are not limited to Mt Kilimanjaro, Mt Kenya, Mt Elgon, Mt Rwenzori, Mt. Karisimbi, Mt. Bisoke, Mt Muhavura, Mt Gahinga, and Mt Nyiragongo plus a few more.
Well, whatever mountain you are going to hike, here are a couple of tips to help you on your hiking trip.
Research and Plan
Hiking is not an activity you go for blindly; you have to prepare and get the right equipment among other things. So do the due diligence research, get all the information you need, and plan accordingly.
Prepare your body mentally and physically.
Hiking is a more engaging activity, so you will need to prepare yourself mentally and physically to be able to take on the challenge. Especially if you are hiking the likes of Kilimanjaro or Rwenzori, Kenya or Elgo, Karisimbi, and others.
Choose a hike you can handle.
Because hiking is such an exciting activity, you may be tempted to take on more than you can chew. So, we ask you, to choose a hike you are able to take on both physically and mentally.
Have an open mind as you go hiking.
Hiking safaris can be fun and surprising all at the same time, so have an open mind and be flexible when on the hike.
Use the dry season to hike
Plan to hike in the dry season, because the terrains are quite bearable then. Also, you have less weather interruptions when you hike in the dry season. Weather interruptions can lead to lengthening your hike unnecessarily and even interfering with your plans.
Food plan and hydration
please have a food and hydration plan when you are going hiking, especially for long hikes of more than a day. Usually, there are advance teams that move ahead of you to set camp and cook meals for you or you carry food and water with you to cook at the different pitstops.
Personal essentials
Make sure you have all the personal essentials you need when you are going on that hike. Personal essentials are relative to everyone, just make sure you have them all because you will need them.
First aid
You will also need a first aid kit with most of it. The supplies you need in there. During hiking you are prone to small falls, getting blisters, catching a cold, a cut, and many things. So have your first aid kit with you at all times.
Be well to hike
Make sure you are healthy and well by the time you go for that hike. If you are not well enough for the hike ahead. The hike will make you worse, even kill you.
Enjoy yourself on this hike.
The greatest tip we can give you on hiking is to have fun and enjoy yourself. If you don’t the hike will be like a punishment for you, you will end up hating it instead of loving it.
This concludes our hiking tips.
