The Marangu Route is the oldest and most established path up Kilimanjaro and the only one where climbers sleep in huts rather than tents, which earned it the nickname "Coca-Cola Route". It begins at Marangu Gate above Marangu village in Moshi District, about 39 km from Moshi, and is normally walked in five or six days over roughly 64 km, ascending and descending by the same trail. The path climbs through forest to the Mandara Huts, across moorland to the Horombo Huts, and over the alpine desert of the Saddle between Mawenzi (5,149 m) and Kibo to the Kibo Huts, from which the night ascent reaches Gilman's Point on the crater rim and then Uhuru Peak at 5,895 m. The gradient is the gentlest of the main routes, but the short itinerary leaves little time to acclimatise, and Marangu has one of the lower summit success rates. An extra night at Horombo is the usual remedy. The village of Marangu, whose name means "a place with many streams", has waterfalls and Chagga cultural visits for the days either side.
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