Home Trips Challenge Kilimanjaro Challenge

Kilimanjaro Challenge

Immerse yourself in the vibrant life and sublime beauty of Tanzania.

Tanzania — its beauty and promise — distilled.

We’ll explore the wildlife-filled Ngorongoro Crater and spectacular Serengeti. These are must sees on any trip to East Africa, but we’ll do more: we’ll take a number of hikes and camp in these beautiful areas. In Arusha, we’ll volunteer at an orphanage. At the end of our trip is a climb of Kilimanjaro — a spectacular snow-draped volcano. Experiencing all of this is the stuff of dreams. Kilimanjaro Challenge makes those dreams a reality, and lets you share them with a fun — and friendship-filled — Overland group.

Download the
Kilimanjaro Challenge Itinerary
for all of the details!

"I returned from my Overland trip feeling enlightened and nourished. I truly believe that Overland has shaped my character and has highlighted the importance of exploration for me. I loved Tanzania and felt that the design of this trip was perfect and something I will never forget. "

Nina S.

Illinois

"This was an exceptional trip for Mary. She knows she can do anything she puts her heart into, but climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and summitting is an amazing feat. Thank you!! "

Emily B.

Illinois

Duration

3 weeks

Trip Fee

$9,595

Kilimanjaro Challenge is open to students finishing grades 10-12 in June 2024. Space is limited — apply today!

Grade

10-12

Level

Visit the Ngorongoro Crater

Teamwork & Leadership at 19,341 Feet

Witness Tanzanian Wildlife

Newfound Friendships

Explore the Serengeti

Good to Know

The group is always small — no more than twelve students.
We always have carefully chosen and thoroughly prepared leaders.
Groups typically have a mix of grades.
The itinerary is crafted to provide just the right pace.
Meals are wholesome, nutritious, and varied.
Getting to and from the trip is straight-forward: Kilimanjaro Airport has good connections to Europe and the U.S. (and we provide supervision on arrival and departure so travel days go smoothly).

Have a question about availability?

FAQs

How challenging are Overland's hiking trips?

We offer a wide range of hiking trips to ensure we have something for all of our students.

Our youngest students (grades 4-6) can join us on our introductory Adventure trips, where mileages are shorter, terrain is more forgiving, and packs are light (just lunch, water, raingear, and hats/sunglasses). Explorer trips (grades 6-9) offer a range of day hikes, an introduction to backpacking, and activities off the trail, such as rafting and kayaking. Expedition trips (grades 9-11) are a step up in difficulty. These trips have longer backpacking sections and include activities off the trail (e.g., rafting, kayaking, rock climbing, or mountaineering). Our Challenge trips (grades 10-12) offer a capstone experience for our students with our longest days and most challenging terrain, some also include off-trail activities.

If you have questions about our trips or would like our help selecting the trip that’s the right fit for you, please email us at info@overlandsummers.com.
Does my child need to have previous experience?

While no previous experience is required, we have high expectations of our students.

We expect your child –with your help– to select a trip that is appropriate for their interests and abilities. You should spend some time familiarizing yourself with the details of the specific trip and help your child understand what to expect.

We also expect our students to prepare ahead of time: to review the packing list, gather clothing and gear, and complete whatever training the trip requires (for recommended training please see the Before You Go tab).

Once the trip begins, your child should be ready –and excited– to contribute to a wholesome and enthusiastic group in which each member feels welcomed and valued.
What are meals like at Overland? Can Overland accommodate allergies and intolerances?
Meals at Overland
Good food (and plenty of it!), excellent nutrition, and fun are the goals of Overland’s meals. Each group buys, prepares, and eats all of its meals together. Our students, with their leaders’ supervision, prepare all meals. A typical breakfast has cereal, milk, juice, and fruit; most lunches are sandwiches (or wraps) with a variety of fillings, plus chips, and fruit; dinners reflect easily prepared group meals like pasta, burritos, and stir-frys (all of which will typically have a selection of sauces and fillings). At Overland, meals are a group experience, an important way to foster connection with and consideration for other group members.

Allergies & Intolerances

We recognize there are many young people with food allergies or intolerances. We welcome these young people’s interest in joining us, and we ask parents of a prospective Overland student with an allergy/intolerance to please consider the following important information.

Most meals at Overland are prepared in basic kitchens (or outdoors), and groceries are typically purchased from small stores with limited choices. As a result, meals are prepared and served in what may be allergen-contaminated environments, and on many trips allergen-free/gluten-free foods are not readily available. While we cannot guarantee allergen-free meal settings, we will do what is reasonable to provide allergen-free/gluten-free foods on those trips where available.

In all things, our top priority is to help maintain all students’ well-being; to this end, all Overland leaders are trained to recognize and respond to allergic reactions, including administering antihistamines and epinephrine (both are carried in every trip’s first aid kit); leaders carry cell phones, and in some cases, satellite phones, so that should the need arise, emergency personnel can be contacted and their services requested. It is important for all prospective parents to understand that many groups travel in remote areas where emergency services may not be easily or readily accessible.

Our Admissions Process is Collaborative

During our admissions process, we will review all submitted Allergy Questionnaires to understand the applicant’s allergy/intolerance. We will then consider whether or not the applicant’s allergy/intolerance may be reasonably accommodated. If our admissions team has any concerns, they will contact the parent. In this conversation, we will seek to learn more about the allergy/intolerance, and we will discuss the available grocery stores, emergency services, and medical facilities on the applied-for trip. These conversations generally have one of three outcomes:
1. The applicant is placed on the applied-for trip if the applicant otherwise qualifies.
2. We offer a different trip if the applicant otherwise qualifies.
3. We recommend waiting a year and re-applying.
Managing Food Allergies/Intolerances is a Partnership

Our commitment is to the health and well-being of each of our campers. Our goal is to partner with parents and campers—a partnership in which:
- We clearly describe our trips and policies;
- Parents clearly describe their child’s allergies or intolerances and their child’s maturity level and capability to self-manage their allergy or intolerance.
- We work together with parents in a collaborative and interactive process to determine if there are reasonable accommodations that can be made so that otherwise qualified applicants can participate in our trips.
- Students on an Overland trip take an active role in managing their allergies, including reading food labels as needed, eating only those foods with known ingredients, and seeking a leader if a reaction is suspected.
Meals: Vegetarians & Specialized Diets

Every summer there are many vegetarians who join our groups and who enjoy meat-free meals. We are happy to welcome these students as long as they understand they will share in the group’s meals but will simply have the meat portion withheld. For example: sandwiches at lunch with hummus, lettuce, tomato, and cheese (while the rest of the group has sandwiches with sliced turkey or ham); pasta at dinner with a tomato sauce (while the rest of the group has pasta with a meat sauce). We sometimes have requests from applicants with specialized diets—vegans, for example—to provide separate, specialized meals. As much as we might like to accommodate these applicants, the limitations of our kitchens, the size of available grocery stores, and the importance of group meals make it impractical to provide separate, specialized meals.
How often will there be access to showers and laundry? Will my child have to bring quarters and detergent for laundry?

Staying clean and comfortable is important at Overland!

Most trips have frequent access to hot showers. This ranges from nearly every night on some of our Introductory, Service, and Language trips, to every couple of days on many hiking trips, to longer stretches–three to five days, sometimes a little longer–on some of our more challenging trips. The goal on every trip, however, is to take showers when they are available!

In general, on every trip we do laundry once a week— this is typically in a laundromat with funds and detergent provided by Overland (and it’s usually a lot of fun!).
My child doesn't have experience being away from bathroom facilities. Will Overland's leaders teach and support the group?

Yes. We want each of our students to feel completely supported.

Every one of our trips will spend some of their time in areas with access to bathroom facilities, many of which include flush toilets, running water, and trash receptacles. Our youngest students, and those participating in service and language trips, will spend most of their time in settings like these.

All of our hiking trips will spend time away from areas with bathroom facilities. In preparation for a day hike away from facilities, or for a longer backpacking section, our leaders will teach the group about backcountry bathroom practices. In most cases, this will include digging a cat hole (a shallow six-inch hole) in a private location away from water sources. Leaders will also provide every group member a small bag to pack out toilet paper (and other paper products, e.g., pads and tampons).

Our leaders will also make sure that group members are supported with menstruation information, needs, and supplies (i.e., pads, tampons). We recommend sending your child with a supply of these items. If your child needs additional pads or tampons, the leaders can provide them.
What are Overland’s policies on phones, electronics, and communication?

Phones
To maximize independence and self-reliance, we do not permit phone calls, emails, or text messages to or from our campers. Your child will call home on arrival and departure with our phones and assistance, and in the case of an emergency. If your child brings a phone for use while en route to Overland, please do not send an expensive smartphone. Instead, an inexpensive prepaid cell phone will do. All phones will be collected on arrival and returned at departure. While we will take reasonable steps to prevent damage, theft, or loss, we will not make any reimbursements for lost, damaged, or stolen phones.

Electronics
Cameras are welcome but please do not bring any other electronics (e.g., iPods, iPads, Kindles or other readers, GPS or similar devices). All electronics (except cameras) will be mailed home on arrival (at your risk and expense).

Communication: We’ll Be In Touch With You If Needed
Our leaders in the field check in with our office regularly; they carry cell phones (and in some cases satellite phones). Anytime a camper is treated for an injury or illness by a doctor or other medical personnel, parents are notified by our office. A director will call the parents to explain the nature of the injury or illness, the sequence of events leading up to the injury, and/or the steps leading to the treatment. Parents are typically able to speak with the medical personnel, with the leaders, and with their child.
My child’s birthday is during the trip — can I send a gift?

We recommend that you send a letter, card, or postcard instead and save the gift for when your child returns home at the end of the trip (and, don’t worry; your child’s trip leaders will make sure there is a celebration!).
Can my child receive credit for service hours?

You should check with your child’s school about whether or not Overland’s service hours meet their requirements. The approximate number of hours of service are listed in the sidebar. We will provide your child with proof of participation after completion of the service work.
What vaccinations and medications does my child need in order to travel abroad with Overland?

Overland strongly recommends that families of students traveling abroad consult their child’s doctor and visit a travel clinic well before the start of the program to discuss options for travel-related vaccinations and medications. These are in addition to your child’s routine vaccinations and regularly prescribed medication.

You and your doctor are encouraged to generally review information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. State Department, the World Health Organization (WHO) or other sources, in addition to the specifics of your selected program, to consider health issues and determine what, if any, travel-related vaccinations and medications are appropriate for your child. Overland will provide a “Travel Vaccinations & Medications” form to assist with this process.
Please tell me about safety at Overland.

Safety and risk management are at the forefront of our decision-making–from trip planning to leader training to supporting our groups in the field.

We cannot guarantee absolute safety–no program can. All recreational activities include inherent risks. Therefore, we strive to manage the risks that we can, knowing we cannot eliminate them.

We work hard to recruit, train, and support our trip leaders so they can create the kind of trips that have made us successful since the 1980s.

Please click here to read more about our approach to risk management and our accreditation by the American Camp Association.
What is Overland's admissions process?

When we receive your application, if your first choice is available, we will:

(1) email you to thank you for your application,

(2) send you a link to access your Family Portal, and

(3) charge a deposit of $795 to your credit card.

If your first choice is not available, we will email you to discuss options.

For more information, and to access our application, please visit our Apply page.