Protecting Karthala
Showing Karthala without damaging it: that is the condition for being able to keep showing it.
Our rules
The visitor charter
Six rules, repeated at the briefing of every trip.
Stay on the trails
The high heathland recovers very slowly.
Take everything back down
Packaging, bottles, food scraps: nothing stays up there.
Pick nothing
No plants, no flowers, no stones.
Watch without disturbing
No noise or light towards the birds, no feeding the animals.
Respect the villages
Say hello, and ask before photographing people.
Accept the guide’s decision
An adapted or postponed trip protects the group and the site.
Optional
The environmental contribution
A contribution is suggested with every booking. It is optional and added to the price of the tour. The suggested amount depends mainly on how much the 4×4 is used: the calculation is explained below.
| Tour | Base | 4×4 share (return from Mvouni) | Per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zero Effort | €2 | 17 km of concrete road and 3 km of upper track, ≈ 2.8 L: €8 | €10 |
| Soft Trek | €2 | 15 km of concrete road, ≈ 1.8 L: €5 | €7 |
| Volcano Bivouac | €2 | 15 km of concrete road, ≈ 1.8 L, counted at half: €2.50; night: €0.50 | €5 |
| Full Climb | €2 | No 4×4: €0 | €2 |
It is neither a tax nor a carbon offset. Contributions are pooled in a fund. As soon as €500 has been collected, we organise a concrete action around Karthala and publish the results: photos, quantities, participants.
On the ground
Karthala Zero Waste
During the trips, the guides pick up the litter found along the route. Each batch is weighed, photographed and tracked to its final destination, then recorded in the data space.
Several times a year, clean-up days bring together volunteers, young people and partners on the busiest areas.
Method
How the contribution is calculated
The suggested contribution adds up two parts, rounded to the nearest euro:
- A base of €2 per person, for every tour: rubbish bag, litter picking along the route, trail maintenance.
- A 4×4 share of €2.80 per litre of fuel used on the Karthala track, return from Mvouni. Consumption used: 12 litres per 100 km on the concrete road, 25 litres per 100 km on the steeper upper track.
Distances come from the GPS track: 15 km of concrete road return for the Soft Trek, up to the 4×4 stop; 17 km of concrete and 3 km of upper track for Zero Effort. For the Bivouac, the 4×4 is mainly used to carry equipment and is shared by a larger group: its share is counted at half, plus €0.50 for the night (meals, gas).
As a guide, the 4×4 share represents about 1.6 kg of CO₂ per person for the Soft Trek and 2.5 kg for Zero Effort (2.68 kg of CO₂ per litre of diesel, three clients per vehicle). These figures will be recalculated every year from the fuel actually used.
A climb that leaves the volcano intact
Every trip follows the visitor charter and can contribute to the action fund. Choose your tour.