Jonas Rutta is a self-made Tanzanian Guide, born and raised on the Western Side of Lake Victoria in Tanzania. He completed his primary and secondary education in the Bukoba District of the Kagera Region, also in Tanzania. After completing his Secondary Level of Education, he joined The National Vocational Training College in Moshi to study Mechanical Engineering, Fitter Mechanics, and Tool and Dye Making. In 1993, after finishing college, he started to climb Mount Kilimanjaro as a Porter. He spent 3 years in this position before he attended Mount Kilimanjaro Guide Training in 1995. In 1996, Jonas earned the title of Mountain Expedition Head Guide on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. He has also studied at the Professional Tour Guide School (PROTS) in Arusha, Tanzania.

Jonas has been guiding trips on the mountain ever since, and provides Guides, Porters, Mountaineering Leadership, and portage services for expeditions on Mount Kilimanjaro.

Jonas is the Chairman of The Explorers Club in Tanzania and has summited Mount Kilimanjaro more than 350 times. He has worked as a Mountain Guide for over 25 years.

Jonas has also climbed Mount Aconcagua in Mendoza, Argentina. This experience proved invaluable to Jonas’s personal and professional journey, making him a better climber and all-around guide.

Jonas holds certifications as a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) and in Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA) through the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and Sentinel Outdoor Institute (SOI) from USA. He knows how to recognize, prevent, and treat Acute Mountain Sickness—an essential skill for every high-elevation climb. Jonas’s training will keep you safe while climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro with the essential wilderness medicine skills to respond in any situation.

Jonas has attended expert courses in the physical and biological interpretation and identification of the flora and fauna of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru as well from The College of African Wildlife Management - Mweka in Moshi - Kilimanjaro. As a person, he is highly motivated, hard-working, dynamic, and ambitious. Jonas possesses a high level of integrity that provides a welcomed alternative to what you may be used to in the tourism industry.