No

Hair driers are available

Yes, I know first hand. The porters who help you get to the gorillas in Rwanda and wonderful, I have never had anyone look after me so well. They are worth every penny. And yes, it cost me US$200 PLUS a tip. There are eight men who carry you up and back down. I gave US$100 tip as that's all I had on me. After thinking about it I didn't think that was enough for 8 brave men. They seemed happy though. I then went to the bank to give them another US$60, so that at least they had $20 each, as that is all they get paid. I would highly recommend them as they treat you like royalty. If the mountain gets too hard for you they will organise this service very quickly. I don't think I held up the group, in some cases we beat them to our destination. It was also raining when I was there. I would do it again and I didn't care the cost, worth double what I paid. And I'm not rich, I'm on a pension. You can hire gaiters for about US$10 or $15 at the hotel, well worth it. The guides lend you a walking pole at the start of the walk, at no cost. I took metal poles which were not much good, I gave them to my porters to save carrying home, the large wooden one they lend you is much better. Good luck, it will be the best trip of our life.