6-day climbing Machame Route

Distance covered: 11 km

Approximate time taken: 7 hours

Habitat: Rainforest

Meal: Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

Accommodation: Camping

You shall be collected from the hotel at about 8 a.m. after breakfast, and taken to Machame gate. On the way there, you will see the coffee and banana plantations grown by Chagga people. When you get to Machame gate, you will register and do some of the other park formalities before you start climbing Mount Kilimanjaro at the Machame gate. Your first day’s hike is through a tropical rain forest, to Machame camp (2835 m). On the way, you shall take a picnic lunch. Camp overnight at Machame.

Distance covered: 5 km

Approximate time taken: 3 hours

Habitat: Moorland

Meal: Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

Accommodation: Camping

Around 8:00 am buckling to hiking. One should climb for about one hour till getting to the top of the forest and then 1 hour on a gentler gradient through moorland zone. A short lunch (a snack) and a brief rest, before proceeding up a rocky ridge, Shira plateau. At this point, one can see an eastern direction, the stunning glacier of western breach. Overnight at Shira Campsite (3750m).

Distance covered: 10 km

Approximate time taken: 6 hours

Habitat: Alpine desert

Meal: Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

Okay, to acclimatize, we will hike high and descend to lower altitude. This trek will take us into the alpine desert to lava tower (4600 m), from where we will descend to Baranco Camp (3900 m). The descent to Barranco Camp takes about 3 hours and offers great opportunities to take some beautiful pictures of the Western Breach and Barranco wall. This campsite is situated in a valley below the Barranco wall, which should provide you with a memorable sunset while waiting for dinner. Overnight at Barranco Camp (3900 m).

Distance covered: 8 km

Approximate time taken: 8 hours

Habitat: Alpine desert

Meal: Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

Accommodation: Camping

The trek to Kilimanjaro now takes us away from Baranco Camp famed for its giant groundsels. It will take us up the great Barranco wall, which is the division between us and the southern slopes of Kibo. Climbing the Barranco wall, it is a climb over rocks. Not that this route is a technical one, however, it is long and tiring. It will take us to Karanga Camp, where we will stop for lunch and our final water source before the summit. Afterward, we continue walking through the alpine desert towards Barafu Camp (Base Camp, 4640).

Distance covered: 20 km

Approximate time taken: 14 hours

Habitat: Glacier/Moorland/Rainforest

Meal: Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

Accommodation: Camping

You will be awake by 00:00 because some light tea with cookies will be ready for you. Now we start our scree climb for 4 to 5 hours, gaining incredible height over a very short distance. Spectacular views. Reach the crater rim at Stella point (5756 m) when the first light rays of the sun hit us. One hour form Stella point will take us to Uhuru peak (5895 m) where you take some pictures for a few minutes before we begin descending to Barafu Camp for lunch and some rest, then walk to Mweka Camp (3100 m) for dinner and overnight.

Distance covered: 10 km

Approximate time taken: 3 hours

Habitat: Rainforest

Meal: Breakfast, and lunch included

Accommodation: Camping

Hike through the three-hour Mweka montane forest until you get to Mweka Gate, where you fulfill the necessary park formalities and pick up your certificates. You can hang them up with pride. The vehicle will be ready to take you back to your warm shower at Moshi. It’s time to celebrate.