Machame 6 Days

Machame Route - considered to be the most beautiful route - 6 Days


Day 1: Machame Gate (1490m) - Machame camp (2980m)
Hiking time: 7 hours Distance: 18 km through Montane forest

<p>Your day starts with an early breakfast and a 45-minute drive from Moshi (910m) to the Machame village (1490m). The guides and porters prepare and pack the supplies and your equipment in the village. You will then drive from the village to the Machame gate.  After registering, begin your ascent and enter the tropical forest. It may well rain in the forest, which will transform the trail into a very muddy and slippery experience. You will have a welcome lunch stop about half way and will reach the Machame campsite in the late afternoon.
Your porters will have erected your tent before your arrival. Dinner and overnight camping.


Day 2: Machame camp (2980m) - Shira camp (3840m)
Hiking time: 6 hours Distance: 9 km through open Moorland

Early start from Machame camp, after breakfast you climb an hour or so to the top of the forest and then for 2 hours at a gentler gradient through the moorland zone. After a short lunch and rest, you continue up a rocky ridge onto the Shira plateau. You will be able to see the Western Breach with its  glaciers.  After a short hike you will reach Shira campsite at 3840m. The porters will boil drinking and washing water, before serving dinner. The night at this exposed camp will even be colder, with temperatures dropping to well below freezing.


Day 3 Shira (3840m)-Lava Tower (4630m)-Barranco camp (3950m)
Hiking time: 7 hours Distance: About 15 km through semi desert

The route now turns east into an semi desert and rocky landscape surrounding Lava Tower, where you reach an altitude of 4630m after about a 5 hours walk. Lunch is served in a designated area before ascending the rocky scree path to Lava Tower (4630m). This is the toughest day so far.  After lunch you descent again by almost 680m to the Barranco camping area and after reaching the high altitude of 4600m at Lava Tower, the true acclimatisation benefit of this day becomes clear. This descent to Barranco camp takes about 2 hours. The camp in a valley below the Breach and Great Barranco Wall, which may reward you with a spectacular sunset while you wait for your dinner.


Day 4 Barranco camp (3950m)- Barafu camp (4550m)
Hiking time: 7 hours Distance: 13 km through Alpine desert

After spending a night at the Great Barranco Wall, you make your way up this awesome obstacle.  When you reach the ridge just below the Heim Glacier, you will see just how beautiful Kilimanjaro is. You then head down through the Karanga Valley over intervening ridges and valleys, and then join up with the Mweka route. Turn left up the ridge and after another hour or so, you reach Barafu Hut. The last water stop on the route is the Karranga Valley. 'Barafu' is Swahili  for "ice" and it is a bleak camp in which to spend the night. Totally exposed to the ever-present gales the tents are pitched on a narrow, stony ridge. The summit is now a further 1345m up and you will make final ascent the same night. Prepare your equipment, ski stick and thermal clothing for your summit attempt.


Day 5: Barafu camp (4550m)-Uhuru Peak (5895m)-Mweka (3100m)
Hiking time: 8 hours to reach Uhuru Peak then  8 hours to descend to Mweka
Distance: About 7 km's ascent - 23 km descent across stone scree and ice-capped summit

You will rise around 23h30, and after some tea and biscuits you will head in a northwesterly direction and ascend through heavy scree towards Stella Point on the crater rim. This 6-hour walk to Stella point is mentally and physically the most challenging on the route. At Stella Point (5685m) you will stop for a short rest and will hopefully be rewarded with a magnificent sunrise. From Stella Point you will normally encounter snow all the way on your 2-hour ascent to Uhuru Peak. The time you will spend on the summit will depend on the weather conditions. Do not stop here for too long, as it will be extremely difficult to start again due to cold and fatigue. The walk back to Barafu from the summit, takes about 3 hours. Here you will have a well earned but short rest and collect the rest of your gear, before heading down to Mweka hut (3100m). The route is not difficult and will take you down the rock and scree path into the moorland and eventually into the forest. The camp is situated in the upper forest and mist or rain is common in the late afternoon.


Day 6: Mweka camp (3100m)- Mweka Gate (1980m)
Hiking time: 3 hours Distance: About 15 km through Forest

After an early  breakfast, a short 3-hour and scenic hike back to the Park gate. At Mweka gate you sign your name and details in a register. This is also where successful climbers receive their summit certificates. Those climbers who reached Stella Point (5685m) are issued with green certificates and those who reached Uhuru Peak (5895m) receive gold certificates. From the Mweka Gate you will continue down into the Mweka village, normally a muddy 3 km (1 hour) hike. In the Mweka village you will enjoy a hot lunch. You now drive back to Moshi. Overnight in Bristol Cottages hotel.