7 Days/6 Nights Kilimanjaro Trekking - Machame Route

Day 1: Arrival At The Airport

After arrival at the airport (Kilimanjaro / Arusha), your private driver guide will pick you up at the airport and transfer you to your accommodation for dinner and overnight awaiting for your departure on the following day. Your safari guide will meet you at your accommodation for briefing and equipment checkup.

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DAY 2: Arusha To Machame Gate (1800m)

- Machame Camp (2850m)

• Hiking time: 5 hours

• Distance: About 7km

• Habitat: Montane forest

Early in the morning we drive to Machame gate which takes about 90 minutes. You will have lunch at the gate. You start your ascent and enter the rain forest almost immediately. There is a strong possibility of rain in the forest, which will transform the trail into a very soggy, muddy and slippery experience. Most of the time porters and cook happens to reach to the camping site before you for preparation of meals as well as setting of tents. Sometime weather condition in the night temperatures can drop at Machame campsite.

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DAY 3: Machame Camp (2850m) - Shira Cave (3750m)

• Hiking time: 5 hours

• Distance: About 7km

• Habitat: Moorland.

Early in the morning after breakfast, the day is spent to reach Shira cave (3750 m) where you will have a hot lunch. The night at this bare camp will even be colder than the previous night, with temperatures dropping. The trail take us for an hour or so to the top of the forest and then for about two hours at a gentler gradient through the moorland zone. Hiking to this point you will be able to see in an easterly direction, the Western Breach with its spectacular glaciers. You are now due west of Kibo and after a short hike you will reach the Shira cave in the evening walk.

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DAY 4: Shira (3750m) - Lava Tower (4600m)

- Barranco Camp (3900m)

• Hiking time: 7 hours

• Distance: About 11km

• Habitat: Semi desert.

The route now turns east into a semi desert and rocky landscape surrounding Lava Tower, where you reach an altitude of 4600m after about a five hours walk. Lunch is served in a designated area before ascending the rocky scree path to Lava Tower (4600m). Definitely, the toughest day so far. It is normally around this point, where for the first time, some climbers will start to feel symptoms of breathlessness, irritability and headaches. After lunch you descent again by almost 700m to the Barranco camping area and after reaching the high altitude of 4600m at Lava Tower, the true acclimatization benefit of this day becomes clear. This descent to Barranco camp takes about two hours and offers great opportunities to take some beautiful photographs of the Western Breach and Breach Wall. The camp is situated in a valley below the Breach and Great Barranco Wall, which should provide you with a memorable sunset while you wait for the preparation of your dinner.

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DAY 5: Barranco Hut (3900 M) To Karanga Valley Camp (3995 M) To Barafu Camp (4667 M)

• Hiking time: 8 hours

• Distance: About 10km

• Habitat: Alpine desert

After breakfast, we leave Barranco and continue on a steep ridge passing the Barranco Wall, to the Karanga Valley campsite where we will have lunch before we proceed. Then, we leave Karanga and hit the junction which connects with the Mweka Trail. We continue up to the Barafu camp. At this point, you have completed the South Circuit, which offers views of the summit from many different angles. Here we make camp, rest, enjoy dinner, and prepare for the summit day. The two peaks of Mawenzi and Kibo are to be seen from this position.

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DAY 6: SUMMIT ATTEMPT, Barafu Camp (4667m) - Uhuru Peak (5895m) - Mweka (3100m)

• Hiking time: 7 hours to reach Uhuru Peak & 7 hours to descend to Mweka.

• Distance: About 14km

• Habitat: Stone scree and ice-capped summit.

You will wake up around 2300hrs, and after some tea and biscuits you start climbing to Uhuru peak into the night. You will head in a northwesterly direction and ascend through heavy scree towards Stella Point on the crater rim. This 6-hour walks to Stella point is for many climbers, mentally and physically the most challenging on the route. At Stella Point (5757m) you will stop for a short rest and will be rewarded with the most magnificent sunrise you are ever likely to see (weather permitting). From Stella Point you will normally encounter snow all the way on your 1-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. Enjoy your accomplishment and a day to remember for the rest of your life. 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 can be expected in the late afternoon. Dinner and washing water will be prepared.

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DAY 7: Mweka Camp (3100m) - Mweka Gate (1980m)

After an early and well-deserved breakfast, it is 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 (5757m) 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. At the Mweka Gate, you will have lunch and celebration with your mountain crew.

After that, you will be transferred to a hotel in Moshi or Arusha for a hot shower probably dinner and overnight or otherwise in the evening you will be transferred to Kilimanjaro International Airport to connect with your flight back home.