Approaching legendary Kilimanjaro from the south-west, we take the popular Machame Route, with a total trip time of seven days, thus giving us even more acclimatization time and an even better chance of reaching the summit. Lush rainforest and Alpine moorland characterize the Machame Route, a trek which is challenging, make no mistake, despite the extra time given to acclimatize. You will have a private vehicle to take you to and from the mountain.
| safari type : | Trekking / Climbing |
| You will visit: | Machame Camp, Shira Caves, Barranco Camp, Karanga Camp, Barafu Camp, Mweka Camp |
| Getting Around: | Walking |
| Start/End: | Arusha |
| Minimum Age: | 18+ |
After your long flight, you’ll be pleased to spend your first night in comfort at your hotel, the Planet Lodge in Arusha. You will be picked-up by Gifted Adventures driver, who will be waiting to meet and welcome you and take you to your hotel in Arusha to relax after your flight. Your adventure has begun!
Accommodation: Planet Lodge Hotel
Meals: Dinner
Drinking Mineral Water only
This morning you will take a leisurely breakfast at our hotel, before setting out in our vehicle at around 8am, to allow for a scheduled arrival at Machame Gate (1640 meters) at 10am. Our first job will be to complete the registration formalities, before we start our trek. You will also enjoy the introduction to your mountain guides, porters and everyone else who will accompany you as you make your ascent.
The beginning of the walk today is characterized by a wide track that winds its way up through dense forest, beautiful tall trees laden with green moss. You will also be able to see Kibo Peak, away to the east. You will reach camp at about 5pm, giving you a couple of hours of welcome rest before dinner is served.
Elevation: 5,380 ft to 9,350 ft
Distance:11 km
Hiking Time: 5-7 hours
Habitat:Rain Forest
Today’s stage is short and steep, as we push on up to an altitude of over 3804 meters. Having made an early start around 8:30am, we would expect to reach our camp by 2pm, by which time we will have encountered the moorland lobelias and the distinctive dark obsidian rock of Shira Plateau for the first time. From Shira Caves, you will have time to marvel at some great natural sights such as the so-called ‘Shira Cathedral,’ Klute Peak and Mount Meru, before enjoying your dinner around 18.00hrs.
Elevation:9,350 ft to 12,500 ft
Distance:5 km
Hiking Time: 4-6 hours
Habitat:Heath
Our day will begin with breakfast at 7am and departure at 8:30, when we begin our trek across the stony landscape of Shira Plateau. The vegetation is sparse at first, with just a few hardy lichens to admire. You climb towards the Lava Tower and your picnic lunch is taken at around 1pm. After passing the highpoint of the day by the Lava Tower, we then descend down to the Barranco Camp. Once at camp, you should take time to admire the views of the southern face of Kibo as well as the Heim Glacier. Dinner tonight is served at 7pm.
Elevation:12,500 ft to 13,044 ft
Distance:10km
Hiking Time: 5-7hours
Habitat:Alpine Desert
Today we breakfast slightly later (7:30am) with a departure time from camp scheduled for 8:30am. Today’s walk is actually quite short, being only about 6km/3miles but it will still take between 4 to 5 hours of trekking time. At the beginning of the day, we encounter the hardest part of the stage as we have to scramble up the near-vertical face of the Barranco Wall. At the top of this climb, you will be rewarded with views of the Heim Glacier. After this, the rest of today’s walk becomes a bit easier as we first gradually descend to the gully below, and into the cold but beautiful Karanga Valley. We then continue and finally climb up a steep series of zig-zags until reaching the Karanga Camp (4033 meters). Our overall altitude gain today is only 160 metres.
Elevation:13,044 ft to 13,106 ft
Distance:5km
Hiking Time: 4-5 hours
Habitat:Alpine Desert
Another short day -in terms of distance – begins with our breakfast at the camp at 7:30am and another 8:30am departure. We will be aiming to arrive at the Barafu Camp 4556 meters by 1pm, when we will be rewarded with a cooked lunch. Dinner tonight is served at 5:30pm, giving you time to get to bed early. After leaving Karanga, today’s stage climbs steadily, passing through barren, rocky landscape, with the Decken and Kersten glaciers visible away to your left. At the end of this valley is today’s goal, the Barafu Camp 4556 meters, at which you arrive after a short, steep scramble and a walk.
Elevation:13,106 ft to 15,331 ft
Distance:4 km
Hiking Time: 4-5 hours
Habitat:Alpine Desert
Our schedule for our ‘Summit Day’ is of course very different. Rising at 11pm, we take our tea and biscuits (11:30pm) before a midnight departure. We begin with a long, tough climb from Barafu at 4556 metres to Stella Point at 5756 metres; for some of this you will be walking on screen, making your trek more difficult.
From Stella Point, there is still another 139 metres of ascent and 45 minutes’ walk to the summit. Our goal is to reach the top (5895 meters) by around 7am then celebrate (of course!) take our precious photos and enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime experience. After the summit (5895 meters), we return to Barafu (4556 meters), where we rest for a couple of hours, take a brunch and then leave again at 1:30pm to continue to descend to Mweka Camp (3100 metres) where we spend the night. We would expect to arrive there at 5pm and take our dinner at 7pm.
Elevation:15,331 ft to 19,341 ft to to 10,065 ft
Distance:5 km / 12km
Hiking Time: 7-8 hours / 4-6 hours
Habitat:Arctic / Rain Forest
On our last day of this trekking, you continue the descent to Mweka Gate and collect the summit certificates. At lower elevations, it can be wet and muddy. From the gate, we continue another hour to Mweka Village. A vehicle will meet us at Mweka Village to drive us back to the hotel in Arusha.
Elevation:10,065 ft to 5,380 ft
Distance:10 km
Hiking Time: 3-4 hours
Habitat:Rain Forest
After a good night’s rest at hotel, you will take breakfast ready for the scheduled check-out by 10am. Then our driver guide will drop you at the airport.
Accommodation:Planet Lodge Hotel
Meals:Breakfast
Drinking Mineral Water only
Kindly call us at +255 753 900 422 if you require any immediate assistance.
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