8 days kilimanjaro hike machame route

After breakfast, we will pick you up from your Hotel in Arusha and drive for 1 hour to Machame gate (10,000 ft.) for registration. Here you will meet the rest of the crew (Cooks and Porters) and we shall all prepare for the climb. We will start the climb through the rainforest and the giant heathers for 6 hrs. till we reach our first overnight camp.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget camping

This will be a short day but rather a steep rocky and dusty trail. It’s a slow hike with plenty of breaks and enough time to acclimatize. Most of the route is rather bare of vegetation providing little shade from heat. You will cross many ridges and see the first of many Senecias.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget camping

We will start climbing over boulders and very few rocks, then make our way to a steady uphill climb to Lava Tower and there we stop for lunch around noon. For those interested, we may climb up the Lava tower, which is 14850ft (you may start to get a mild headache due to altitude change). From Lava Tower, we will go down for about 2 hrs. through dusty and rocky trails to the Barranco Camp at 13000ft.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget camping

We start scrambling up the Barranco wall for an hour and a half. As this is steep, you will be using your hands to reach and steady yourself like rock climbing, although not as challenging. At the top of the wall, you can see the Barranco Valley and the campsite you spent the night before. You will walk up and down the greener valley, which is the last water point of the mountain.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget camping

This will be a short but steep uphill climb across the barren landscape with lots of boulders and shattered rocks. You will see the deck glaciers on your left. We will keep going through a very steep ridge until we reach a rocky section for more scrambling, which will last for about 1 ½ hrs. Our next camp will be on large rocks with very steep cliff faces. We will cap off the night early as we need to wake up at 11:00 pm for the summit.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget camping

We will start the climb at around midnight. We will start with very steep rocks for 1 hour, and enter a snow-covered area where you can see glaciers above. If it’s a moonlit night, you may turn off your headlamp and continue a moonlit guided walk; indeed a wonderful experience. The next 2 hours are headed towards Stella Point and we will take a break every 15 minutes as the climb gets more mentally and physically challenging.

Afterwards, we will make our way to Stella Point where the Lava fields are like loose sand. It’s a rather enjoyable and frustrating experience because you will take a step up and slide back gaining 0 distance and if you’re not careful, you will slide back 2 steps and gain negative 2 steps.

After breakfast, we will climb to Uhuru Peak for 1 hour just as the sun appears over the Mawenzi peaks. We will be at Uhuru Peak (19370ft) around 6-7 am. We will start our descent, which is steep and rigorous via Stella Point to Barafu Hut Camp.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Budget camping

Today’s hike will take us about 4 to 5 hours to make the 4,500-foot descent to the park gate. We will check out and receive the Kilimanjaro climbing certificate at the park gate office, then eat our lunch and say goodbye to our mountain staff. After lunch, we will drive through very beautiful coffee plantations and small villages of the Chagga people back to Arusha. There you will be dropped off and is the perfect time for you to take a nice swim, a hot shower, and a well-deserved celebration.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Can be arranged at an extra cost