7 Day Machame Route

We will guide you on this absolutely amazing, epic and awesome 7-day climb of Kilimanjaro via the Machame Route, an exquisite trail that takes in the best scenery the mountain has to offer, from picturesque rainforests and rocky ridges, to mesmerizing glaciers and sublime views back out over the land from the highest point in Africa.

The second most popular option among the climbers is the Machame route, also known as “the Whiskey Route”. This route offers a wide variety of views, landscapes and experiences. The starting point of the route, Machame Gate, is only a 20-minute drive from Aishi Machame Hotel. Located on the southern slope of Mt Kilimanjaro, Machame Gate will lead you to the top of Kilimanjaro along the exciting footpath which starts at the tropical forest, then runs through all the climate zones and finishes with the Arctic desert in the summit area.

Day 01: Arrival in Kilimanjaro International Airport

A Member of Safari Stride Tours hospitality team greets you upon your arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport. He will drive you to your accomodation, where you will have all the essentials for a comfortable stay after a long flight, such as: pleasant rooms with hot showers, a restaurant with delicious choices, genial service team and access to the Internet. Your briefing, in the course of which your guides will provide all the details of the forthcoming trek, takes place at the appointed time. They will answer your questions and make sure you are properly equipped for the trek, providing rental gear when necessary.

Day 02: Machame Gate to Machame Camp

This morning you take a leisurely breakfast at your hotel, before setting out in your vehicle at around 08.00hrs to allow for a scheduled arrival at the Machame Gate (1,800 metres) at 09.00hrs. Your first job will be to complete the registration formalities, before you start your trek. You will also enjoy the introduction to your mountain team: your guides, porters and everyone else who will accompany you as you make your ascent.

Today’s walk is a long one: in pure numbers, you will gain around 1,035 metres of altitude over a distance of just under 11 km/7 miles and can expect to be walking for between 4.5 and 5 hours.

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. As the route becomes steeper and narrower, so the vegetation changes and the appearance of flowers such as impatiens kilimanjari and impatiens pseudoviola introduce some bright colours to the scenery. You will also be able to get your first glimpse of Kibo peak, away to the east. The birdlife around the camp is surprisingly rich, so look out for species such as olive thrush and stonechat. You hope to reach camp at around 17.00hrs, giving you a couple of hours of welcome rest before dinner is served.

HIKING TIME AND ELEVATION: 5 hours walking, from Machame Gate at 1,800 m to Machame Camp at 2,835 m

ACCOMMODATION: In Tents At Machame Camp

Day 03: Machame Camp to Shira Camp

You will soon become used to the early, 07.00hrs breakfast and today you aim to leave the camp at 08.30hrs. You have a further 915 metres of ascent, finishing the day at 3,750 metres, and although the overall distance is short (5 km/3 miles) you will spend around 5.5 to 6 hours actually walking.

Your path today is dusty, narrow and steep. The vegetation is initially made up of forests of heather but soon you will encounter the first of the giant groundsels. The climb before your midday picnic lunch is steep, but there are then great views to the south and to Kibo, all to savour as you eat. With today’s early start and the short distance, you would expect to reach your camp by 14.00hrs, by which time you will have met the moorland lobelias and the distinctive dark obsidian rock of Shira Plateau for the first time. Once at the camp, you will have plenty of 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.

ACCOMMODATION: in tents at Shira Cave Camp

HIKING TIME AND ELEVATION: 6 hours walking, from Machame Camp at 2,835 m to Shira Cave Camp at 3,750 m

Day 04: Shira Camp to Lava Tower to Barranco Camp

Today’s stage is considerably different in character from yesterday’s, with a much longer trek. You start at 3,750 metres, of course, but even though you cover nearly 10 km/6 miles, your gain in altitude will be a modest 150 metres by the time you reach Baranco Camp at around 16.00hrs. During your hike, however, you will climb to the base of the Lava Tower which is located at a lofty 4,600 metres, before you descend again for your overnight stay. Although this may seem a bit of a waste, in fact it helps enormously with the crucial process of acclimatizing at altitude.

The overall distance today means that you will actually be walking for around 6.5 to 7 hours, excluding breaks. Once again, your day will begin with breakfast at 07.00hrs and departure at 08.30hrs, when you begin your 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 13.00hrs. After passing the highpoint of the day by the Lava Tower, you then descend down to the Baranco 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 19.00hrs.

ACCOMMODATION: In Tents At Baranco Camp

HIKING TIME AND ELEVATION: 6 –7 hours’ walking, from Shira Cave Camp at 3,750 m to Baranco Camp at 3,900 m

Day 05: Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp

You breakfast slightly later (07.30hrs) with a departure time from camp scheduled for 08.30hrs. Today’s walk is actually quite short, being only 4 km/2 miles but it will still take between 3.5 and 4 hours of trekking time. You will break for cooked lunch at around 13.00hrs on reaching Karanga 3,995 metres and have the afternoon to enjoy the views before eating your dinner at 18.00hrs.

At the beginning of the day, you encounter the hardest part of today’s stage as you have to scramble up the near-vertical face of the Baranco Wall (also commonly referred to as the ‘Breakfast Wall’ as you tackle it right after your breakfast!). 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 you first gradually descend to the gully below, and into the cold but beautiful Karanga Valley. You then continue and finally climb up a steep series of zig-zags until reaching the Karanga Camp 3,995 metres. Your overall altitude gain today is only 95 metres.

ACCOMMODATION: in tents at Karanga Camp

HIKING TIME AND ELEVATION: 3.5 – 4 hours walking, from Baranco Camp at 3,900 m to Karanga Camp at 3,995 m

Day 06: Barafu Camp to Summit to Mweka Hut

Another short day -in terms of distance – begins with your breakfast at the camp at 07.30hrs and another 08.30hrs departure. Today you will ascend about 670 metres in a distance of around 5 km/3 miles and walking time once again is between 3.5 and 4 hours.

You will be aiming to arrive at the Barafu Camp 4,673 metres by 13.00hrs, when you will be rewarded with a cooked lunch. (With tomorrow being the summit day, it will be important to relax and prepare for the hard work ahead.) Dinner tonight is served at 17.30hrs, 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 top of the climb, the landscape remains bleak as you descend into a valley and you get your first sight of another glacier, Rebmann. At the end of this valley is today’s goal, the Barafu Camp, at which you arrive after a short, steep scramble and a walk.

ACCOMMODATION: in tents at Barafu Camp

HIKING TIME AND ELEVATION: 3 – 4 hours walking, from Karanga Camp at 3,995 m to Barafu Camp at 4,673 m

Day 07: Ascent Mweka Camp to Uhuru Peak and descent to Mweka Camp.

Today is the most challenging day, but hopefully with the great sense of achievement of reaching your goal – the summit of Kilimanjaro! Your schedule for your ‘Summit Day’ is necessarily very different to your other days on the mountain. Rising at 23.00hrs, you take your tea and biscuits (23.30hrs) before a midnight departure

The day starts with the long, tough climb from Barafu at 4,673 metres to Stella Point at 5,756 metres; for some of this you will be walking on scree, making your trek more difficult. From Stella Point, there is still another 139 metres of ascent and 45 minutes’ walk to the summit.

Your goal is to reach the summit by around 07.00hrs then celebrate reaching the top, take your precious photos and enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime experience. After the summit (5,895 metres), you return to Barafu (4,673 metres), where you rest for a couple of hours, take a brunch and then leave again at 13.30hrs to continue to descend to Mweka Camp (3,100 metres) where you spend the night. You would expect to arrive there at 17.00hrs and take your dinner at 19.00hrs. (In total, you cover around 17 km/10 miles today with about 11-14 hours of walking – tough going, but with your objective hopefully achieved!)

ACCOMMODATION: In Tents At Mweka Camp

HIKING TIME AND ELEVATION: 11-14 hours walking, from 4,673 m at Barafu Camp to the summit at 5,895 m, then down to 3,100 m at Mweka Camp

Day 08: Descent from Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate - Moshi

Still thrilled by your achievement, breakfast is taken at 07.00hrs and at 08.00hrs you can take the chance to reward your trekking team at the ‘Tipping Celebration.’

Although you still have 10 km/6 miles to walk, departure is at a leisurely 09.00hrs and you descend down to the Mweka Gate which sits at an altitude of 1,640 metres. There, you will be served a cooked lunch at midday and be presented with your hard-earned certificate. Your transport will be waiting to bring you back to your hotel in Moshi, where you can choose to relax – or, if you have any energy left, to celebrate!

TIME AND ELEVATION: 3 hours’ walking, from Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate, descending from 3,100 m to 1,640 m, then return by vehicle from Mweka Gate to your hotel 0.8 hours’ drive.

Day 09: Departure - Kilimanjaro National Airport

After a good night’s rest at your hotel, you will take breakfast ready for the scheduled check-out by 11.00.(In case you need a late check-out because of an evening flight, please advise us of this when you book your trip and we will inform you of the cost for day room use which ends at 18:00hrs, and then make the booking on your behalf.)

As a transfer service to the airport is included in this package, you will be collected from your hotel and dropped off at the airport. For those travellers who have booked to go on safari, our Safari Stride guide will be meeting you in the evening to provide you with a briefing.