6 Days: Climb Machame Route

From

DKK50.00

Duration

6 days

Tour Type

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Overview

Upon arriving at Kilimanjaro International Airport you will be meeting with our representative. After greetings you will be transferred to Moshi town to a designated accommodation for hot shower and overnight.

What's Included

Park fees
All activities (Unless labeled as optional)
All accommodation (Unless listed as upgrade)
A professional driver/guide
All transportation (Unless labeled as optional)
All Government Taxes/VAT
Airport transfer
Meals (As specified in the day-by-day section)
Drinking water(On all days)

Exclusions

International flights (From/to home)
Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
Tips
Personal items (Souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees

Included/Exclude

Tour Plan

Day 1: Transfer from Moshi town to Machame Gate (1490m) - Machame camp (2980m).

Hiking time: 7 hours.
Distance: About 18 km's.
Habitat: Montane forest.
Elevation change: + 1490 m

Early in the morning the guide of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro will be with you for briefing after breakfast around 9:00 am drive to Machame gate which takes about 40 to 45 minutes. With your picnic lunch climbers will do registering at the gate office, thereafter 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. You will have a welcome lunch stop about half way and will reach the Machame camping area in the late afternoon. Tents and other belonging will be take care by porters and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro guide. Most of the time porters and cook happens to reach to the camping site before you for preparation of meals as well as erection of tents for your accommodation. Sometime weather condition in the night temperatures can already drop to freezing point at Machame campsite.

Day 2: Machame camp (2980m) - Shira campsite (3840m)

Hiking time: 6 hours
Distance: About 9 km's.
Habitat: Moorland.
Elevation change: + 860 m

Early in the morning after breakfast, the day is spent to reach Shira campsite (3840 m) with our picnic lunch. The night at this bare camp will even be colder than the previous night, with temperatures dropping to well below freezing. 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. After a picnic lunch and rest, you continue up a rocky ridge onto the Shira plateau. 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 campsite

Day 3: Shira (3840m) - Lava Tower (4630m) - Barranco camp (3950 m).

Hiking time: 6 hours
Distance: About 15 km's
Habitat: Semi desert.
Elevation change: + 790 m, - 680 m

Final Elevation: 3950 m The route now turns east into a semi desert and rocky landscape surrounding Lava Tower, where you reach an altitude of 4630m after about a four hours walk. Lunch is served in a designated area before ascending the rocky scree path to Lava Tower (4630m). 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 680m 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.

Day 4: Barranco Hut (3950 m) to Karanga Valley Camp (4200 m) to Barafu camp (4600 m)

Elevation (ft): 13,000ft to 15,000ft
Distance: 9km
Hiking Time: 8-10 hours
Habitat: Alpine Desert.

After breakfast, we leave Barranco and continue on a steep ridge passing the Barranco Wall, to the Karanga Valley campsite. Then, we leave Karanga and hit the junction which connects with the Mweka Trail. We continue up to the Barafu Hut. 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.

Day 5: Barafu Camp to Summit to Mweka camp

Very early in the morning (midnight to 2am), we continue our way to the summit between the Rebmann and Ratzel glaciers. You head in a northwesterly direction and ascend through heavy scree towards Stella Point on the crater rim. This is the most mentally and physically challenging portion of the trek. At Stella Point (18,600 ft), 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 may encounter snow all the way on your 1-hour ascent to the summit. At Uhuru Peak, you have reached the highest point on Mount Kilimanjaro and the continent of Africa. Faster hikers will see the sunrise from the summit. From the summit, we now make our descent continuing straight down to the Mweka Hut camp site. Mweka Camp is situated in the upper forest and mist or rain can be expected in the late afternoon. Later in the evening, we enjoy our last dinner on the mountain and a well-earned sleep.

Day 6: Mweka camp (3100m) - Mweka Gate (1980m)

Hiking time: 4 hours.
Distance: About 15 km's
Habitat: Forest
Elevation change: - 1120 m

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 (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. At the Mweka Gate, meet Mount Kilimanjaro National Park Officials gives you the Certificate of Achievement. After sign out to the park gate you will be transferred to a your hotel in Arusha for 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.