Machame Route

The Machame route on Kilimanjaro is a seven day camping route which allows for excellent acclimatisation and particularly diverse scenery. It has been called the Whiskey route in the past and nowadays about 35% of all climbers on the mountain use it.

In a matter of days you will climb Kilimanjaro from the equator up to an Arctic zone, moving through grasslands, tropical rainforest, alpine meadows, moorlands and high desert to snow and ice. Each day on this route presents quite a distinct ecosystem to experience, which is one reason it is so popular.

The other reason is that the seven day programme begins on the south west side of the mountain and traverses around to the south east side, enabling you to sleep at the same altitude for three consecutive nights which significantly aids altitude acclimatisation. This means that our summit success rate on this route is quite high at around 85%.

Tour ref. no

7Days Machame

Departure / return location

Arusha

Departure time

08,00AM

Return time

04,00PM

Safari type / style

Treking / Hiking

Wear

See our pack list page

Itinerary

Arrival to Tanzania

Arrival

Arrive into Tanzania. Most people fly into Kilimanjaro airport either directly or via Kenya. Upon arrival at the airport you will be met by our driver who will bring you to the hotel for the night
We recommend a stay at:
Planet Lodge
Keys Hotel
Kibo Palace Hotel

Arusha 1400M - Machame Gate 1800M to Machame Camp 2980M

5 hours walking, 10 kms

Transport to Machame Gate (1 hour up to 1790m). Registration (sometimes it can take a few hours or so for this process). Trek to Machame Camp through beautiful montane forest on good path. Camp overnight at the edge of the forest.

Machame Camp 2980M to Shira Plateau 3840M

6-7 hours walking, 7 kms

Machame Camp to Shira Plateau uphill through thinning forest and onto a huge volcanic plateau. Camping is more exposed here with great views of the summit massif.

Shira Camp 3840m - Barranco Camp 3950m

7-8 hours walking, 10 kms

Shira Camp to Barranco Camp traversing two valleys skirting the base of the summit massif. High desert environment with amazing rock formations, quite exposed to the weather, dropping into the Barranco Valley right beneath the Western Breach. This day ascends a maximum of 700 metres but the net height gain is only about 100 metres.

Barranco camp 3950m - Karanga Valley Camp 3950m

5 hours walking, 4 kms

Barranco Camp to Karanga Valley, starting with a scramble over the Barranco Wall and over a further two valleys to get to this open campsite with great views of the Heim Glacier. Another up and down day but no net gain in height, which is all good for acclimatisation.

Karanga Valley 3950M - Barafu Camp 4550M

4-5 hours walking, 4 kms

Karanga Valley to Barafu Camp, heading upwards towards the open rock and colder temperatures. Barafu means 'ice' in Swahili and the camping is amongst the rocks. Early dinner.

Barafu Camp 4550M to UHURU PEAK 5895M to Millennium Camp 2800M

7 hours up, 6 hours down, 18 kms

Summit day. Night-time ascent on rock and scree, snow and ice, to the crater rim and the summit. Expect cold temperatures with windchill. The final slope to the crater rim and Stella Point has loose scree and is very slow. From Stella Point it is a further 45 minutes up the escarpment to the summit of Uhuru.
Descend in sunlight to Barafu for early lunch, and then walk down to Millennium Camp, normally arriving mid-afternoon.

Millennium Camp 2800M to Mweka Gate 1000M to Arusha

4-6 hours walking, 11 kms

Millennium to Mweka Gate. Descend through the lush forest to Mweka Gate where you sign out and pick up the summit certificate. Legs will be tired! Meet Castro at the gate for transport back to the hotel, arriving normally at about 2pm.
The gate is where tips are handed out and you say goodbye to the mountain staff, although sometimes this is done at the hotel. A hot shower and an afternoon relaxing.