Mount Kilimanjaro Climb

Arrival Pick Up (Kilimanjaro/ Arusha Airport)

Welcome to Tanzania! On arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport, you will meet by a representative who will escort you by way of road transfer to Arusha.

Machame Gate (1830 m) - Machame Huts (3030 m)

Machame route is also know as “Whiskey Route“, Its tougher compared to Marangu Route but the most scenic.

As for scenery, the Machame route is very spectacular eg Shira Plateau, the Lava Tower, the Barranco Wall…

Machame route has higher success rates 60% make to Summit. Its most popular and most crowded.

The seven day leaves plenty of time to recover, acclimatize and get ready for summit.

The Machame route is more strenuous often steeper, many ups and downs, cross many valleys and ridges, and its camping. Not Hut accommodation.

Machame Huts - New Shira Camp (3850 m)

In the morning you will start walk through the forest. Soon their will be no more trees. In moorland the dominating plant is heather.

You will get good view of Kibo and Mawenzi peaks. The vegetation offers more open views. Through the hills across a few dry creeks.

Lunch stop will be 2hrs to the Shira Camp. (No pressure during walking. It takes as long as it takes!)

New Shira Camp - Barranco Huts (3985 m)

In the morning you will start climbing up towards the Lava Tower, a 100 m/300 ft volcanic plug. Even the short heather disappears altogether to reveal the rocky ground of the lava ridges.

Lunch break near the Lava Tower you descend to the Barranco Valley. Sheltered by towering cliffs and is much greener.

The Barranco Camp the most spectacular campsite of this route, with fantastic views of Kibo, the Western Breach and the first of the southern glaciers.

This was an important day acclimatization.

Barranco Huts - Karanga Camp (4040 m)

Early in the morning you will tackle the Barranco Wall for 1:30hrs. It is strenuous to climb and very steep.

The wall is exposed and you will use your hands to steady yourself, but you can pretty much walk all the way to the top and have a breathtaking view of kibo peak.

From there it's 2 hrs over volcanic scree to Karanga Valley where you will have lunch, it is a green oasis, albeit a cold, windy one.

After lunch the walk is short to Barafu camp but on steep path increasingly inhospitable landscape on the left will be Southern Glaciers.

Barafu Camp is perched on a ridge in a landscape of barren and bleak.

Summit (5895 m)

Wake up at 11.00 and 11.30 pm. Get ready with your gear and have break fast. Around midnight start the hike to the summit you will see strings of little lights for climbers ahead of you.

As steep as the slope is the path itself isn't that bad. Take all the time you need.

There are two landmarks that are resting points only minutes. Then 1:30hrs after leaving the cave rocks appear on the path a bit slippery called Jamaican Rocks. Its another 1:30hrs to reach Uhuru Peak.

Descend for Lunch at barafu camp. You have no choice but to pack up your gear and keep going 3hrs to the Millennium Camp or Mweka Huts.

Horombo Huts - Marangu Gate

After breakfast you set continue descending down. The path is already known so its just getting down to the Mweka gate.

At the gate you'll have to clear more formalities, but eventually you will say good bye to your guides and you climb into the vehicle waiting for you and be carried away to your hotel for hot showers and cold beers.

Kilimanjaro Airport

Depending on your flight, use your last morning to fit in a final, epic game drive. You will be picked up from your hotel or lodge by your private driver and taken to Kilimanjaro airport in time for your return journey home.

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