6 days Machame route Kilimanjaro climbing joining Small group tour package

The first day of hiking begins at Machame Gate (1,640 meters). Typically, you will drive from the town of Moshi to the Machame gate, which takes approximately an hour. At the Gate you will meet your hiking crew – your guide, porters and cook. You, your guide and climbing team will, in the meantime, begin the ascent through the stunning rainforest that covers the South-West of the mountain. You will have a picnic lunch on the way. The first day's trek on the Machame Route is a long one (~11km / 7miles) and takes approximately 5-7 hours to complete. The day’s hiking ends at Machame Camp (2,835 meters), which sits near the border of the rainforest zone and the low alpine zone. By the time you arrive, your porters will have already setup your camp and tents, and dinner will be served.

After breakfast you will pack your gear and prepare for the trek from Machame Camp to Shira Camp 2 (3,850 meters). The trek is relatively steep as you enter the low alpine zone which is characterised by moorlands and grasslands. Shira Camp 2 sits on a plateau which provides you with the first views of Kibo in the North-West and Mount Meru in the East. Day two takes approximately 4-6 hours and covers a distance of 5km / 3miles.

From the Shira Plateau, we continue to the east up a ridge, passing the junction towards the peak of Kibo. As we continue, our direction changes to the South East towards the Lava Tower, called the "Shark's Tooth." Shortly after the tower, we come to the second junction which brings us up to the Arrow Glacier at an altitude of 16,000ft. We now continue down to the Barranco Camp at an altitude of 13,000ft. Here we rest, enjoy dinner, and go overnight. Although you end the day at the same elevation as when you started, this day is very important for acclimatization and will help your body prepare for summit day.

Distance Covered: 10.8km
Time to be used: 8 - 10 hrs
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodation: Barranco Camp

After breakfast our days will begin with a steep traverse up the Barranco Wall; a 257 meter rock face that requires basic scrambling skills, to the top of the Karanga Valley. The path then follows a series of inclines and declines to Karanga Camp (3,960 meters). If you are on a six-day trek, you will stop for lunch at Karanga Camp and then continue on along the Southern Circuit until it joins the Mweka Trail up to Barafu Camp (4,680 meters). For six-day trekkers, day 4 takes approximately 8-10 hours to complete and covers 9.5km / 6 miles. When you arrive at Barafu around mid-afternoon, you will be served an early dinner and encouraged to get some shut-eye as the summit trek commences around 24:00 that night.

You will be awoken around 23:30 with hot tea and biscuits. Hopefully you have managed to get a few hours’ sleep; don’t worry if you haven’t, as most people struggle to sleep before summit night. Do, however, make sure that all your kit, including warm clothes, headlamp, insulated water reserves and snacks are ready for a sharp departure at 24:00. The trek up Kibo is steep and slow. The trick is to keep your momentum moving forward, one step at a time. It takes about 6-8 hours to reach the top of the crater rim where you will see the sign for Stella Point (5,739 meters). You still have another 156 meters of altitude to walk around the crater rim to Uhuru Peak (5,895 meters). After reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro, a 4.5km / 3 mile ascent, you still have an 11km / 7 mile descent to Mweka Camp (3,100 meters)! Mweka is situated in the upper part of the rainforest zone. The richness of oxygen and moisture in the air will be a very welcome surprise.

In the morning after breakfast, you will be trekking down to Mweka gate. The trek is a pleasant one through the lower rain-forested slopes and down to Mweka Gate (1,640 meters). Although you cover 9km / 5.5 miles, the trek only takes 3-4 hours. Assuming you successfully reach Stella Point or Uhuru Peak, you will be presented with official certificates – a green certificate for the former and a gold certificate for the latter. It is customary to tip your hiking crew before being transported back to your hotel in Moshi.