Kilimanjaro Trek - Machame Route (whiskey route)
6 Days trekking; 4 and a half days ascending, 1 and a half days descending.Length: 100 km/62 mi total; 62 km/38 mi to summit; 38 km/24 mi descend from summit
Arrival Day:
Arrive at the Kilimanjaro International Airport. You will be met at the Airport and transferred to the hotel in Arusha or in Moshi for your overnight and briefing by our mountain guide.
Day 1: Machame Gate to Machame Camp
Elevation (m): 1,490m to 2,980m
Elevation (ft): 4,890ft to 9,780ft
Distance: 18km
Hiking Time: 5-7 hours
Habitat: Montane Forest
Your day starts early with a briefing, followed by breakfast and a 50-minute drive from Moshi or a one and half hours drive from Arusha to the Machame Village (1,490 m/4,890 ft) where your guides and porters prepare and pack your equipment and supplies. You will receive a lunch pack, and you can also buy mineral water in the village. If the road is very muddy, it may be impossible to drive from the village to the Machame Gate, and in this case, it will take you an hour to complete the muddy 3 km walk to the gate. After registering at the park office, you start your ascent and enter the rain forest immediately. Heavy rains on this side of the mountain often transform the trail into a soggy, slippery experience, so good footgear, trekking poles, and gaiters are useful. You will enjoy a welcome lunch stop halfway up and will reach the Machame camping area in the late afternoon. Your porters will arrive at camp before you and will erect your tent before you arrive. In the evening, the porters boil drinking and washing water while the cook prepares your dinner. Night temperaturs can drop to freezing at the Machame Camp.
Day 2: Machame Camp to Shira Camp
Elevation (m): 2,980m to 3,840m
Elevation (ft): 9,780ft to 12,600ft
Distance: 9km
Walking Time: 4-6 hours
Habitat: Moorland
You rise early at Machame camp, and after breakfast, climb for an hour to the top of the forest, then for 2 hours through a gentle moorland. After a short lunch and rest, you continue up a rocky ridge onto the Shira Plateau where you will be able to see Kilimanjaro’s great Western Breach with its stunning glaciers. Sometimes, the walls of the Western Breach are draped with extensive ice curtains. You are now west of Kibo on the opposite side of the mountain from the Marangu Route. After a short hike west, you reach the shira campsite. The porters will boil drinking and washing water before serving dinner. The night at this exposed camp will be colder, with temperatures dropping below freezing.
Day 3: Shira Camp to Lava Tower to Barranco Camp
Elevation (m): 3,840m to 4,630m to 3,950m
Elevation (ft): 12,600ft to 15,190ft to 12,960ft
Distance: 15 km
Walking Time: 5-7 hours
Habitat: Semi-desert
After breakfast, you will walk up a steepening path above the highest vegetation toward Kilimanjaro’s looming mass. After several hours, you walk thorough a rocky landscape to reach the prominent landmark called Lava Tower, also called the “Shark’s Tooth.” at 4,630 m/15,190ft. This chunky remnant of Kilimanjaro’s earlier volcanic activity is several hundred feet high, and the trail passes right below it. For extra credit, the sure-footed can scramble to the top of the tower. After a lunch stop near Lava Tower, descend for 2 hours belowthe lower cliffs of the Western Breach and Breach Wall to Barranco Camp at 3,950 m/12,960 ft. There are numerous photo opportunities on this hike, especially if the walls are festooned with ice. Barranco Camp is in a valley below the Breach and Great Barranco Walls, which should provide you with a memorable sunset while you wait for your dinner. On this day, be careful to notice any signs of altitude sickness. Although you end the day at almost the same elevation as when you started, this day is very important for acclimatization and will help your body prepare for summit day.
OPTIONAL DAY (7-day trek): Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp
Elevation (m): 3950m to 4200m
Elevation (ft): 12,600ft to 13,800ft
Distance: 7km
Hiking Time: 4 hours
Habitat: Alpine Desert
After breakfast, we leave Barranco and continue on a steep ridge passing the Barranco Wall, to the Karanga Valley campsite. There is water at this camp. Then, on Day 5 you will hike from the Karanga Valley Camp to the Barafu Camp, summit on Day 6, and finish your descent on Day 7.
Day 4: Barranco Camp to Barafu Camp
Elevation (m): 3,950m to 4,550m
Elevation (ft): 12,960ft to 14,930ft
Distance: 13km
Hiking Time: 8 hours
Habitat: Alpine Desert
After spending a night under the imposing Great Barranco Wall, you climb this awesome obstacle, which turns out to be easier than it looks. Topping out just below the Heim Glacier, you can now appreciate just how beautiful Kilimanjaro really is. The route then heads down through the Karanga Valley and goes over intervening ridges and valleys to join the Mweka Route, which will be your descent route. You have now completed the South Circuit, which offers views of the summit from many different angles. For now, all eyes are still on the summit, so turn left and hike up the ridge for another hour to the Barafu Hut. The last water on the route is in the Karanga Valley; there is no water at Barafu Camp, even though Barafu is the Swahili word for “ice.” The famous snows of Kilimanjaro are far above Barafu Camp near the summit of the mountain. Your tent will be pitched on a narrow, stony, wind-swept ridge, so make sure that you familiarize yourself with the terrain before dark to avoid any accidents. Prepare your equipment and warm clothing for your summit climb. This should include replacing your headlamp and camera batteries, and to prevent freezing, consider carrying your water in a thermal flask. Go to bed by 7 PM, and try to get a few hours of precious sleep.
DAY 05: Summit Day! “Barafu Camp to Uhuru Peak to Mweka Camp”
Elevation (m): 4,550m to 5,895m (and down to 3,100m)
Elevation (ft): 14,930ft to 19,340ft (and down to 10,170ft)
Distance: 7km up / 23km down
Hiking Time: 6 – 8 hours up / 7 – 8 hours down
Habitat: Stone scree, seasonal snow and ice-capped summit
You will rise around 11:30 PM, and after some steaming tea and biscuits, you shuffle off into the night. Your 6-hour climb northwest up through heavy scree between the Rebmann and Ratzel glaciers to Stella Point on the crater rim is the most challenging part of the route for most climbers. At Stella Point (5,685 m/18,650 ft) you stop for a short rest and a chance to see a supremely sanguine sunrise. At Stella Point you join the top part of the Marangu Route, but do not stop here too long, as it will be extremely difficult to start again due to cold and fatigue. Depending on the season and recent storms, you may encounter snow on your remaining hike along the rim to Uhuru Peak. On the summit, you can enjoy your accomplishment and know that you are creating a day that you will remember for the rest of your life. After your 3-hour descent from the summit back to Barafu Camp, you will have a well-earned but short rest, collect your gear, and hike down a rock and scree path into the moorland and eventually into the forest to Mweka Camp (3,100 m/10,170 ft) “You will want gaiters and trekking poles for the loose gravel going down”. This camp is in the upper forest, so you can expect mist or rain in the late afternoon. Dinner, and washing water will be prepared, and the camp office sells drinking water, soft drinks, chocolates, and beer!
Day 6: Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate to Moshi/Arusha
Elevation (m): 3,100m to 1,980m to 890m
Elevation (ft): 10,170ft to 6500ft to 2,920ft
Distance: 15 km
Hiking Time: 3 – 4 hours
Habitat: Forest
After a well-deserved breakfast, it is a short, scenic, 3-hour hike back to the park gate. At lower elevations, it can be wet and muddy. Gaiters and trekking poles will help. Shorts and t-shirts will probably be plenty to wear (keep rain gear and warmer clothing handy). Don’t give your porters any tips until you and all your gear have reached the gate safely, but do remember to tip your staff at the gate. At Mweka Gate, you can sign your name and add details in a register. This is also where successful climbers receive their summit certificates. Climbers who reached Stella Point are issued green certificates and those who reached Uhuru Peak receive gold certificates. From the Mweka Gate, you will continue down to the Mweka Village, possibly a muddy, 3 km, 1 hour hike if the road is too muddy for vehicles. In the Mweka Village you will be served a delicious hot lunch after which you are driven back to Moshi/Arusha for an overdue hot shower and comfortable night in a hotel.
Arusha/Moshi:
Depart for the airport or other destinations in Tanzania or Kenya. A trip to the beaches at Zanzibar is a good way to recuperate. We can arrange many reasonably priced trips and safaris to the Tanzania Nothern Parks such as trips to Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara National Park, Tarangire National Park and to Arusha National Park. Also we can arrange trips to Southern Circuit such as trips to Selous Game Reserve, Mikumi National Park and Ruaha National Park.
“End of service”.
Be selective in what you take with you. Please note that our porters are limited to carrying 35 lbs (15 kg) of your personal belongings. If you have excess weight, you will be required to hire an additional porter. Although you are expected to bring everything you need, most gear and equipment may be rented, subject to availability. All extra luggages, items you will not use on your climb, such safari clothing, gear and equipment, can also be safely stored at the hotel.
Checked luggage on airplanes can get lost or delayed on the way to Tanzania. Therefore, you should prepare for this possibility by wearing or carrying on the items that are essential to your Kilimanjaro climb. While most clothing, gear and equipment can be replaced in Tanzania prior to your climb, there are some things that you should not and cannot.
We recommends that you wear one complete hiking outfit on the plane, including a long sleeve shirt, hiking pants, underwear, socks, sock liner, and hiking boots. In your carry-on baggage, you should bring your backpack, waterproof jacket and pants, insulated jacket, snacks, toiletries, medications, camera and all paperwork.
Make sure you wear/carry your hiking boots; wearing a different pair of boots on your climb will likely cause blistering.
BREAKFAST: Fruit Juice, Fruit, Cereal/Porridge, Eggs bread/French-toast/Plain-toast/Pancakes, Sausages, Margarine, Jam/Honey, Tea/Coffee/Drinking chocolate. Boiled egg, spinach omelet or fried egg with beacon and bread.
SNACKS: Peanuts/Crisps/Popcorn/Cookies.
LUNCH: Sliced Carrot and Cucumber stripes, Avocado slices, Vegetable/Meat cutlets, Sandwiches (Egg/ Cheese/Tomato/Tuna/Meat/Peanut butter), Fruit. Boiled egg, salami sandwich, cheese, French toast Macaroni and meat sauce and bread.
DINNER: Soup of the day, Bread, Salad, Rice/Pasta/Potatoes, Chicken/Meat, Mixed Vegetables (Carrot/French -Beans/Cabbage), Lentils, Fruit Salad, Fruit with custard, Tea/Coffee/Milo/Drinking chocolate. Spaghetti with meat sauce or fish with rice, Fried beef with roast potatoes, rice, carrots, cabbage. Roast chicken with vegetable, fried rice, green pepper, carrots. Vegetarian food is also
available.
WATER: for you first day you will need to buy your own water (the driver will stop at the market on your way to the Mountain Gate) the rest of the days up the mountain the cook will boil water and have it cooled by the beginning of each day.
Note:
We don’t have fixed menu, we are flexible with menu mentioned above, and every day at dinner time, during the briefing for next day activities, our cook will ask the clients what menu they will need for the next day.
Mountain Guide:
Most of our guides have experience of 10 years and above, they have all completed full training on all routes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt Meru and other East African mountains, and have been certified by the Tanzania National Parks Authority as licensed full time guides. They are experienced climbers and guides with average of over 60 ascents of Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Meru. They all have Red Cross First Aid Certificates. Our experienced guide(s) will take you up Kilimanjaro on a wonderful trekking experience to the top of Africa.
Their training has included:
– NOLS climbing courses in Tanzania/Kenya
– NOLS Medical Training (Wilderness Medicine Institute) courses
– WFA (Wildlife First Aid) courses
– Wilderness Training in Ornithology, Mammalogy and Ecology
Tipping guidelines for Guides, Cooks and Porters
Whether you are climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro or going on safari or doing both, all of the guides and porters salaries have been paid as part of your package. Tipping is not included but is recommended and highly appreciated. Here are some basic guidelines. Remember, if you’re not happy with the service, don’t tip or tip less.
On the mountain:
Each group of 2 or more will have a head guide, an assistant guide, a cook, and 2-3 porters per climber. The head guide manages his own team who work together on every climb. Therefore, payment can be made to the head guide who will then distribute the tips to each person. It works best if you collect the group’s tips and then have one person pay the head guide at the Gate/Hotel after the climb. You may want to write down on a paper exactly what amount you want each person to receive. You can use US dollars or Local currencies to pay the tip.
Head guide: Tip for each day you are on the mountain
Assistant guide for each day on the mountain. There is some
flexibility here, depending how helpful your assistant guide was.
Cook: Each day on the mountain. Often acts as a porter and a cook.
Porters: Each porter and for each day on the mountain. You will have 3 porters per climber unless you bring extra gear or you have a large group that may require extra porters
Booking Form
Services Included
Transport to and from mountain gates.
All parks entry fees.
All camping fees.
Rescue fees.
Guide and porters fees.
Guide and porters salaries.
All accommodations on the mountain based on three meals a day.
Cook and all kitchen utensils
Services Excluded
International and domestic flights (we can arrange on request)
Accommodation on the first night upon your arrival before climb and on the last day after climb (book with us)
Airport transfers (book with us)
Tips, drinks and all items of personal nature
Hard and soft drinks and tips
Sleeping bags but we can provide for hire on request.
All Mountain Gears (we can arrange hire of this)