Kilimanjaro Machame Route: 7-Day Climb with 2 Hotel Nights

After breakfast your guide and crew collect you for the drive to Machame Gate (1,800 m). Once permits are issued and you have signed in with the park rescue service, you start walking through thick rainforest, where showers are common, so keep a rain jacket and dry layers handy. The trail climbs steadily to Machame Camp (3,010 m). From today, drink three to four litres of water, skip alcohol, and tell your guide about any headache. About 5 km, 5 to 6 hours.

You leave the forest behind and climb through giant heather onto the Shira Plateau, where the views open up across the moorland to Kibo and, on clear days, to Mount Meru. The walking is not hard, but the altitude starts to tell, so go slowly and let your guide set the pace. After lunch at Shira Camp (3,845 m) you take a short acclimatisation walk towards Lava Tower, gaining about 300 metres, then return for dinner. About 5 km, 4 to 5 hours.

Today follows the golden rule of climbing high and sleeping low. You climb through alpine desert to the volcanic plug of Lava Tower (4,630 m) and eat lunch there, giving your body time at altitude. If anyone is struggling, your guide can take a lower path that tops out around 4,400 m. You then descend about 650 metres through giant groundsels into the Barranco Valley and camp beneath the Barranco Wall (3,960 m). About 11 km, 6 to 8 hours.

An early start gets you onto the Barranco Wall before the queues. It looks daunting from camp, but it is a scramble with good handholds rather than a climb, and takes about an hour. From the top, Kibo and its glaciers fill the sky. The trail then rolls up and down across valleys to Karanga Camp (4,035 m) for lunch. In the afternoon you walk up towards Barafu to about 4,270 m before returning to sleep. About 5 km, 4 to 5 hours.

A shorter morning walk over stony alpine desert brings you to Barafu Camp (4,640 m), your base for the summit. The crew will have your tent up and a hot meal ready. After a rest you take a last acclimatisation walk towards Kosovo Camp at about 4,800 m and come back down. Then it is an early dinner, a final briefing and as much sleep as you can manage before a wake-up call around 11 pm. About 6 km, 4 to 5 hours.

You leave Barafu around midnight and climb slowly by headtorch towards Stella Point on the crater rim, reaching Uhuru Peak (5,895 m) around sunrise. The path is not technical, but the thin air makes every step count, and your guides check each climber closely. After photographs by the glaciers you return to Barafu for a rest and a meal, then continue down to Millennium Camp (3,820 m). Take the descent carefully. About 15 km, 8 to 12 hours.

Waking lower down, you will feel the difference in the air. After breakfast you walk down through heath and then rainforest, where colobus monkeys often watch from the trees, to Mweka Gate (1,650 m). Here you say goodbye to your crew and collect your summit certificate, a good moment to celebrate together. Then it is a short drive back to Weru Weru River Lodge for a hot shower and a proper bed. About 12 km, 4 to 5 hours.

Enjoy a slow breakfast and a rest before your transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport. Hotel check-out is at 11 am. If your flight leaves in the evening, ask us about a late check-out or an extra night at the lodge, which can be arranged for an additional fee. Many climbers also add a safari, a day at Materuni Waterfall or a few days in Zanzibar after the mountain, and your specialist can plan the connection for you.