Machame Route 9 Day – Small Group Tours

This morning we take a leisurely breakfast at our hotel, before setting out in our vehicle at around 08.00hrs to allow for a scheduled arrival at Machame Gate (1640 meters) at 10.00hrs. Our first job will be to complete the registration formalities, before we start our trek. You will also enjoy the introduction to your mountain team: your guides, porters and everyone else who will accompany you as you make your ascent.

Today’s walk is a long one: in pure numbers, you will gain around 1332 metres of altitude over a distance of just under 11km/7miles and can expect to be walking for between 5 and 6 hours.

The beginning of the walk today is characterised by a wide track that winds its way up through dense forest, beautiful tall trees laden with green moss. As the route becomes steeper and narrower, so the vegetation changes and the appearance of flowers such as impatiens kilimanjari and impatiens pseudoviola introduce some bright colours to the scenery. You will also be able to see Kibo Peak, away to the east. The birdlife around the camp is surprisingly rich, so look out for species such as olive thrush and stonechat. We hope to reach camp at about 17.00hrs, giving you a couple of hours of welcome rest before dinner is served

Today’s stage is short and steep, as we push on up to an altitude of over 3804 metres. Our hard work in the morning, on a narrow path, is well rewarded at lunchtime with wonderful vistas both to the south and over to Kibo. Surely there can be no better location for lunch?

Having made an early start around 08.30hrs, we would expect to reach our camp by 14.00hrs, by which time we will have encountered the moorland lobelias and the distinctive dark obsidian rock of Shira Plateau for the first time. From Shira Caves, you will have time to marvel at some great natural sights such as the so-called ‘Shira Cathedral,’ Klute Peak and Mount Meru, before enjoying your dinner around 18.00hrs.

Today’s stage is considerably different in character from yesterday’s, with a much longer trek. We start at 3804 metres, of course, but even though we cover nearly 10km/6miles, our gain in altitude will be a modest 146 metres by the time we reach Barranco Camp at around 16.00hrs. During our hike, however, we will climb to the base of the Lava Tower which is located at a lofty 4630 metres, before we descend again for our overnight stay. Although this may seem a bit of a waste, in fact it helps enormously with the crucial process of acclimatizing at altitude.

The overall distance today means that we will actually be walking for around 6 to 8 hours, excluding breaks. Once again, our day will begin with breakfast at 07.00hrs and departure at 08.30hrs, when we begin our trek across the stony landscape of Shira Plateau. The vegetation is sparse at first, with just a few hardy lichens to admire. You climb towards the Lava Tower and your picnic lunch is taken at 13.00hrs. After passing the highpoint of the day by the Lava Tower, we then descend down to the Barranco Camp. Once at camp, you should take time to admire the views of the southern face of Kibo as well as the Heim Glacier. Dinner tonight is served at 19.00hrs

Today we breakfast slightly later (07.30hrs) with a departure time from camp scheduled for 08.30hrs. Today’s walk is actually quite short, being only about 6km/3miles but it will still take between 4 to 5 hours of trekking time. We will break for lunch at around at 13.00hrs on reaching Karanga and have the afternoon to enjoy the views before eating our dinner at 18.00hrs.

At the beginning of the day, we encounter the hardest part of the stage as we have to scramble up the near-vertical face of the Barranco Wall (also commonly referred to as the ‘Breakfast Wall’ as you tackle it right after your breakfast!). At the top of this climb, you will be rewarded with views of the Heim Glacier.

After this, the rest of today’s walk becomes a bit easier as we first gradually descend to the gully below, and into the cold but beautiful Karanga Valley. We then continue and finally climb up a steep series of zig-zags until reaching the Karanga Camp (4033 meters). Our overall altitude gain today is only 160 metres.

Another short day -in terms of distance – begins with our breakfast at the camp at 07.30hrs and another 08.30hrs departure. Today we will ascend about 523 metres in a distance of around 4km/2miles and walking time once again is between 4 and 5 hours.

We will be aiming to arrive at the Barafu Camp 4556 meters by 13.00, when we will be rewarded with a cooked lunch. (With tomorrow being the summit day, it will be important to relax and prepare for the hard work ahead.) Dinner tonight is served at 17.30hrs, giving you time to get to bed early. After leaving Karanga, today’s stage climbs steadily, passing through barren, rocky landscape, with the Decken and Kersten glaciers visible away to your left.

At the top of the climb, the landscape remains bleak as you descend into a valley and you get your first sight of another glacier, Rebmann. At the end of this valley is today’s goal, the Barafu Camp 4556 meters, at which you arrive after a short, steep scramble and a walk

If there is one certainty on Kilimanjaro, it is that ‘summit day’ will be the toughest! But although hugely challenging, hopefully it will be matched with the great sense of achievement of reaching your goal – the summit of Kilimanjaro!

Our schedule for our ‘Summit Day’ is of course very different. Rising at 23.00hrs, we take our tea and biscuits (23.30hrs) before a midnight departure. We begin with a long, tough climb from Barafu at 4556 metres to Stella Point at 5756 metres; for some of this you will be walking on scree, making your trek more difficult.

From Stella Point, there is still another 139 metres of ascent and 45 minutes’ walk to the summit. Our goal is to reach the top (5895 meters) by around 07.00hrs then celebrate (of course!) take our precious photos and enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime experience. After the summit (5895 meters), we return to Barafu (4556 meters), where we rest for a couple of hours, take a brunch and then leave again at 13.30hrs to continue to descend to Mweka Camp (3100 metres) where we spend the night. We would expect to arrive there at 17.00hrs and take our dinner at 19.00hrs. (In total, we cover around 17km/10miles today with about 11-14 hours of walking – tough going, but with our objective hopefully achieved!)

Still thrilled by your achievement, breakfast is taken at 07.00hrs and at 08.00hrs you can take the chance to reward your trekking team at the ‘Tipping Celebration.’

Although we still have 9km to walk, departure is at a leisurely 09.00hrs and you descend down to the Mweka Gate which sits at an altitude of 1640 metres. There, you will be served a cooked lunch at midday and be presented with your hard-earned certificate.

Your vehicle transport will be waiting to return you back to your Hotel in Arusha, where you can choose to relax – or, if you have any energy left, to celebrate!

After a good night’s rest at your hotel, you will take breakfast ready for the scheduled check-out by 10.00hrs. (If you wish to remain in the hotel during the day, please advise us of this when you book your trip and we will inform you of the cost for day room which ends at 18:00hrs, and then make the booking on your behalf.)

If you have booked a transfer to the airport, you will be collected from your hotel and dropped off at the airport. For those travelers who have booked to go on safari, our Easy Travel guide will be meeting you in the evening to provide you with a briefing.

Meal Plan
Breakfast

Journey time and Altitude
1 hours, 55 km drive from Arusha to Kilimanjaro International Airport