6 Days Kilimanjaro Machame Route

ITINERARY

You will be picked up from Kilimanjaro International Airport and taken to Ambassador Lodge for dinner and overnight inclusive.

DAY 01 MACHAME GATE TO MACHAME CAMP

You will be driven from your hotel in Arusha or Moshi to the Mount Kilimanjaro National Park Gate, passing through the village of Machame, located on the lower slopes of the mountain. As we leave park gate behind, our walk starts through the rain forest on a winding trail up the ridge. At some sections the trail can be muddy and slippery, so the gaiters and trekking poles are a good to bring. At the end of our today’s trek lies Machame Camp, where we stay for the night.

DAY 02 MACHAME CAMP TO SHIRA CAMP

The second day continues through increasingly sparse trees and bushes into moorlands. The day finishes with Shira Camp, which is on a small plateau in the high moorlands, and features views of Kibo in the northeast andMount Meru towards the west. White necked ravens can be seen throughout the day. There is also a set of small caves a short walk from the campsite known as the Shira Caves.

DAY 03 SHIRA CAMT TO LARVA TOWER TO BARRANCO CAMP

Today’s route turns east into a semi desert and rocky landscape surrounding Lava Tower. Lunch will be served in a designated area before ascending the rocky path to Lava Tower. After lunch you descent again to the Barranco camping area and after reaching the high altitude of 4600m at Lava Tower, you will feel actual benefit of acclimatization. This descent to Barranco camp takes about 2 hours and offers great opportunities to take some beautiful photographs of the Western Breach and Breach Wall.

DAY 04 BARRANCO CAMP TO BARAFU CAMP

A steep climb up the eastern wall leads us just below the Heim Glacier, where we may have some spectacular views of Kilimanjaro. We then take a steep exit up the Great Barranco Wall, which divides us from the southeastern slopes of Kibo, the trail continues down into the alpine desert of the Karanga Valley, finally we have a steep climb up to Karanga Camp. From here we continue up to the Barafu Camp. Here we will rest, have dinner and prepare for the summit day. From Barafu you can enjoy the view of two volcanic cones Mawenzi and Kibo peaks, and that view is quite spectacular and you should not miss it.

DAY 05 SUMMIT TO THE PEAK AND DECENT TO MWEKA CAMP

After breakfast, we continue the descent down to the Mweka Park Gate to receive your summit certificates. From the gate, you continue another hour to Mweka Village.

DAY 06 DECENT TO THE GATE AND TRANSFER TO ARUSHA OR KILIMANJARO AIRPORT

A vehicle will meet you at village to drive you back to Arusha.