Kilimanjaro Machame Route
| country: | Tanzania |
| location: | Kilimanjaro |
| trip type: | High altitude, strenuous trekking holidays |
| departures: | 2008: 13 Jul, 12 Aug, 10 Sep, 10 Oct, 8 Nov, 8 Dec |
| price: | From £1080 (8 days) excluding flights, based on 2 people sharing. We can also plan this climb for you as a tailor made trip (min 2 people) for the same cost. An additional night on the mountain is an extra £140 per person. Solo climbs are also available just £135 extra. |
read 1 travellers review
the amazing things you'll be doing
The Machame route is one of the most scenic routes by which to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. It is less used than the Marangu route and all the better for it.
You ascend from the western side of Kilimanjaro and descend down the south face. You pass through tropical montane rainforest to the snows of Kilimanjaro, with views of the western face and the southern icefields.
Other routes are available, and we’re happy to quote on these. You might also want to consider adding in an extra on the mountain for acclimatisation. This greatly increases your chances of summiting.
You ascend from the western side of Kilimanjaro and descend down the south face. You pass through tropical montane rainforest to the snows of Kilimanjaro, with views of the western face and the southern icefields.
Other routes are available, and we’re happy to quote on these. You might also want to consider adding in an extra on the mountain for acclimatisation. This greatly increases your chances of summiting.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive at the Keys Hotel in Moshi, our base for the climbs. Overnight on a dinner, bed and continental breakfast basis. This evening you will be briefed on the climb in preparation for the following day. If you need to hire equipment this can be arranged. |
| Day 2: | Transfer to the park gate to start the climb. A 5 hour walk through the spectacular forest will bring you to Machame Hut at 3000m. Wildlife is occasionally seen at these lower altitudes, including a variety of forest bird species. |
| Day 3: | The hike today starts off quite steeply to the top of the forest, then 2 hours at a more gentle incline through the lower moorlands brings you to the top of a rocky bluff by about lunch time. From here we descend 50 feet then start traversing westwards, a gradual ascent to Shira Cathedral and your camp at approx 3800m, on a plateau, hopefully with views of Mt.Meru and the Kenya plains. Walking time approximately 6 hours. |
| Day 4: | From Shira Hut we climb slowly for about 5 km, through increasingly barren terrain. We head towards the cone of Kibo, traversing across to Barranco Hut. This will be a fairly long and strenuous day, as the altitude is now beginning to tell. Overnight camping at Barranco (3900m). |
| Day 5: | Today starts with climbing Barranco Wall - a steep hike for an hour or so, occasionally clambering around boulders.There are some scree slopes and ridges to Karanga (4100m) with breathtaking views of the West Breach and the southern glacier. We then drop down into the valley for lunch before continuing up to Barafu.This is your acclimatisation day, and the ups and downs help with altitude for your final ascent. Overnight at Barafu (4600m). |
| Day 6: | You will be awoken at around midnight in preparation for your final ascent. Dress warmly as temperatures often plummet to -20° C or lower. You will be led by torch light up the path to the crater's edge at Stella Point - this takes at least 7 hours - walking slowly with frequent rests. We continue along the edge of the Crater after a short rest, up to the highest point in Africa - Uhuru Peak at 5895m - with incredible views of glaciers many storeys high surrounding you, and the plains of Africa stretched out below you. We then descend to Mweka or High camp (stopping for a short rest at Barafu) and arriving late afternoon. Mweka is on the edge of the rainforest. |
| Day 7: | Descend to Mweka Village about 4 hours steady downhill walk. Here we are met and transferred back to the Keys Hotel at Moshi. It is now time to celebrate your achievement with a swim in the pool and an evening in the bar! Overnight at the hotel is on a dinner bed and breakfast basis. |
| Day 8: | Transfer to airport for onward or return flight. |
travellers' tales
The highlight was the joy and relief of reaching the top of kili, timed to perfection as the sun broke through the horizon. (more)
highly commended
This tourism business was Highly Commended in our 2007 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - the largest awards of their kind in the world, and organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society.Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
how this holiday makes a difference
|
We have a policy for trek porters which is available to all our clients on booking. Our guides and porters are all paid fair wages. We try to ensure that all guides and porters are provided with appropriate equipment for them to do their job safely and effectively, this includes good food and shelter. Porters have a weight limit of 20kgs and their loads are weighed before the climb. We constantly monitor the enforcement of this policy through client feedback and staff visits.
Flights are automatically carbon offset through The Travel Forest, which plants 10 indigenous trees on your behalf (currently in northern Tanzania). Whilst the primary motivation for planting the trees is to offset carbon emissions, the project also works as a poverty alleviation and environmental improvement scheme. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've lead the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |