Kilimanjaro – Machame Route

This morning you drive across the plain towards Mount Kilimanjaro, which dominates the skyline. If the skies are clear, you may get views of the snow-capped peak. Turning off the highway, you drive up through Machame village (1200m) on the way to Machame Gate (1800m), the entrance to Mount Kilimanjaro National Park. At the end of the track you register for the climb and meet your team of Chagga guides and porters. The Chagga people live from cultivating the fertile volcanic soil on the lower slopes of the mountain. As you set off on the trail you pass through the shambas where they grow coffee and bananas. It’s warm at this altitude and patches of dense rainforest teem with tropical birds and varieties of monkey; the indigenous flora includes numerous mosses, lichens and flowers, as well as delicate orchids. Depending on the group, it’s roughly six hours walk (10km) to your first camp at Machame Hut (3000m), just where you emerge from the lush tropical forest onto heather moorland. Camping -1 night (BLD)

Today you head due east towards Kibo Summit, passing the turn-off of the trail which leads around the northern side of the summit. Climbing all the while, you continue towards the Lava Tower (4600m). From here you descend to Barranco Hut, your overnight camp which lies in a sheltered area below the spectacular cliffs of the Breach Wall. The Breach Wall, the dome of Uhuru and the edge of the Heim Glacier dominate the head of the valley. Approx. 5-7 hours walking / 10 km. Camping – 1 night (BLD)

The day of truth! The guides wake you and you start out in darkness by the light of your head torch, in the extreme cold. The Mweka Route leads steeply upward over a long scree slope between Rebmann and Ratzel Glaciers. This is the hardest part; it can be covered with snow, so trekking poles are useful for balance. Eventually - after some five or six hours walk - you reach the rim of Kibo Crater, close to Stella Point (5732m). From here it’s another hour’s walk west along the crater rim past Hans Meyer's Point - named after the German geologist who made the first successful ascent in 1889 - to reach Uhuru (meaning “Freedom”) Peak (5895m). If the summit is clear, there are fine views of the sun rising over Mawenzi’s icefields and jagged peaks to the east, and of Mount Meru to the west. Triumphant, you then head back to Barafu Hut, where you rest from your exertions for a while. After lunch you continue down to your final camp at Mweka Hut, in the giant heather, close to the forest’s edge. Tonight you enjoy a well-earned rest and your last dinner on the mountain. Approx. 13-14 hours walking (7-9 hours ascent, plus 6 hours descent). Camping - 1 night (BLD)