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Experience the Grandeur of Mount Kilimanjaro – Machame Route Itinerary

A hiking camping site on Mount Kilimanjaro grassland with the Mountain’s summit in the background.

The Machame route also known as the “whisky route” is the opposite of the Marangu route. It is very challenging but extremely scenic making the arduous Mount Kilimanjaro hike worth the sweat. There are plenty of steep slopes to ascend and valleys to descend thus it takes longer than the Marangu route. Mweka route is used for descending.

Mt Kilimanjaro Machame route 7 days Itinerary

Day 1; Nairobi – Moshi

Depart Nairobi in the morning by shuttle to Moshi in Tanzania arriving late afternoon. We spend the night here helps with acclimatization before we start to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

Day 2; Moshi - Machame Hut

Drive through Machame Village to the gate where we begin hiking Mount Kilimanjaro. We follow a path through the forest with moss plastered trees. We gradually climb Mount Kilimanjaro to Machame Hut (3000m) the walk takes about 6 hours. We set our camps for the night, dinner and overnight.

Day 3; Machame – Shira Hut

Early morning after breakfast we continue to ascend up Mt Kilimanjaro, the forest gives way to the moorland zone covered with huge heathers. The path gets steep after crossing valley and a stream. As you approach the Shira plateau the trail levels out making the climb gentler before getting to Shira our camping site at 3,800m. This part of the Mount Kilimanjaro hike takes about 6 hours. Dinner and overnight.

Day 4; Mount Kilimanjaro Shira -Barranco Hut

Today is a combination of ascend and descend which helps with acclimatization. The first part we climb up towards Kibo, with a beautiful view of the Mt Kilimanjaro glaciers. A picnic lunch is served then we turn right and descends into Barranco gorge a place full of giant lobelias and senecios. After 6 hours or so we get to Barranco for dinner and overnight.

Day 5; Barranco Hut- Barafu Hut

In the morning we continue climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to Barranco wall which is steep and rocky but fun to tackle. The view of the Barranco valley below from the top of the wall is majestic and makes the day’s Mount Kilimanjaro hike totally worth it. The path now leads down to the Karanga valley. We then turn left and climb up the steep cliff and get to Barafu hut for dinner and overnight.

Day 6; Barafu hut– Mount Kilimanjaro Summit (Uhuru peak) – Mweka Hut

At midnight the final ascent for the summit begins through the rocky steep slope. The first stop is the Stella Point rest for a short while and then continue to Uhuru Peak, Mount Kilimanjaro summit the highest point in Africa at 5895m. Sunrise on the summit and the magnificent view of the vast land beneath it is worth every ache. Descend to Barafu camp for a meal and continue further down to Mweka hut for dinner and overnight. Concluding mt Kilimanjaro Machame route 7 days hike

Day 7; Mweka – Moshi/Nairobi

This is the last day of our Mount Kilimanjaro hike descending to the Mweka park gate to an awaiting vehicle to take you to Moshi for the night or head directly to Nairobi.
Note; spending the night at Moshi adds an extra day to the itinerary.

Included in the cost of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro:

Transfer to and from the base of the mountain
Full board accommodation and meals while hiking Mount Kilimanjaro.
All park entrance fees to include government taxes
Services of an English speaking professional 
guide, porters and skilled cook
Start and finish Nairobi
Treated water while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro
On completion, successful climb Certificate

Excluded:

Laundry, sleeping bags and climbing gears

International flights

Visas to Tanzania

Personal Items

Climbing gear

Any other extras not detailed in the above itinerary