The awesome site of the Kilimanjaro Mountain is breathtaking.  With its glittering peaks rising from the high Tanzanian plateau, this immense dormant volcano seems to watch over the fauna of East Africa. "Kili" is actually made up of three different craters; the little Shira in the west, Mawenzi, in the east, and in the centre, the enormous cone of Kibo, whose summit, Uhuru Peak, set in a spectacular background of hanging glaciers, is the climbers goal.  The less frequented Machame route includes six days of actual climbing, allowing Aditional time for altitude acclimatisation.  Climbers ascend and descend by a different route, encountering more wild and varied scenery along the way.  Additionally, climbing the route does not present any particular technical difficulty.

You will need to bring your own sleeping bag, although a sleeping pad will be provided.  Toilet facilities are available in all campsites; you are advised not to use sites near your camp or streams as a waste disposal area.

 This is sample itinerary for seven days using Machame route

Day 01 Mount  Kilimanjaro:

After breakfast you will be driven from Arusha to Machame Village on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro to begin your climb.  From the village, you will hike for about six hours through a dense rubber tree and giant fig forest to your camp, set up near huts which were once used for shelter on the mountain.  As you make your way up through the forested terrain, with luck, you may see Colobus monkeys. Your first day’s camp is at an altitude of 10,000 feet.  

Day  02 Machame Camp:

You will be awakened at approximately 6:00 AM with a steaming cup of tea or coffee.  As you leave camp, weather permitting, you will be greeted by a fabulous view of Uhuru peak. With abundant bird life all around you, trek out of the forest today and up into the Hagenia zone, through a savannah of tall grasses and bearded heather, ghostly landscapes of volcanic lava, caves and foamy streams framed by giant groundsels. Today’s hike will be about six hours in length.  Your final destination is the Shira Plateau, where you camp at 12,500 feet.

Day 03 Shira Camp:

A view of the entire Shira Plateau greets you this morning.  Today’s route takes you steadily upward to the pass at Lava Tower (15,000 feet) and then descends toward Barranco Camp through the immense canyon called Grand Barranco where groundsels are once again encountered.  Here there are numerous small waterfalls, which are fed by streams from the mountain to form a river.  The hike today is again about six hours long and your camp is at an elevation of 13,000 feet.

Day   04 Barranco Camp:

 You will have a bit of real trekking today as you travel along the Barranco Cliff; however, this will be a light day (about four hours of trekking) with no increase in elevation to allow you time to rest and adjust to the increasingly higher altitudes.

Day 05 Karranga Camp:

Another short trek and day of acclimatization as you near the mountain’s peak.  Today’s hike of four to five hours to Barafu Camp (15,200 feet) will be mostly on a moraine with a view of Mawenzi Peak towering majestically to the right and Kibo Peak overhead, seemingly just out of reach.  You will be encouraged to turn in early this evening as tomorrow will be your longest day.         

Day 06 Barafu Camp:

Your day begins when you are awakened at midnight to start the final ascent. You will make your way up a winding path flanked by Ratzel and Rebman glaciers.  After about six hours of hiking, you will reach Gilman’s Point, at 18,630 feet on the rim of Kilimanjaro’s crater.  Watch the sunrise and then, if you wish, continue around the rim to Uhuru Peak (19,340 feet); the air is purified and the climb takes at least two hours.  You then begin the descent to 10,200 feet and your last campsite on the mountain.  Total trekking time today will be about thirteen hours.

Day 07 Mweka Camp:

Continue your descent to the base of the mountain where you arrive, exhausted but exhilarated, to meet your Ecological Wilderness Adventures driver/guide. Drive to KIA lodge, where you will have a day room to shower, freshen-up change clothes and then served with hot lunch. In the evening you will be transferred to Kilimanjaro Airport which is just 2 Kms away. Board your home bound flight.

Kilimanjaro Climbing Programs

Machame Route

Marangu

Lemosho

Rongai

Climbing Gear