Machame Route

Today, you will be up early for breakfast . The goal each day is to have your bags packed and ready to go by 8am. Today is going to be a very challenging and steep day, and therefore one to test your mental toughness. You can not let the altitude get into your head, our guides will be there to manage the pace of the trip, and you will just have to focus on continuing to drink enough fluid and taking one step at a time! It is hard day and thus, you will likely feel the low oxygen levels as you reach the Shira Camp at 3,840m/ 12,598 feet. Today, the hiking time is approximately this day is about six hours and the distance traveled is 5km/ 3.11 miles. The elevation gain today is 860m/ 2,821 feet.

• Admire Big Ben, Buckingham Palace And St Paul’s Cathedral
• Chance To Spot Prominent Landmarks Of The City

Today will be another long day on the trail.  The start of the trek today will be a long incline, up to the Lava Tower, at 4,620m/ 15,157 feet.  This is where you will stop for a full lunch and spend some time to acclimatize to this new height. Most people will really feel the altitude this day, and it is quite normal to have a headache, not wanting to eat or feeling nauseous. Therefore, you should have Ibuprofen with you to decrease inflammation. Also, make sure you are well hydrated as hydration is important at high altitude. From there, you will have the long descent into the Barranco Camp, at 3,900m/ 12,795 feet. Today is hard push and will take approximately 7 hours to reach camp. The total distance traveled today is 11km/ 6.84 miles. 780m/ 2,559 feet of ascent and 720m/ 2,362 feet of descent.

. After a good nights sleep, you will be up at 6am for 7am breakfast. We have amazing challenge for you today! We head up the Barranco Wall, check out our You Tube video on the wall. This can take a couple of hours to reach the top at 4,200m/ 13,780 feet.  Upon reaching the top, we take a break right under the summit in the distance. Then, you will continue on easy trails up and down as we cross Kilimanjaro to the Karanga Valley.   Then with the camp in view across the Valley, we drop steeply down 140m/ 460 feet, before coming back up 120m/ 400 feet to the Karanga Camp at 4,050m/ 13,287 feet.  This will take approximately 4 hours today and the total distance is 5.6km/ 3.5 miles.

Today starts the business end of the trek, as you head up to your high camp. You will leave at 8am and take our time, walking very slowly and saving all our energy for the final climb.You will take lots of breaks on the section and continue to cross around Kilimanjaro before a final steep section to Barafu Camp at 4,650m/ 15,256 feet. This is where most people stay before their ascent of Kilimanjaro. We move through Barafu Camp and hike an additional hour further to Kosovo Camp at 4,900m/ 16,076 feet. The walk to Barafu Camp is approximately 3 hours and then another hour to Kosovo Camp, so a total of 4 hours today. The goal will be to be there for a big lunch/ dinner around 2pm. We encourage you to rest after the meal as you will get up at 11:30pm to prepare for your summit bid. Today you will walk 3.5km/ 2.2 miles. The elevation gain is 850m/ 2,789 feet.

You will wake up at midnight for a 1am departure from Kosovo Camp. However, this will depend on the conditions, size of the group and a range of other factors.  You should start drinking water (a liter if possible), start eating small amount of food in your tent and prepare to leave. Remember, tonight is not easy, so when you are mentally struggling you need to remember to breath deeply. It normally takes about 5 hours and 30 minutes from Kosovo Camp to the summit.  The last 2 hours to the Carter Rim will test you, so stay focused and believe you can do it as you are almost there. From Stella Point at the carter rim it is one hour to the summit on easier terrain.  Then, you have reached the Roof of Africa!   From the summit back to Kosovo Camp can take 2 hours 30 minutes. You will have a chance to rest for a few hours and pack up your duffel bag before having brunch and moving down lower.  You will head down to Mweka Camp at 3,100m/ 10,170 feet. This will take 4 hours down hill. Finally, the long day will come to an end! The full day is between 12 – 14 hours of trekking and covers 18.1km/ 11.2 miles. The ascent to the summit is 995m/ 3,264 feet and the descent is 2,795m/ 9,170 feet. A long day!!

After an amazing nights sleep in Mweka Camp, we will have a quality breakfast before saying goodbye to our world class Kilimanjaro crew. However, our head guide, who is Kilimanjaro’s Number one Guide, and assistant guides will stay with you all the way until the end. From Mweka Camp to the Mweka Gate takes approximately 4 hours, walking back through the rain forest. Without a doubt, you will want to use your trekking poles to save your knees for the way down from the summit of Kilimanjaro to the gate. Once you get to the exit gate, you will sign out from the National Park and jump in the bus.  The team will drive a few minutes down the road to have lunch.  After lunch, you will get back in the bus and then drive back to our hotel in Arusha. Today is 9.3km/ 5.8 miles. The descent today is 1,393m/ 4,570 feet.