Machame Route 7 Days Itinerary Guide, Success Rate and Cost

The Ultimate Machame Route 7 Days Itinerary guide, Success Rate, and Price. Day 1: Machame Gate (1,800m/5,905ft) to Machame Camp (3,000m/9,840ft). Day 2: Machame Camp (3,000m/9,840ft) to Shira Camp (3,840m/12,600ft). Day 3: Shira Camp (3,840m/12,600ft) to Barranco Camp (3,950m/12,960ft). Day 4: Barranco Camp (3,950m/12,960ft) to Karanga Valley (4,200m/13,780ft). Day 5: Karanga Valley (4,200m/13,780ft) to Barafu Camp (4,600m/15,100ft). Day 6: Barafu Camp (4,600m/15,100ft) to Uhuru Peak (5,895m/19,340ft) to Mweka Camp (3,100m/10,170ft). Day 7: Mweka Camp (3,100m/10,170ft) to Mweka Gate (1,500m/4,920ft).

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro – 7 Day Machame Route

Highlights of 7 Days Machame Route

• Day 1: Machame Gate (1,800m/5,905ft) to Machame Camp (3,000m/9,840ft)
• Day 2: Machame Camp (3,000m/9,840ft) to Shira Camp (3,840m/12,600ft)
• Day 3: Shira Camp (3,840m/12,600ft) to Barranco Camp (3,950m/12,960ft)
• Day 4: Barranco Camp (3,950m/12,960ft) to Karanga Valley (4,200m/13,780ft)
• Day 5: Karanga Valley (4,200m/13,780ft) to Barafu Camp (4,600m/15,100ft)
• Day 6: Barafu Camp (4,600m/15,100ft) to Uhuru Peak (5,895m/19,340ft) to Mweka Camp (3,100m/10,170ft)
• Day 7: Mweka Camp (3,100m/10,170ft) to Mweka Gate (1,500m/4,920ft)

7 Days Machame Route Itinerary Cost

7 Days Machame Route Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Machame Gate (1,800m/5,905ft) to Machame Camp (3,000m/9,840ft)

Elevation Gain: 1,200 meters, 3,935 feet

Distance: 9 kilometers

At 9 am, leave Moshi for Machame Gate, where you will meet our porters and cooks that will spend the next seven days trekking with you to Uhuru Peak, the roof of Africa. Once you arrive, you will have a chance to wait at the gate while the staff registers your climb and the porters and guides make final preparations.
Your first day’s destination is Machame Camp. Each day, porters and cooks will walk ahead to set up the camp in time for your arrival. On the first day, hike through the moss-covered trees of Kilimanjaro’s cloud forest. The forest will thin at the end of the hike and vegetation will change to include heathers, tall grasses, and wildflowers. If the weather is clear, view the surrounding area and your ultimate destination, Kibo Peak.

Day 2: Machame Camp (3,000m/9,840ft) to Shira Camp (3,840m/12,600ft)

Elevation Gain: 840 meters, 2,760 feet

Distance: 7 kilometers

Although considered to be the easiest day on the Machame Route, today’s trek includes several uphill sections. Carry plenty of drinking water, as the exposed hike can be hot on a clear day. There are several viewpoints from which you can see the plains and forests below and Kibo and Mawenzi peaks above.

As you gain altitude, notice the change in vegetation. The trees diminish in size, giving way to Kilimanjaro’s famous high altitude plants, Senecio Kilimanjaro and Lobelia Deckenii. After eating lunch, climb the Shira Plateau, created when Kibo’s lava flows filled the Shira crater. Continue to Shira Camp, where you will relax for the rest of the day. Kibo lies to the west and Mount Meru to the east.

Day 3: Shira Camp (3,840m/12,600ft) to Barranco Camp (3,950m/12,960ft)

Total Elevation Gain: 690 meters, 2,264 feet

Distance: 10 kilometers

Although this up and down day ends with an elevation gain of only 110 meters, by early afternoon you will have climbed 690 meters to a height of 4,530 meters before beginning your descent to Barranco Camp. This day is crucial for acclimatization.

After breakfast, hike east on the Shira Plateau before reaching the junction for the Shira and Lemosho Routes. Continue on through the barren landscape before stopping for lunch. Shortly after lunch, reach the highest point of the day before descending quickly to Barranco Camp. Faster hikers can take a detour via Lava Tower, a 300-foot lava formation jutting out of the mountainside.
Barranco Camp, set among stands of Senecio Kilimanjaro, is considered to be the most scenic campsite on the Machame Route.

Day 4: Barranco Camp (3,950m/12,960ft) to Karanga Valley (4,200m/13,780ft)

Elevation Gain: 250 meters, 820 feet

Distance: 7 Kilometers

Leave Barranco Camp after breakfast for Karanga Valley. The day begins with a 1.5-hour scramble up Barranco Wall. This is the hardest part of the day and in some places, you will have to use your hands to pull your body up. After reaching the top make a short descent into the greener Karanga Valley. We generally camp on the ridge above the valley to allow for greater acclimatization.

Day 5: Karanga Valley (4,200m/13,780ft) to Barafu Camp (4,600m/15,100ft)

Elevation Gain: 400 meters, 1,320 feet

Distance: 6 kilometers

After breakfast, begin the hike to Barafu Camp. On the way to Barafu, view several of Kibo’s glaciers as well as the junction that connects the descent route, Mweka, with the Machame trail. During day four, hike by the Heim, Kersten and Decken Glaciers. Although the trail to Barafu passes through alpine desert with little vegetation, Barafu Camp offers stunning views of Kibo and Mawenzi peaks. Try to sleep as soon as you finish dinner as you will awake before midnight for your summit hike.

Day 6: Barafu Camp (4,600m/15,100ft) to Uhuru Peak (5,895m/19,340ft) to Mweka Camp (3,100m/10,170ft)

Elevation Gain: 1,295 meters, 4,240 feet

Elevation Loss: 2,795 meters, 9,170 feet

Distance: 18 kilometers

Around midnight, begin the final ascent to Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa. For the next six hours, hike by the light of your headlamp. The ascent to the crater rim is the most challenging part of the entire trek. The trail is very steep until you reach the crater rim at Stella Point. The hike from Stella Point to Uhuru Peak is a gradual climb and, as far as hikes go, not very difficult. The altitude, however, makes the hike long and tiring.

The crater rim hike takes approximately one hour. Upon reaching Uhuru, take as many photos as you would like, enjoy the scenery and the views and you are allowed to do anything that you would enjoy doing before beginning the descent to Mweka Camp. On the way down from Uhuru, enjoy views of the mountain, crater, clouds, and glaciers.

At Barafu Camp, eat breakfast and take a short break. You still have another three to five hours to go before reaching Mweka Camp.

Day 7: Mweka Camp (3,100m/10,170ft) to Mweka Gate (1,500m/4,920ft)

Elevation Loss: 1,600 meters, 5,250 feet

Distance: 10 kilometers

After breakfast, finish the trek with a descent to Mweka Gate. Your last hike on Kilimanjaro is a beautiful one, passing through Kilimanjaro’s cloud forest. Watch your step during the descent, as the trail can be slippery. Our vehicles will be waiting at the lower station of Mweka Gate to take you back to Moshi.

At Mweka Gate gate you sign your name and details in a register book. This is also where successful climbers receive their summit certificates. Those climbers who reached Stella Point are issued with green certificates and those who reached Uhuru Peak (5895m), receive Golden certificates.

You now drive back to Moshi for a long overdue hot shower, dinner descent bed, and celebrations!!

End of the Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro – 7 Day Machame Route

Included in the Packages;

– Private transport from the hotel to the park s gate (starting point for the climb), and transport back to the hotel after the climb
– All National Park entry fees
– All camping fees
– Rescue fees (Kilimanjaro Park rescue team fees)
– Government taxes
– Evacuation services
– Friendly and competent Trained Mountain Guides, assistant guides, porters, and professional cooks.
– 3 full fresh meals daily. We provide fresh food on the mountain in plentiful and well prepared by skilled professional cooks (we also consider your choice of food that you would prefer -Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian). Menu especially designed for climbers.
– Hot drinks on the mountain and Hot water for washing will be provided every day on the mountain.
– Quality spacious tents, sleeping mats, camping tables, camping chairs, and Mess/Dining Tents.
– Supplementary Portable Oxygen and Complete First Aid Kit (used in case of emergency only)
– Pulse oxy-meter carried by all chief guides
– 3-4 liters of mineral/treated water (per Climber) provided daily during the climb
***Portable toilet available at an additional cost (There are public toilets on the mountain)