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Here is our new itinerary for the Machame Route. We'll still be on the mountain for eight days. The rest of the itinerary hasn't changed. I'm really looking forward to this beautiful route.
-Erik
8 days / 7nights on the mountain
Route Description
The Machame (whiskey) Route is the most popular camping route on Kilimanjaro. The Machame Route starts through the rainforest at Machame village on the southwest side of the mountain, and over eight days, rises on to the edge of the Shira Plateau, down into the beautiful Barranco valley, then circumvents the Kibo massif through alpine desert, until reaching Barafu Camp. The trek to the summit is done overnight to the crater rim on the steep scree slopes of the east-southeast facing Mweka Route. The trek winds through some spectacular scenery, which changes quite dramatically every day. The route is physically challenging for most people, especially the summit day, requiring mental and physical toughness due to the high altitude and short amount of time to rest before the overnight summit attempt.
There are no huts on this route; the accommodations are mountain tents. Most Meals will be in the mess tents. Toilet tents are also provided for convenient sanitation.
Day 1-2 - Flying Days
We will fly from our home cities on August 30 to Amsterdam, connecting on a KLM flight into Kilimanjaro International Airport and arriving at 8:20 p.m. on August 31.
Our African guide leader, Nickson Moshi, will meet us in the airport and we will then take a bus to our hotel, the Ngorudoto Mt. Lodge, a beautiful working coffee plantation at the base of Kili.
Day 3 - Rest and Prep Day
We will spend the day in Moshi or Arusha, shopping, eating, and resting before our gear check, team meeting, and team dinner.
Day 4 - Machame Gate to Machame Hut (5,950ft/1,815m. 9,850ft/3,100m)
Departure from Arusha will be around 8 a.m. for the Machame Gate 1.5 hours drive. Upon completion of the entry formality, begin walking through the mist on a 4 x 4 track for about an hour into forest. The track ends, and the trail continues up through dripping verdant forest. Trekkers will likely hear the many exotic birds under the canopies above, and black and white colobus monkeys and sykes monkeys as they hike along the forest. The trek is quite long (12miles/20km), though not very steep, but takes 5 to 7 hours trekking to reach the camp. Machame camp is just above the forest in heather zone. When it is clear, there are views of jagged Shira ridge and summit itself.
Day 5 - Machame Camp to Shira Camp (12,600ft/3,850m)
Wake up early to a steaming cup of tea or coffee served in your tent and then breakfast, begin up the steep track through a savannah of tall grass and trees of giant heather and Erica. Hopefully, the clouds will be clear for a beautiful view of the Western Breach head wall and the glacier atop which marks the Summit; Uhuru Peak. Scramble around large boulders as you enter the moorland zone, marked by the bizarre lobelia and senecio plants and volcanic rock draped with lichen beards, which protect wild alpine flowers at their bases. You reach the Camp after descending a small valley and crossing a brook, then ascending up onto the Shira Ridge, after a total of about 4 to 5 hours of trekking.
Day 6 - Shira Hut Camp to Lava Tower Camp (14,850ft/4,500m)
After breakfast, continue ascending through the dry landscape, crossing a broad valley, climbing a long ridge, and arriving at Lava Tower in late afternoon after 5-7 hours. Upon arrival, there's the option of scrambling to the top of Lava Tower.
Day 7 - Lava Camp to Barranco Camp. (13,000ft/3,950m)
Descend for two hours into the Great Barranco Valley. Barranco Camp is set on a col (flat area) enclosed on three sides with steep valley walls and the Kibo massif itself. Hanging glaciers glint in the sunshine above, amidst the eerie landscape of plants such as giants groundsels (Senecio Kilimanjari), and the uniquely endemic giants Lobelia. Trekking time is two hours.
Day 8 - Barranco to Karanga Camp (13,500ft/4,090m)
The day begins with a scramble up the steep Barranco Wall, then traverses up and down the slopes of the valley which have carved their way into the mountain's southern face. Kibo glacier looms above to your left and jagged peaks of Mawenzi just into the African sky at just under 17,000 feet. We reach the Karanga Valley after 3 -4 hours of trekking.
Day 9 - Karanga to Barafu Camp (15,200ft/4,620m)
We trek 3-4hours and stop in the Karanga Valley for hot lunch and then in the afternoon the trail turns steadily uphill. The temperatures will grow colder and the landscape more sparse as we near Barafu Camp. Barafu camp is set on a small, exposed flat area on a ridge, acting as a high camp from which you make your summit attempt at midnight, tonight eat and drink as much as possible before retiring to your tent for rest and sleep. (We'll actually go about 1,000ft higher than Barafu Camp. This camp doesn't have a name. This will significantly shorten our summit day.)
Day 10 - Barafu Camp to Uhuru Peak (19,340ft./5,895m) and down to Millennium Camp (10,200ft/3,110m)
The steaming hot drink will arrive very early on this momentous day. Midnight wake-up call is the start of a juggernaut (12-17hours of trekking). You begin trekking at 12:30midnight). The temperatures range from just below freezing at midnight, to between 10º F(-12º C) to -10º F (-23º C) near the summit. The winding path of endless switchbacks will take form and shape in the shadows of the Ratzel and Rebman glaciers at early dawn, and behind you the spires of Mawenzi will be silhouetted against the red glow of the sun from beneath the clouds. After about 6 hours of walking, you will come to the edge of the crater, at Stella point, at 19,000 feet (5,790 m), which is the end of the steep track. From here there is a gentle slope upward 1 hour to Uhuru Peak. The strength it takes to ascend this final 340 feet is often monumental. After a short time at the summit, descend the steep scree trail back to Barafu Camp for some rest, then again summon your strength for further descent to Millennium Camp for the night.
Day 11- Millennium Camp to Mweka Gate (6,000ft/1,810m)
After breakfast, descend straight to the Mweka Gate (3-4 hours), where you will have lunch and will be awarded climbing certificates. Then you are transferred to Impala hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 12 - Rest, Organization, and Community Service Day
Sept. 10, we will rest and organize gear as well as visit a school for the blind near Arusha and make a small donation. Some people will choose to fly home that evening, departing around 9:00 p.m. and returning home in the afternoon the day after. Other people will choose to go on a safari or on to Zanzibar.
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