Machame Route Kilimanjaro with an Extra Acclimatization Day

When you land at Kilimanjaro Airport, our transfer driver will greet you and take you to Meru View Lodge in Usa River, near Arusha. The rest of the day is yours to unwind or look around the town of Arusha. Late in the afternoon, a member of our Kilimanjaro team will brief you on the trek ahead. Dinner and the night are at Meru View Lodge.

Following breakfast, you leave your lodge and drive to the Kilimanjaro National Park gate, where the trek begins. The route leads through lush rainforest with ancient trees, primeval ferns and distinctive plants such as Impatiens Kilimanjaro, and you may spot black and white colobus monkeys. When you get to the campsite, you can relax, stretch and enjoy a hearty meal before turning in to your tent for the night.

This section starts fairly early, not because it is long but so that you reach Shira Camp by mid-afternoon. Climbing, you will watch lush rainforest give way to dry moor and heathland. From the campsite, the view across the mountain range is breathtaking, with Kibo's glaciers shimmering in the evening sun. A well-prepared meal awaits, and then you turn in to your tent.

Acclimatization is the theme of today. You climb about 800 meters, but the camp where you sleep is barely higher than the one the night before. From Shira Plateau you head to Lava Tower and pause there for a rest, then continue across the Barranco Valley to Barranco Camp. The trek takes roughly 6 to 7 hours through alpine desert and the Barranco Valley, where lobelia plants and giant senecios grow. A well-earned dinner and rest await you at Barranco Camp.

The Barranco Wall is the challenge today, and your guide will support you at every step. The route has many ups and downs, which helps further with acclimatization. It follows the mountain ridge, with scenic views across the contrasting desert and vegetation. After a trek of 3 to 4 hours you arrive at Karanga Camp. Dinner and the night are at Karanga Camp.

You wake as sunlight touches the Kibo summit. After a hearty breakfast, you head off toward Barafu Camp, today's destination. Most of the way crosses dry, desert-like ground, with Kibo on your left. About 3 to 4 hours later you arrive at Barafu Camp. An early dinner follows, since the high point of the trip, the final ascent, is only hours away.

Near midnight your guide wakes you with tea and biscuits so you can prepare for the final ascent. Take time to record the amazing views and your accomplishment on camera. After that, you descend to Barafu Camp, where your team has snacks and refreshments ready. Then you walk on to Mweka Camp, where you spend your last night on Africa's highest mountain.

Following a hearty breakfast, your mountain crew holds a traditional farewell ceremony before you begin the last descent. The trail runs through the rainforest, giving you one more chance to see colobus monkeys. The trek ends at Mweka Gate, from where you are driven back to Meru View Lodge to relax and spend the evening by the pool. Overnight and dinner at Meru View Lodge.

Following breakfast you are driven to Kilimanjaro Airport, or, if you prefer, you can lengthen your trip with a safari or a beach holiday in Zanzibar.