7-day Kilimanjaro Hiking Via Machame Route
The 7 Days Machame route, also known as the “Whiskey” Before taking 7 Days Machame Route Trekking, we always recommend you have at least 1 day in town before starting your trek. This gives you time to rest, relax and prepare. On this day we make sure you meet your guide(s) so that they are able to check all your gear, we can rent anything else that you require and you have the opportunity to ask them any questions you may have on 7 Days Machame Route.
If you are not pushed for time, we highly recommend you to take this route. The Machame route itself is quite undulating giving you a good variety of altitudes each day. With 7 days Machame Route itinerary you can take things a notch slower, giving you more time to relax and enjoy the scenery and of course a better chance of reaching the summit. If you don’t have previous experience of trekking at altitude then this is the itinerary for you.
Pick up from your accommodation at 8am and drive to the Machame Gate of Kilimanjaro National Park (approximately 45 min drive from Moshi town). your guide will show you a variety of fauna and flora including a high chance of seeing the Black and White colobus monkey. You will reach the camp between 5pm, where you will be welcomed with hot water for washing and a nice cup of tea! If you have time and energy there is the option to do a short hike, which offers you extra acclimatization.
This day’s hiking time is much shorter as it is a much steeper route. Following breakfast at 7:30am you will start your heading out of the forest and heading into the moorland area of the national park. From here you can have a great view of your summit so far and even Mt Meru on a clear day. After a short break for lunch, you will start to ascend the undulating rocky ridge of the Shira plateau. Once reaching camp you will again be welcomed by your team of porters and chefs with hot water.
Following breakfast, you will leave camp to start your ascent to the Lava Tower Rock. We won’t lie, this will be quite a tough hike and may be the first time you experience altitude sickness due to the higher elevation. It gives you a good opportunity to adjust to the climate at this altitude and the great thing is that, following lunch at the big rock, you get to descend down to Barranco Camp where you will have dinner and overnight.
A shorter day, giving you a good chance to adjust but still a little challenge just when you leave the camp as you climb up what has been nicknamed the ‘breakfast rock’. It’s all worth it though as at the top of this rock you can have a great view to Kibo peak and its magnificent glaciers, whilst at the same time in the other direction you’ll be able to see Mt Meru. This day also includes a lot of ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ until you reach the valley which marks the last point.
During your trekking this day you will find the trail to get steadily steeper all the way to Barafu camp. On the way you will pass over the volcanic rocks from previous explosions of this volcano and you will be able to view the entire landscape of the mountain. You will arrive at Barafu camp around 1pm for a hot lunch and then rest up and get some sleep-in preparation for your summit night! Although during the day time it can be a little hot at this time.
From the summit you will descend back down to Barafu Camp where you will be welcomed by the rest of the crew and enjoy a short break and breakfast. Here you can have a nap for a couple of hours if you wish and depending on the time you arrive. From Barafu Camp you will make your way down to Mweka Camp, passing from desert to moorland terrain. You will reach Mweka Camp at approximately 5pm where you will dinner and overnight.
Total distance: 8.5km Hiking time: 3-4 hours.
Passing through the montane forest, similar to your first day trekking, you will make your way down to Mweka Gate where you will sign out and exit Kilimanjaro National Park. From here you will be picked-up by our company transport and transferred back to our office in town where you will be presented with your certificate before returning to your hotel for a well-deserved rest!
