Join us on an amazing adventure to get to the top of Kilimanjaro in just 6 days via the scenic Machame Route in Tanzania. Hike through dramatic landscapes and witness amazing views all along on this incredible trip.
East African Mountains
6 Days
All year
High
Intermediate
Also known as the Whiskey route, it is one of our personal favorites given its high summit success rate and the amazing topography through which it takes you.
Also, the route is ideal for acclimatization as it makes the trekkers “trek high & sleep low” so as to make their bodies acclimatize to high altitude.
We’ll begin the journey by picking you up from the airport and drive you to your hotel in Moshi to relax and unwind. The next day, another drive will take you to Machame gate to begin the trek.
The Machame route begins in the southwest side of Kilimanjaro and leads towards the north, taking us through the beautiful Shira plateau. All along, the route offers mesmerizing views and eventually joins the Shira and Lemosho routes just after crossing the Shira cave camp.
Though the trek can be completed in a minimum of 6 days, it is recommended to take an extra day to relax and acclimatize properly before attempting the summit.
Ascending gradually on snow and scree, we’ll get to Uhuru Peak, and no wonder you’ll feel a sense of awe standing on the roof of Africa. After taking a few pictures, we’ll descend via the Mewka route, ending this one of a kind journey.
You’ll take back innumerable memories home, so send us a message now to reserve your seat. Also, take a look at the Lemosho route here, if looking for other routes to climb Kilimanjaro.
We also offer 7-day and 8-day standard Machame Route programs, you can find the prices detailed below.
Upon arrival, we’ll pick you up from the airport and transfer you to your beautiful Park View Inn Hotel in Moshi.
You’ll spend the day relaxing by the pool.
After breakfast, we’ll drive you to the Machame Village. From here, depending on the road conditions, we will either continue our drive towards the Machame gate or go for a muddy 3 km walk. After registering at the gate, we’ll begin ascending and enter the rain forest almost immediately. There is a strong possibility of rain in the forest, which will transform the trail into a very soggy, muddy and slippery experience. You will have a welcome lunch stop about half way and will reach the Machame camping area in the late afternoon.
Hiking time: 7 hours
Distance: Approximately 18 kilometers
Habitat: Montane forest
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
After breakfast you’ll trek through the moorland and continue up a rocky ridge onto the Shira plateau. By now you will be able to see in an easterly direction, the Western Breach with its stunning glaciers. You are now due west of Kibo and after a short hike, you will reach the Shira campsite at 3 840m. The temperature will drop well below freezing point so be prepared.
Hiking time: 6 hours
Distance: Approximately 9 kilometers
Habitat: Moorland
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
The route now turns east onto a semi-desert and rocky landscape surrounding Lava Tower, where you reach an altitude of 4630m after about a 5 hours walk. After lunch here,we’ll descend for 2 hours by almost 680m to the Barranco camping area. The spot offers amazing views of the Western Breach and Breach Wall.
Hiking time: 7 hours
Distance: Approximately 15 kilometers
Habitat: Semi-desert
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
After spending a night at the Great Barranco Wall (a very imposing sight at first), you’ll head towards the Barranco camp (3950m). The route offers spectacular views of the beautiful Kilimanjaro. We’ll have an early dinner and take rest to prepare ourselves for the summit hike.
Hiking time: 7 hours
Distance: Approximately 13 kilometers
Habitat: Alpine Desert
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Starting just around midnight, you will head in a north-westerly direction and ascend through heavy scree towards Stella Point on the crater rim. This could be the most challenging part of the route. At Stella Point (5685m) you will stop for a short rest and will be rewarded with the most magnificent sunrise you are ever likely to see. Next, we’ll encounter snow all the way on our 2-hour ascent to Uhuru Peak. After relishing our time here, we’ll descend to Mweka.
Hiking time: 8h to reach Uhuru Peak, 7 – 8h to descend to Mweka
Distance: Approximately 7 km ascent – 23 km descent
Habitat: Stone scree and ice-capped summit
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
After a big celebration, you will descend for three hours to get back to Mweka Gate. The National Park requires all hikers to sign their names to receive certificates of completion. Hikers who reached Stella Point (5685m) receive green certificates and hikers who reached Uhuru Peak (5895m) receive gold certificates. Thereafter, you’ll descend to the Mweka village for 1 hour (3 kilometers) and be driven back to Moshi.
Hiking time: 3 hours
Distance: Approximately 15 kilometers
Habitat: Forest
Meals: Breakfast
Tour Operator
Kilisa Tours & Safaris is the Tanzanian local owned company that made up of professionals who are well organized for Mount Kilimanjaro Trekking, Mount Meru trekking and wildlife safaris in Northern circuit. Giving customized and unprecedented services to our customers with the goal that they generally treasure their visit to Africa and Tanzania specifically for being an exemplary tour provider and emerge as the most satisfactory safari experience facilitator.
Languages
English
Man
5
Climbing with guide Guillaume was absolutely a highlight of my 2-week Europe vacation. Originally, we were planning on climbing in the Calanques, but the park was closed due to wind and fire danger. Guillaume chose another amazing location (Pic de Bretagne) based on my climbing abilities and preferences and kindly offered train station pick-up and hotel drop off, which I appreciated very much. The multi-pitch route we did was not only fun but also the right amount of challenge, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The communication from the team (Gauthier) was prompt and clear—highly recommend!
Maxine
5
Luis Silva was a great climbing guide and belayer! He taught me how to do moves that were difficult and encouraged me to try routes that were challenging for me! Because of his encouragement, I managed to complete these routes! I really enjoyed the climbs and completed 8 routes in the Sesimbra/Azoia area. The weather was perfect, no direct sun and cool enough to enjoy the climbs. Explore-Share made booking an outdoor climbing experience in Lisbon extremely easy. Luis, our guide, was fantastic, and the platform’s organization was flawless.
Valeriya
5
You’re simply the best!!! :))) Explore-Share made everything easy and stress-free. Will definitely use again.
Joshua
5
We had Léo as a guide for our day climb in Fonty. We were blessed with a knowledgeable, warm, and instructive guide. Communication with Léo and Ivan was smooth and swift. Explore-Share was excellent in arranging everything for our day climb. The communication was quick, and the platform was easy to use, making our adventure stress-free.
Cami
5
Patrick was a great guide. He took us on an intermediate Via Ferrata at Passo Sella. Renato was quick to respond with any outreach on the Explore-Share platform. The booking process was straightforward, and once Patrick was confirmed, all went well. It was a wonderful experience, and I’d highly recommend the platform.
4.8
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