Mount Kilimanjaro trekking, the Machame Route

Program and information about the Mount Kilimanjaro trekking tour

Day 1
Kilimanjaro Airport – Moshi
Arrival at the Kilimanjaro Airport, clearance of all customs paperwork, meeting with the local representative of our local agency. Transfer to a hotel in Moshi, dinner and overnight stay.

Day 2
Moshi – Machame Gate – Machame Camp
(1490 – 2980 meters, 7 hour, 18 km.)
After breakfast at the hotel, we drive to the park entrance. After the entry paperwork and organizing for the porters handling our luggage, the trekking and climbing of Kilimajaro starts along a trail amid plantations and a tropical forest until we reach the Machame Camp.

Day 3
Machame Camp – Shira Camp
(2980 - 3840 meters, 6 hours, 9 km.)
We trek along an easy trail surrounded by a forest of large heather plants, climbing to a less sparse area reaching the Shira flat.

Day 4
Shira Camp – Lava Tower – Barranco Camp
(3480 – 4630 – 3950 meters, 7 hours, 15 km.)
The day is devoted to altitude acclimatization. The trail develops in a semi-desert rocky surrounding, until we reach the Lava Tower at an altitude of 4000 meters. Then we gently descend along the Barranco Valley down to base camp.

Day 5
Barranco Camp – Karanga Camp
(3950 - 4200 meters, 4 hours, 10 km.)
We reach an altitude of 4200 meters on easy small rocks, then we descend and continue going up and down to the Karanga Valley.

Day 6
KARANGA Camp – Barafu Camp
(4200 – 4600 meters, 4 hours, 7 km.)
We slowly climb up to the alpine desert to 4540 meters and the Barafu Camp.

Day 7
Barafu Camp – Uhuru Peak – Mweka Camp
(4600 – 5895 – 3100 meters)
It’s the day we reach the top of the Kilimanjaro. We leave in the middle of the night on a steep trail reaching 5680 meters and the Stella Point so we can admire the sunrise. Then we continue with the final climb to Uhuru Peak, at 5895 meters, the highest point on Kilimanjaro and on the continent. We descend along a more direct route: on the Mweka Route we can admire the magnificent view of the glaciers and the plain below.

Day 8
Mweka Camp – Mweka Gate – Moshi
(3100 – 2000 meters, 15 km.)
The trekking continues until we reach the Mweka Gate. Then we drive back to the hotel for dinner and the overnight stay.

Day 9
Moshi – Kilimanjaro Airport
We have breakfast at the hotel, we transfer to the airport, and we return to Italy.

Remarks
During the trekking to Mount Kilimanjaro, local porters carry our luggage, as well as tents, sleeping bags, mats, food and cooking equipment. In our backpacks, we carry a water bottle, comfort food, windbreaker, cap and an extra T-shirt. Before leaving for each trekking stage, every morning we eat a hearty breakfast in our tent, while a good and abundant snack is planned during the trekking. An excellent gourmet meal with warm dishes is in store for the evening.

Paperwork
Italian citizens must have a passport valid for six months after their entry into the country and an entry visa, to be requested before departure; or, for groups, the visa can be requested upon arrival in the country with a 50 USD payment.

To enter Tanzania there are no mandatory vaccinations. We suggest hepatitis and typhoid shots and prophylaxis for malaria. For travelers who are older than one year, yellow fever vaccination is mandatory when from a country where the risk of yellow fever spread is high (Kenya, Ethiopia, etc.), even if they are in transit for a period longer than 12 hours and in all cases if they leave the airport.