Kilimanjaro - Machame Route
Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world and Africa's highest peak, rises from the plains of the Great Rift Valley just three degrees south of the equator. Of the various routes to its permanently snow-capped summit, Machame is widely thought to be the most beautiful.
This route involves camping and some scrambling, so tends to attract more adventurous climbers, but is still not a technical climb. The climb starts gradually through rainforest, then skirts the main summit, ensuring that you get many different views of the summit and its neighbouring peaks.
You make the final taxing ascent to Uhuru Peak (5895m) in the early morning to arrive for sunrise, before heading back down to celebrate your conquest!
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Details |
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Price Includes |
(HK-5072-P) |
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Flights |
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Accomodation |
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8 Breakfast, 6 Lunches, 7 Dinner |
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Price Excludes |
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Local Payment 580 USD
LOCAL COSTS: 8 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 7 evening meals are included (14 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 12 evening meals are included if
taking the Zanzibar Beach extension). You must pay for all other meals yourself (you can eat quite well for £15 per day). Approximate costs are given for guidance only, and may vary widely according to location and type of establishment.
Optional Excursions. |
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Suitability / Level |
Strenous |
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Itinerary
& Highlights |
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DAY 1 - DEPART LONDON
DAY 2 - ARUSHA. After your flight, you transfer (1 hour) to Arusha (1,380m) and check into your lodge. Tanzania's major northern commercial centre stands on a fertile plain beside Mount Meru, Kilimanjaro's westerly neighbour, some 50km from Kilimanjaro International airport. This evening you'll have a comprehensive briefing to prepare you for your trek. Lodge - 1 night (D)
DAY 3 - MACHAME HUT (3,000m). This morning you drive across the plain towards Mount Kilimanjaro, which dominates the skyline. If the skies are clear, you may get views of the snowcapped peak. Turning off the highway, you drive up through Machame village (1,200m) on the way to Machame Gate (1,830m), the entrance to Mount Kilimanjaro National Park. At the end of the track you register for the climb and meet your team of Chagga guides and porters. The Chagga people live from cultivating the fertile volcanic soil on the lower slopes of the mountain. As you set off on the trail you pass through the shambas where they grow coffee and bananas. It's warm at this altitude and patches of dense rainforest teem with tropical birds and varieties of monkey; the indigenous flora includes numerous mosses, lichens and flowers, as well as delicate orchids. Depending on the group, it's roughly 6 hrs walk (18km) - to your first camp at Machame Hut (3,000m), just where you emerge from the lush tropical forest onto heather moorland. Camping -1 night (BLD)
DAY 4 - SHIRA CAVE (3,940m). Your second day on the mountain starts as you cross the valley that lies in your path, and the stream that runs through it, to continue steeply upward through giant heather plants and along a ridge. Then the route turns west, dropping abruptly into a gorge created by a river, before climbing out on the other side on a more easy gradient to reach the bleak moorland of Shira Plateau with odd clusters of giant groundsels and lobelia. As you cross the plateau you start to get impressive views of Kibo Summit and the Western Breach, before eventually joining the Shira Route at Shira Cave - your overnight campsite. Approx. 5 hrs walking (9km). Camping -1 night (BLD)
DAY 5 - BARRANCO HUT (3,950m). Today you head due east towards Kibo Summit, passing the turn-off of the trail which leads around the northern side of the summit; then - climbing all the while - you continue towards the Lava Tower (4,600m). From here you descend to Barranco Hut, your overnight camp which lies in a sheltered area below the spectacular cliffs of the Breach wall. The Breach wall, the dome of Uhuru and the edge of the Heim Glacier dominate the head of the valley. Approx. 6 hrs walking. Camping 1 night (BLD)
DAY 6 - BARAFU HUT (4,600m). This morning you head eastward along the Southern Circuit. After a two hundred-metre scramble to the top of the Great Barranco, you traverse scree fields and a series of ridges to the Karanga Valley (4,200m), beneath the icy snouts of Heim, Kersten and Decken Glaciers. After climbing out of the valley, you join the Mweka Route on a trail which ascends a steep ridge to Barafu (which means "ice" in Swahili) Hut, standing amidst a desert of bleak tundra. Tonight you must ensure that you don't pack anything you don't need in your daypacks, as you'll need all your reserves of energy tomorrow! You get an early night in order to leave soon after midnight so you can reach the summit before it clouds over. Approx. 6 hrs walking. Camping - 1 night (BLD)
DAY 7 - SUMMIT AND MWEKA CAMP (3,100m). The day of truth! The guides wake you and you start out in darkness, by the light of your head torch, in the extreme cold. The Mweka Route leads steeply upward over a long scree slope between Rebmann and Ratzel Glaciers. This is the hardest part; it can be covered with snow, so trekking poles are useful for balance. Eventually - after some 5-6 hours walk - you reach the rim of Kibo Crater, close to Stella Point (5,732m). From here it?s another hour's walk west along the crater rim past Hans Meyer's Point - named after the German geologist who made the first successful ascent in 1889 - to reach Uhuru (meaning "Freedom") Peak (5,895m). If the summit is clear, there are fine views of the sun rising over Mawenzi?s icefields and jagged peaks to the east, and of Mount Meru to the west. Triumphant, you then head back to Barafu Hut, where you rest from your exertions for a while. After lunch you continue down to your final camp at Mweka Hut, in the giant heather, close to the forest?s edge. Tonight you enjoy a well-earned rest and your last dinner on the mountain. Approx. 11-12 hrs (6-7 hrs ascent, plus 5 hrs descent). Camping - 1 night (BLD)
DAY 8 - ARUSHA. The pace quickens as the Mweka Route descends across alpine meadow and through rainforest and shamba to Mweka Gate (approx. 4-5 hrs walking). After bidding farewell to your guides and porters you board the vehicle for the drive back to Arusha. On arrival you can take a hot shower, and relaxwith a celebratory drink! Lodge - 2 nights (BLD)
DAY 9 - ARUSHA. After Kilimanjaro, Arusha feels like a lively metropolis. The day is free to relax, shop, or
explore. It's worth a look at the covered market, or the stalls and shops around the clock tower. It's usual practice to barter, you'll be expected to do so. Alternatively, you could take an optional excursion to Arusha National Park, some 25km away on the slopes of Mount Meru. Here the fertile coffee plantations changes to dense forest, but the park includes several different habitats - from the volcanic Ngurdoto Crater to Momella Lakes, home to a colony of flamingos and many waterfowl. (B)
DAY 10 - FLY TO LONDON. Transfer to airport and fly to London. (B)
(BLD = Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner). |
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Accommodation
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Transport & Accommodation
Transport & Accommodation Minibus or 4WD vehicle, on foot. Lodge (3nts), camping (5nts). 8 breakfasts, 6 lunches & 7 dinners included. Flights (Schedules & airlines can change.) Indirect flights with Ethiopian Airlines from London Heathrow. Depart UK 21.50, Return UK 20.45. UK domestic add-on available. |
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Included
