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Hike and explore Kilimanjaro’s palette of climates with this nine-day tour that ends with an ascent to the Uhuru Peak—the highest peak in Africa! Take on the Machame Route and get going through diverse landscapes every single day. Recharge your batteries in quality hotels and tents by night and eat freshly prepared food every day. Your experienced guides will make sure you have the best experience possible climbing Kilimanjaro!
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Your expert guide will pick you up from the Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania. You’ll then be taken to your hotel in Moshi city, the second-largest tourism hub of Tanzania and the capital of Kilimanjaro region. Your guide will brief you on what to expect on this tour and make sure you’re prepared.
Accommodation: Panama Garden Resort
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Only an hour’s drive from Moshi separates you from beginning your 9-day adventure. After completing some final park formalities, your trip will start at Machame Gate. The first section of the trail involves jungle bashing through Afromontane forests. The path is less worn and it can often be wet and muddy. Your trekking for the day ends at Machame Camp at 10,170 ft (3,100 m), which sits near the border of the rainforest zone and the low alpine zone. Spend the night at the camp.
Accommodation: Machame Camp
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Hiking: 4-6 hours, 6 miles/ 9 km
Altitude gain: 3,870 ft/ 1,210 m
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Your route continues on up through the forest until you reach the steep ascent to the Shira Plateau. Stretching out over 8 miles (13 km), the Shira Plateau is actually a caldera—what you’re seeing today are remains of a volcano boasting deep valleys and weather-beaten lava flows. Looking back, you’ll be able to see Mt Meru, Tanzania’s second highest mountain and a dormant volcano rising high above Arusha town. Your camping spot for the day are the Shira Caves.
Accommodation: Shira Caves
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Hiking: 4-6 hours, 3 miles/ 5 km
Altitude gain: 2,430 ft/ 740 m
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A walk-high-sleep-low day ahead of you! Hiking on high moorland, the landscape changes the entire character of the trek. You’ll traverse the southwest side of Kilimanjaro, passing underneath the monumental Lava Tower in the desert portion of the mountain and finally reach the Western Breach. You’ll spend your day at high altitudes of 15,092 ft (4600 m), but for your night’s sleep descend to the Barranco Camp at 12,795 ft (3,900 m). While it’s a long day, it’s also an opportunity to abide by the mountaineering code in order to aid your body in altitude acclimatization. Spend your night at the Barranco campsite.
Accommodation: Barranco Camp
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Hiking: 6-7 hours, 6 miles/ 10 km
Altitude gain: 197 ft/ 60 m
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Kick of the day by descending into the start of the Great Barranco, a huge ravine. Exit steeply, up what has been termed the Breakfast Wall, which divides you from the southeastern slopes of Kibo. It’s a climb over rocks, but not overly technical. Passing underneath the Heim and Kersten glaciers, head towards the Karanga Valley at 13,123 ft (4000 m) for the night.
Accommodation: Karanga Valley
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Hiking: 4-5 hours, 3 miles/ 5 km
Altitude gain: 328 ft/ 100 m
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The day is characterized by a short hike on terrain formed by scree. Hike arid land towards Barafu Camp at 15,092 ft (4,600 m) where you’ll have the entire afternoon to rest before ascending towards the summit. The terrain here is tough—strong winds often rip over this campsite in the desolate alpine desert. However, the far-reaching views of the Mawenzi peak make the struggle worth it. Take your time to rest and save your energy for tomorrow. Spend the night at Barafu Camp.
Accommodation: Barafu Camp
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Hiking: 2-4 hours, 2.5 miles/ 4 km
Altitude gain: 1,969 ft/ 600 m
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Here’s where you get to show what you’re made of! In order to stay away from the heat of the sun as much as possible, depart around midnight and hike steeply upwards to the summit glaciers. You’ll be climbing scree for 5-6 hours, but also gain incredible height over a short distance. Arrive to the crater rim at Stella Point as the first rays of sunshine emerge. You’ll be surrounded by ice cliffs within the crater and views of the Mawenzi peak. All that’s left to do is to conquer an hour’s walk to your goal—the summit of Uhuru, meaning freedom, at 19,341 ft (5,895 m). Having climbed the celebratory 4,252 ft (1,296 m), take some photos and begin your descent. Continue going down scree slopes back to Barafu Camp for breakfast before finally heading down to Millennium Camp. Spend the night there for a well-deserved rest and rejoice at your victorious climb!
Accommodation: Millennium Camp
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Hiking: 6-8 hours, 7.5 miles/ 12 km
Altitude Loss: 948 ft/ 289 m
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A gentle trek takes you down through the rainforest to the Mweka Gate where park formalities will be completed. You’ll receive your certificate of ascent, courtesy of the Kilimanjaro National Park Authority. Drive back to Moshi for a well-deserved shower and a cold beer!
Accommodation: Panama Garden Resort
Meals: Breakfast and lunch
Hiking: 4-5 hours, 6 miles/ 10 km
Altitude loss: 4,462 ft/ 1360 m
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Your guides will transfer you to Kilimanjaro International Airport. If you’re planning on staying in Tanzania for a bit longer, you can extend your tour to wildlife safari in the northern circuit to Serengeti and Ngorongoro of Zanzibar, but at an additional cost.
Meals: Breakfast
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What you get on this adventure:
- Experienced, local hiking guides with extensive knowledge of the area
- Adequate number of guides, cooks and porters (carrying maximum of 32 lbs/ 15 kg per person)
- 7 days of trekking and climbing + 2 days for arrival and departure
- Transfer to and from the route gates
- Transfer from and to Kilimanjaro airport
- Tents and camping gear
- 2 nights in a hotel in Moshi
- 3 full fresh meals daily (menu specially designed for climbers — choice between vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals)
- Drinking water and hot water provided daily
- Sleeping mattress pads, dining tents, sleeping tents
- Transportation to the trailhead and back
- Park fees and permits
- Portable toilets
- Emergency evacuation (if the climber has insurance)
- Safety devices
- All park fees, camping fees, rescue and team fees
- Tanzania’s 18% VAT on tourism activities and park fees
What’s not included:
- Transportation to Kilimanjaro airport
- Accommodations prior to and after the trip
- Personal hiking/ trekking gear (can be rented in Tanzania)
- Sleeping bag (can be rented for $50 per trip)
- Snacks, personal medicine, water purifying tablets
- Extra porter for excess gear (can be rented for $30 per day)
- Single supplement for a single tent and a single room ($250 per trip)
- Airport transfer for those who don’t come with the group
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The Machame route is considered a difficult one—compared to some other Kilimanjaro routes, the days are longer and the walks are steeper. It is a demanding trip better suited for people with at least some hiking experience. Still, it does not require technical skills or mountaineering equipment such as ice axes, crampons, harnesses, and ropes. Therefore, even if you’re a first-time trekker with excellent fitness and a desire to push yourself in a mountain environment, this 9-day climbing tour in Kilimanjaro might be for you.
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All climbing and camping equipment will be provided by your guiding service. Here’s what you’ll need to bring:
- Day pack large enough to carry all the items listed (around a 35-45L bag)
- A duffel bag (maximum weight of 32 lbs/ 15 kg)
- Hiking poles — optional
- Water bottle or hydration bladder (2L capacity)
- Warm hat and a buff or scarf
- Sun hat
- Warm gloves or mitts and thin liner gloves are also useful
- Waterproof jacket and trousers
- Waterproof gaiters
- Warm jacket – fleece or down jacket, potentially ski jacket
- Waterproof jacket over the top
- Fleece tops or hiking shirts/sweatshirts
- Base layers or T-shirts
- Pair of trekking trousers and shorts
- Leggings or thermal bottoms or running tights
- Several sets of underwear – cotton best avoided
- Several pairs of good quality trekking socks
- Waterproof trekking boots
- Trainers or flip flops/sandals
- Toiletries (sunscreen, hand sanitizer, bug spray, toilet paper, etc.)
- Favorite snack bars
- Headtorch
- Powerpack for charging phones etc
- Wash kit
- Flask for hot drinks — optional, useful on summit night
- Earplugs — optional
- Sunglasses
- Camera — optional (but recommended)
- Sleeping bag (can be rented for $50 per trip)
- Pillow — optional
- Sleeping bag thermal liner — optional
Dress comfortably and for the weather in clothes you can move in. We suggest bringing clothing appropriate for the season. Layers are best and don’t wear jeans.
Keep in mind that it can get very cold in some of the camps due to strong winds.
A porter can carry a max of 32 lbs/ 15 kg per person. There will be multiple porters depending on the amount of baggage and in case your baggage weighs more, you can hire another porter for an additional fee. -
Group sizes and prices:
- For this group adventure, the usual client-to-guide ratio is 12:1. Group trips are guaranteed to depart, regardless of the number of climbers.
- All prices are per person and don’t change as the group size grows.
- If you wish to stay in a single room/ single tent, the supplement is $250 for the whole trip.
Climbing days on the Machame route can be arranged for bigger groups. Contact us prior to booking.
Min. age requirements:
- If you are older than 18, you’re good to go.
- Minors younger than 18 may be permitted to climb on a case-by-case basis, but must be in the presence of a parent or legal guardian.
If your group has climbers under the age of 18, contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.
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To get to your Climbing Kilimanjaro Tour, most people fly into Kilimanjaro International Airport. You and the rest of the group will be picked up by the guides at an arranged time. If you’re not joining the group at that time, you’ll need to get a taxi ride, rent a car or take a shuttle to Moshi.
You’ll meet your guide at the Panama Garden Resort in Moshi.
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We highly recommend that you cover all your bases with insurance. To make your booking and traveling experience as carefree as possible, you’ll be offered to simply insure your trip with Redpoint at checkout.
Redpoint—the official 57hours insurance partner—tailors protection packages for adventure travel, offering a comprehensive travel program, even in remote locations! Trip cancellation, natural disasters, pandemic coverage, medical evacuation, primary medical expenses—regardless of the travel interruption that may happen, Redpoint will have you covered.
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