Mountain Trekking 
The "Whiskey" Route
Machame Route
Kilimanjaro's most popular route: rainforest, the Shira Plateau, Lava Tower and the Barranco Wall, with an excellent climb-high, sleep-low profile.
Days6–7
Distance62 km
DifficultyChallenging
SleepingCamping
CrowdsBusy
About the route
More people climb Kilimanjaro by the Machame route than by any other, and for good reason. It crosses every one of the mountain's climate zones, passes its most striking landmarks, and climbs high during the day before dropping to sleep lower, the most effective pattern for acclimatisation.
The trail starts in thick rainforest on the southern slopes and climbs steeply to the moorland of the Shira Plateau. The key day is the third, when you walk up to the Lava Tower at 4,630 m for lunch and descend to Barranco Camp at 3,960 m to sleep. The next morning begins with the Barranco Wall, a scramble most climbers end up enjoying. The summit is reached from Barafu Camp by way of Stella Point, and the descent is by the Mweka trail, so you see a different side of the mountain on the way down.
Good for: fit first-time climbers who want strong acclimatisation and varied scenery and do not mind sharing the trail. We recommend the seven-day version, which adds a night at Karanga Camp.
Highlights
- Climb-high, sleep-low acclimatisation profile
- Lava Tower and the Barranco Wall
- Views across the Shira Plateau to Mount Meru
- Summit via Stella Point at sunrise
- Different trail on the descent
Map
Map of the Machame Route
Press a camp on the map or in the list below to see its altitude.
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Trail lines and camps: © OpenStreetMap contributors. Altitudes from park signposts where available.
Altitude profile
Day by day
The Machame Route in 7 days
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Day1
Machame Gate to Machame Camp
After registering at Machame Gate (1,800 m) you walk up through dense, mossy rainforest on a steady trail. The forest thins into giant heather shortly before Machame Camp.
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Day2
Machame Camp to Shira Cave Camp
A steeper climb up a rocky ridge through heath and moorland brings you onto the Shira Plateau, with the first wide views of Kibo ahead and Mount Meru far to the west.
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Day3
Shira Cave Camp to Lava Tower and Barranco Camp
The acclimatisation day. You climb east through alpine desert to the Lava Tower (4,630 m), a 90-metre plug of volcanic rock, then descend into the Barranco Valley among giant groundsels to sleep at 3,960 m.
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Day4
Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp
The day opens with the Barranco Wall, a 250-metre scramble on good holds that looks harder from below than it is. Above it the trail rolls across ridges and valleys under the glaciers of the southern icefields to Karanga, the last water point before base camp.
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Day5
Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp
A short, steady climb onto the rocky ridge of Barafu, the base camp for the summit. You arrive by lunchtime, eat early, check your kit and sleep for a few hours before the summit attempt.
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Day6
Summit day: Uhuru Peak, then down to Mweka Camp
You leave Barafu around midnight and climb by headtorch up the scree to Stella Point (5,756 m) on the crater rim, reaching it around sunrise. Uhuru Peak (5,895 m) is a gentler hour along the rim, past the glaciers. After photos you descend to Barafu for a rest and a meal, then continue down to Mweka Camp in the heath zone.
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Day7
Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate
A last walk down through the rainforest, often with colobus monkeys in the trees, to Mweka Gate, where you sign out and collect your summit certificate before the drive back to Moshi or Arusha.
Our climbs
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