8 Days Mount Kilimanjaro Climb
8 Days Mount Kilimanjaro Climb
DAY 1: Arrival Pick Up (Kilimanjaro/ Arusha Airport)
Overview
Welcome to Tanzania! On arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport, you will meet by a representative who will escort you by way of road transfer to Arusha.
Sighting Seeing: Kilimanjaro Mountain (view)
Distance: From Kilimanjaro international Airport 45km
Time: 1hour and 30minutes
Accommodation in Arusha
Included in Price: Arusha Tourist Inn Hotel
Budget: Tulia Hotel
Standard: Planet Lodge -
Comfort: African Tulip
Exclusive: Grand Melia
Premium: Arusha Coffee lodge
Machame route Overview
Machame route is also know as “Whiskey Route“, Its tougher compared to Marangu Route but the most scenic.
As for scenery, the Machame route is very spectacular eg Shira Plateau, the Lava Tower, the Barranco Wall…
Machame route has higher success rates 60% make to Summit. Its most popular and most crowded.
The seven day leaves plenty of time to recover, acclimatize and get ready for summit.
The Machame route is more strenuous often steeper, many ups and downs, cross many valleys and ridges, and its camping. Not Hut accommodation.
Pick at 8:00am from hotel to Marangu gate(1,860 m) takes 2hrs. Registrations, meet your guide and porters then pack all equipments. Takes 1hrs to 2hrs.
Start Marangu Route walking through rain forest.
The path is wide a bit steep but the forest is amazing a real fairytale forest, lush and deep and green, albeit misty.
Lunch will be at a clearing near a stream. In 2hrs you will reach Machame Huts. Before the vegetation will change to the forest will open up.
Walking Highlights
• blue monkeys • colobus monkeys • Streams • colorful birdlife • lichens and mosses • variety of flowers
Accommodation Machame Hut camp
Machame Hut camps easily meets your needs in the best possible way. You can find frame mountain huts comprising of bunk bed at this hut or have at a camp with a tent and mattress. At this place, all trekkers gather for the same purpose. You can interact with a lot of similar minded climbers
In the morning you will start walk through the forest. Soon their will be no more trees. In moorland the dominating plant is heather.
You will get good view of Kibo and Mawenzi peaks. The vegetation offers more open views. Through the hills across a few dry creeks.
Lunch stop will be 2hrs to the Shira Camp. (No pressure during walking. It takes as long as it takes!)
Walking Highlights
• Hills • Kibo Peak • Mawenzi peak • colobus monkeys • giant senecios and loblelias • creeks
Accommodation Shira Camp
Shira camp is an open area where you will rest for today and have dinner and overnight at the camp. You will be provide with a tent accommodation.
In the morning you will start climbing up towards the Lava Tower, a 100 m/300 ft volcanic plug. Even the short heather disappears altogether to reveal the rocky ground of the lava ridges.
Lunch break near the Lava Tower you descend to the Barranco Valley. Sheltered by towering cliffs and is much greener.
The Barranco Camp the most spectacular campsite of this route, with fantastic views of Kibo, the Western Breach and the first of the southern glaciers.
This was an important day acclimatization.
Walking Highlights
• Barranco Wall • Lava Tower • alpine desert • ridge • Mawenzi and Kibo peak
Accommodation Barranco Camp
The most spectacular camp in Kilimanjaro because of the great views it has. Accommodation using tents at the camp.
Walking distance: 11 km Time: 8-10 hrs Altitude gain: 680 m
Early in the morning you will tackle the Barranco Wall for 1:30hrs. It is strenuous to climb and very steep.
The wall is exposed and you will use your hands to steady yourself, but you can pretty much walk all the way to the top and have a breathtaking view of kibo peak.
From there it's 2 hrs over volcanic scree to Karanga Valley where you will have lunch, it is a green oasis, albeit a cold, windy one.
After lunch the walk is short to Barafu camp but on steep path increasingly inhospitable landscape on the left will be Southern Glaciers.
Barafu Camp is perched on a ridge in a landscape of barren and bleak.
Walking Highlights
• Hills • Valley • Ridge • Barren and bleak landscape • creeks
Accommodation Karanga Camp
The camp is on the other side of the valley (another climb...) and you can spend the afternoon resting, exploring, or chasing that perfect picture of one of the iridescent, malachite sunbirds that live here.
Wake up at 11.00 and 11.30 pm. Get ready with your gear and have break fast. Around midnight start the hike to the summit you will see strings of little lights for climbers ahead of you.
As steep as the slope is the path itself isn't that bad. Take all the time you need.
There are two landmarks that are resting points only minutes. Then 1:30hrs after leaving the cave rocks appear on the path a bit slippery called Jamaican Rocks. Its another 1:30hrs to reach Uhuru Peak.
Descend for Lunch at barafu camp. You have no choice but to pack up your gear and keep going 3hrs to the Millennium Camp or Mweka Huts.
Walking Highlights
• Uhuru Peak • crater rim • Glaciers • Sunrise At Africa Highest Point • breath Taking Views.
Dinner and overnight at Millenium Camp or Mweka Huts.
After breakfast you set continue descending down. The path is already known so its just getting down to the Mweka gate.
At the gate you'll have to clear more formalities, but eventually you will say good bye to your guides and you climb into the vehicle waiting for you and be carried away to your hotel for hot showers and cold beers.
Accommodation in Arusha
Included in Price: Arusha Tourist Inn Hotel
Budget: Tulia Hotel
Standard: Planet Lodge -
Comfort: African Tulip
Exclusive: Grand Melia
Premium: Arusha Coffee lodge
Kilimanjaro Airport Drop Off
Depending on your flight, use your last morning to fit in a final, epic game drive. You will be picked up from your hotel or lodge by your private driver and taken to Kilimanjaro airport in time for your return journey home.
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All Camping Equipment's
Pickup Kilimanjaro Airport and transfer to the lodge
Transfers Drop Off from the Lodge to Kilimanjaro Airport
Accommodations as per itinerary (Lodges or Camping)
Unlimited Game drives through the National Parks
Luxurious private 4×4 Safari Jeep with pop-up roof and big windows, especially designed for high end safari game drives
English/French/Spanish speaking private guide during the whole safari
Park Fees for all national parks
Ngorongoro Crater Fee
Breakfast, lunch and dinner during your safari (full board)
24/7 service from our local office in Tanzania
Reservation costs
All activities mentioned
Drinking water in our safari jeeps
Bird watching
International flight tickets and visa
Tips
Travel insurance
Items of a personal nature
Visit maasai village
Walking Tour in Ngorongoro Rim
Visit to Olduvai Gorge
Balloon Safari
Horse Ride in private reserve (ride among wildebeest and antelopes 2h duration, can be done during morning or afternoon)
Walking Safari
Bike Ride in mto wa mbu village
Walking Tour in Mto Wa Mbu Village