Machame Route Trek – 9 Days

Day Two: Machame Hut
Accommodation: Camping
Meal Plan: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

The Adventure begins. You will meet up with guides and some of the porters after breakfast at the hotel. Once cars are packed there is a 30 min drive to the Machame Gate, at close to 1800 metres, there you will complete registration procedures.

Treks start from the gate which is in the edge of the forest. The walk will be about 6 hours today going through the forest and it is a gradual ascent. The campsite is near Machame Hut at around 3000 metres. Walking through the rainforest you need to be prepared with wet weather gear as it often rains in this park of the trek.

You will carry your day pack with wet weather wear, camera, lunch and water for the day. Porters who carry the rest will generally go in front so once you reach camp they have already set up tents and the cooking team is well on their way with food preparation.
Day Three: Shira Hut
Accommodation: Camping
Meal Plan: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
You will head of up to the Shira Plateau after breakfast. You will cross a small valley then continue along a steep ridge, through open moorland up to about 3600 meters. The peak lies straight ahead of you, giving you inspiration on what is, at times, a tough day’s walk
After some four hours the trail takes you left before ending out into a gorge, and from here you gradually ascend to the Shira Plateau, and your camp, Shira Hut, at 3850 metres. Now you really start feeling like you are on a mountain – enjoy.
Day Four: Barranco Hut
Accommodation: Camping
Meal Plan: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

One of the most important days for the success of your trek the main acclimatisation day you walk up to 4250 metres before descending down to Barranco (3950m) where you will spend the night.
The trail continues up the ridge towards Kibo. Here is high altitude desert, with great views of the Western Breach of Kibo.
After around four hours, the trail turns to the right and down into a gorge which is just what Barranco means.
This is tiring day with a lot of ups and downs. Turning south-east towards the lava tower, you reach Barranco Hut and your campsite at 3950 metres.
With the right weather conditions you will experience a great sunset tonight!

Day Five: Karanga Valley
Accommodation: Camping
Meal Plan: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
Today you start by climbing the Barranco Wall (not technical) and then you will follow the Kibo South Circuit. You will have great view stretching across Kio’s southern glaciers if the weather allows.
You will stop for lunch by a river in the Karanga Valley. One of the shorter days of the trek you should be in camp already at lunch time, which is just after the Karanga Valley, set at a ridge top.
This is yet another valuable acclimatisation day since you will be walking only half of the day and you will be ascending and descending ridges and valleys during your trek.

Day Six: Barafu Hut
Accommodation: Camping
Meal Plan: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
Starting at Karanga you head to join the South Circuit and the Mweka route. Your goal of the day is Barafu (Swahili for ice). Once you hit Mweka route you start walking up the ridge for about two hours ending at Barafu Hut at 4600 metres.
You will arrive in camp by Lunch time which will leave you plenty of time to rest before the summit attempt. Make sure you drink and eat enough you will need all energy and strength ahead of the tomorrow which might be one of the toughest days of your life.

Day Seven: Summit – Mweka
Accommodation: Camping
Meal Plan: Breakfast / Lunch
A very tough day ahead! You start walking at around midnight the walk from Barafu to Stella Point is steep and will need all your strength.
At Rebmann Glacier (4870m) you head north between Rebmann and Ratzel Glacier. This will bring you up to the crater rim just west of Stella Point (5669m) (about six hours); here you will join the main trail for the last leg (about an hour). This last 220 altitude meters will be the longest in your life and it feels never-ending but once you stand on the summit Uhuru Peak (5895m) “The Roof of Africa”, it is all worth it.
You will go back down via the Mweka route to Mweka at the edge of the rain forest which is where the last camp of the trek will be set.
The section from Uhuru down to Barafu will take about four hours , then you head down through the various vegetation zones, on a continual downhill, into Mweka (three to four hours) at an altitude of approx 3100 metres. Half down you are going to wish you were walking up hill and not down. Your legs will likely be aching and your toes will make them self known more than ever before in your life.

Day Eight: Machame Village, Moshi
Accommodation: Camping
Meal Plan: Breakfast / Lunch
The walk through the rainforest from Mweka to the park gate is three to four hours. At the gate lunch is served and there are usually beers on sale. Here you say goodbye to the team which by now will be great friends after the adventure you have had together.
Once goodbyes are said vehicles will transfer you back to your hotel in Moshi. Now it is time to enjoy an afternoon of swimming, cold beer, and a long overdue shower! In short just enjoy your achievement.

Day Nine: End of Tour
Itinerary
Whilst we commit to running your tour as per the itinerary above, we are at the mercy of many factors outside of our control and from time to time it may be necessary to amend the itinerary to suit the local conditions. We will always notify you if the changes are essential and we have advance warning, often though any changes are due to weather conditions and we have no control over this, and usually very little warning.

Tour Preparation
Transport: Our mode of transport to starting points of Trek and at end of trek will vary depending on numbers it could either be a 4×4 Land Cruiser, Land rover, Minibus or larger costar bus.

Meals: Meals at hotel pre and after is only Bed and breakfast on the trek it is full board. All meals a prepared by the food team who is following you on the trek from start to finish, the chefs will prepare Breakfast, lunch and dinner that is suitable for the different stages of the trip so that you will the correct things in your body at the right time. You will be surprise along the way what amazing food they will be able to produce out of a small tent at 4500 meters.

Luggage: The luggage for that you carrying on the trek will be carried by a porter, please use a duffel bag which will be the easiest for them to carry in the trek bags. You will have to have a day pack that you will be carrying your personal belongings, water and clothes you are using for the day. You will be able to leave luggage behind at hotel a padlock is a good idea to have for that bag left behind. . We do provide a Packing List that can be used as a guide to help you decide what to bring and what to leave at home.

Visas: Depending on your Nationality you may require a visa to enter Kenya or Tanzania & in most cases this visa can be obtained on arrival at either Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (Nairobi) or Kilimanjaro International Airport (Moshi / Arusha). However, there can often be long queues to buy your visa and we therefore suggest you check the price of pre purchasing your visa in your home country vs. buying it on arrival and preferably buy your visa in advance to save any unnecessary hassle on arrival. If you are holding a valid visa you can proceed straight to the Immigration Officer for your passport to be stamped & avoid the visa queue.
Vaccinations: It is essential that you visit a Medical Practitioner at least 6 weeks prior to travel to discuss any vaccinations that you may require for your visit to Kenya or Tanzania. Please also be aware that both Kenya and Tanzania are malarial areas and we strongly suggest you discuss malaria prophylactic options with your Medical Practitioner to ensure you use the appropriate medication.

Insurance: It is a booking condition of Top Cream Tours & Safaris that you have full travel insurance valid for the duration of your tour to cover you for medical emergency and repatriation to your home country. It is also important that you leave a copy of your insurance with the person nominated as your emergency contact..

Personal Spending & Credit Cards: On the trek you only need money for tips and the odd beer on the way down see below for tipping. Before and after climb you will require extra money for your own personal spending on the tour for Activities and Excursions, snacks, drinks, souvenirs, tips and items of a personal nature. We suggest as a guideline you budget USD$20 – USD$30 per day for incidental expenditures whilst on Safari. ATM machines are readily available in both Arusha and Nairobi and it is possible to draw local currency for these incidental expenses on arrival.

If you are bringing USD$ cash with you please be aware that all notes need to be issued after 2006 as most places in East Africa will not accept notes dated pre 2006.

If you are purchasing visas on arrival we suggest you bring USD$ cash to cover these expenses

Tipping: This is always a matter for your own individual discretion but as in many areas where tourism is an important contributor to the economy, it has become customary to give a small gratuity to local staff, including your guides, porters, cooks, waiters at the end of a trek if services rendered have been to your satisfaction. As a guideline only we suggest USD$20 per person per day if you are happy with the services provided by your Guide. Tips are always paid end of trek at the gate. Tips are divided according between the of staff group. We are a member of the Kilimanjaro porters association which is a body that ensures porters and Mt Staff get good salaries and get a fair division of tips etc on Kilimanjaro.

In case of Emergency: We suggest for your own piece of mind, and that of your friends and family, that you leave the following emergency contact information at home: