Machame Route — 6-Day Kilimanjaro Trek

From the Machame gate the path climbs through dense montane rainforest on the southern side of the mountain. This is the wettest flank of Kilimanjaro, so expect mud and keep your waterproofs at the top of the bag. It is five to seven hours of steady climbing, with the canopy closed overhead most of the way, on a slope noticeably steeper than Marangu's. Machame Camp sits at the upper edge of the forest at about 3,000 metres, and this is where the camping starts. Machame is a tented route the whole way, which is part of why people call it the Whiskey route next to Marangu's Coca-Cola. The first night is colder than most people expect, because their bodies have not yet adjusted.

The forest ends quickly. The path then climbs steeply through heather and moorland onto the Shira Plateau, the remains of Kilimanjaro's oldest volcanic cone. It is a shorter day, four to six hours, but a steep one, with rocky sections where you will use your hands. In return you get one of the great views on the mountain. The plateau is broad, open and high, with Kibo directly ahead of you and the whole southern flank falling away behind. Shira Camp sits at about 3,800 metres. The temperature drops sharply once the sun goes down. You are now high enough that a headache at camp is common. Report it. Do not ignore it.

This is the most important day of the route for acclimatisation, and the one that does the most for your summit chances. The path climbs east across the plateau and up to Lava Tower at about 4,600 metres, a tall plug of volcanic rock where you stop for lunch. Then it descends to Barranco Camp at about 3,900 metres. Climbing roughly 800 metres and then giving most of it back is deliberate. Your body adapts to the height it visits, then rests at a height it can recover at. Many people feel rough at Lava Tower and much better by Barranco. That is exactly the pattern the day is designed to produce. Barranco Camp sits under the wall with the glaciers above it. Many people call it the best camp on the mountain.

A long day that starts with the Barranco Wall. The wall is a 250-metre rock face that looks impossible from camp and turns out to be a scramble on a good path with handholds. It takes about an hour and needs no technical skill or equipment. For most people it is the most enjoyable hour on the route, and the most photographed. Beyond it the path crosses the Karanga valley, drops and climbs again, and carries on to Barafu Camp at about 4,600 metres. This is a six-to-eight hour day. It combines the two days that the seven-day version splits. That is why six-day Machame is harder than seven. You arrive, eat early, and sleep from about seven, with the summit push a few hours away.

Summit night. You are woken around eleven and walking by midnight, climbing scree and rock in the dark toward Stella Point on the crater rim at about 5,750 metres. It takes six or seven hours, and it is the hardest sustained thing most people have ever done. Bitter cold, thin air, and a rhythm that comes down to one slow step and one deliberate breath. From Stella Point the rim path rises gently to Uhuru Peak at 5,895 metres, about forty-five minutes more. You usually arrive near sunrise, with the Southern Icefields alongside. Then down. A fast scree descent to Barafu, a rest and some food, and on down to Mweka Hut at about 3,100 metres. Twelve to sixteen hours in total.

The last descent, from Mweka Hut down through the upper heather and back into rainforest, to the Mweka gate at about 1,640 metres. It takes three to four hours. It is steep in places and often slippery, and after the previous day your legs have very little left. Walking back into the forest is a real pleasure. It is warm and humid and loud with birds. You can physically feel the extra oxygen over those hours. Certificates are handed out at the gate, and the drive back to Moshi takes under an hour. The tipping ceremony with the crew usually happens at the last camp or at the gate. Have the cash sorted out beforehand.