7-Day The Whiskey Route-Machame Trek

• A transfer from the airport can be arranged for an extra cost.
• Accommodation before the tour starts can be arranged for an extra cost.

Arrival

Arrive on own (or by private transfer, at a supplement) at the Outpost Lodge. Dinner is served at the lodge after a comprehensive climb briefing. Our head guide will meet you here for briefing, he will also provide all the extras required for the climb if previously ordered. Rest for overnight.

Main Destination:

Arusha (City)

Accommodation:

Outpost Lodge

• Budget lodge located in Arusha (City)

Meals & Drinks:

• Dinner (Breakfast & lunch not included)
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Arusha to Machame Gate to Machame Camp

Departure from Arusha will be at around 8am for the Machame Gate, about 1.5 hours drive. Upon completion of entry formalities, begin walking through the mist on a 4 x 4 track for about an hour into the forest. The track ends, and the trail continues up through the dripping, verdant forest. Trekkers will likely hear the many exotic birds in the canopy above, and many even see black & white colobus monkeys and sykes monkeys as they hike along the forest floor. The trek is quite long (12 miles / 20 km), though not very steep, and it takes from 5 to 7 hours trekking to reach the first camp. Machame Camp is just above the forest zone, in the heather zone. When it is clear, there are views of jagged Shira ridge and the summit itself.

Main Destination:

Machame Gate (Mt Kilimanjaro)

Accommodation:

Budget camping

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Machame Camp to Shira Camp

Wake early to a steaming cup of tea of coffee served in your tent, and then after breakfast, begin up the steep track through a savannah of tall grasses, and trees of giant Heather and Erica. The clouds should clear for a beautiful view of the Western Breach and the glaciers atop which mark the summit; Uhuru Peak. Scramble around large boulders as you enter the moorland zone, marked by the bizarre lobelia and senecio plants, and volcanic rocks draped with lichen beards which protect wild alpine flowers growing at their bases. You’ll reach camp after descending a small valley and crossing a brook, then ascending up onto the Shira Ridge, after a total of about 4 to 5 hours of trekking.

Main Destination:

Mount Kilimanjaro

Accommodation:

Budget camping

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Shira Camp to Barancco Camp

Proceed steadily upward over long ridgelines of high desert about 4 hours, and break for lunch at about 14,500 feet (4,420 mt.). After lunch, continue to Lava Tower, a 300 foot-tall volcanic plug which marks an exposed pass at 15,000 feet (4,600 m). In the afternoon, descend the steep track into the Great Barranco Valley. Barranco Camp is set on a col (flat area) enclosed on three sides with steep valley walls and the Kibo massif itself. Hanging glaciers glint in the sunshine above, amidst the eerie landscape of plants such as the giant groundsels (Senecio Kilimanjari), and the uniquely endemic Giant Lobelia. Trekking time is from 6 to 7 hours.

Main Destination:

Mount Kilimanjaro

Accommodation:

Budget camping

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Barancco to Barafuu

The day begins with a scramble up the steep ‘Barranco Wall’, then we trek 3-4 hours and stop in the Karanga Valley for a hot lunch. In the afternoon the trail turns steadily uphill. The temperature will grow colder and the landscape more sparse as we near Barafu Camp. Barafu Camp is set on a small, exposed flat area on a ridge, acting a base camp from which you will make your summit attempt at midnight tonight. Eat and drink as much as possible before retiring to your tent for rest and sleep.

Main Destination:

Mount Kilimanjaro

Accommodation:

Budget camping

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Barranco to Barafuu to Mweka

The steaming hot drink will arrive very early on this momentous day. A midnight wake-up call is the start of a juggernaut (12- 17 hours of trekking). You begin trekking at 12:30 to 1am. The temperatures range from just below freezing at midnight, to between 10 deg. F (-12 deg. C) to –10 F. (-23 deg. C) just before dawn at the summit. The winding path of endless switchbacks will take form and shape in the shadows of the Ratzel and Rebmann glaciers at early dawn, and behind you the spires of Mawenzi will be silhouetted against the red glow of the sun from beneath the clouds. After about 6 hours of walking, you will come to the edge of the crater, at Stella Point, at 19,000 feet (5,790 mt.), which is the end of the steep track. From here, there is a gentle slope upward about 1 hour to Uhuru Peak. After a short time at the summit, descend the steep scree trail back to Barafu Camp for some rest, then again summon your strength for further descent to Mweka Camp for the night.

Main Destination:

Uhuru Peak (Mt Kilimanjaro)

Accommodation:

Budget camping

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Mweka Gate to Moshi

Descend straight to the gate (2-3 hours), where you’ll have lunch and will be awarded climbing certificates. Private transfer back to Moshi town, and onward to Arusha for overnight, Dinner will be served here. Rest with possible connection for safari next day to Serengeti, Ngorongoro Lake Manyara, Tarangire National Parks or fly to the spice Island of Zanzibar.

Main Destination:

Moshi (Town)

Accommodation:

No accommodation (End of tour)

Meals & Drinks:

• Breakfast & dinner (Lunch not included)
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

• Additional accommodation can be arranged for an extra cost.
• A transfer back to the airport can be arranged for an extra cost.