The Machame route is also known as the “Whiskey Route.” It is a wilderness route, which combines spectacular views and scenery and proper acclimatisation. With a gradual ascend through the forest, you emerge to see broad views of the moorland on Shira Plateau, rocky trails, and scree with stunning scenery and beautiful ice formations along the way. The different kinds of vegetation found along the route make it the most scenic route. For all reasons, it is perhaps the best of the standard routes on the mountain for acclimatisation. Overnights are spent camping in tents since the Machame route’s distance is 62 kilometers.
Flight from Johannesburg to Kilimanjaro Airport. After clearing immigration at Kilimanjaro Airport and collecting your luggage, our friendly Kilimanjaro team will meet you for our transfer to Moshi, based at the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Once checked in at the hotel, you’ll have the day at leisure.
Stay: Springlands Hotel
Meals: Breakfast
Estimate driving time from Moshi: 1 hour
1,828m (5,997ft) – 3,032m (9,948ft)
Average hiking time: 7 hours
Starting your Machame Route itinerary, you'll be transfered from Moshi to the Machame Park Gate. Sign the park register before you start your hike. The path follows a ridge through the dense mountain forest. This is the most richly forested area on the mountain, and also the zone from where 96 % of the water on Kilimanjaro originates. This area is very lush and beautiful on sunny days and especially during the dry season. It can also be a very muddy experience, particularly after recent rains! We have lunch at 'Halfway Clearing,’ a small opening in the trees, and continue climbing steadily. The gradient becomes gentler as the forest slowly merges into giant heather close to the Machame Camp. We may get our first closer look at the glacial dome of Kibo if the evening clouds permit.
Stay: Machame Camp
Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast
3,032m (9,948ft) – 3,847m (12,621ft)
Average hiking time: 5 hours
A shorter day starts with steep climbing to reach a small semicircular cliff known as Picnic Rock. There are excellent views of Kibo and the jagged rim of Shira Plateau from here, and it is a good rest point too! The trail continues less steeply to reach the Shira Plateau. We camp at Shira Camp, which has some of the most stunning views of Kilimanjaro. Here we are close to the huge volcanic cone of Kibo and the spectacular rock formations of Shira Plateau with an unforgettable view of Mount Meru floating on the clouds.
Stay: Shira Camp
Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast
3,847m (12,621ft) – 3,985m (13,071ft)
Average hiking time: 7 hours
A morning of gentle ascend and panoramic views, leaving the moorland plateau behind to walk on lava ridges beneath the glaciers of the Western Breach. After lunch near the Lava Tower junction (4,500m), we descend to the bottom of the Great Barranco Valley, sheltered by towering cliffs and with extensive views of the plains far below.
Stay: Barranco Camp
Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast
3,985m (13,071ft) – 4,681m (15,358ft)
Average hiking time: 7 hours
From Barranco Camp, you’ll start ascending the Barranco Wall (100m – very steep) and continue hiking to Karranga Valley. Enjoy your packed lunch and refill your water bottles as this is you last water point. The vast and barren moonscape of the alpine desert is a very harsh and rugged environment. Only tussock grasses and a few tiny flowers can survive on this altitude. Uhuru Peak sometime hauls itself through the clouds, and it seems very close.
Stay: Barafu Camp
Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast
4,681m (15,358ft) – 5,895m (19,341ft)
Average time to the summit: 7 hours
An early start is required (+/- 11h30pm) for the summit attempt and Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa at 5,895m. The trail is tougher than anything that you’ve experienced on your ascend with a sustained switchback climb through steep scree. Slowly and with regular stops is the best way to do it. After Stella Point on the crater rim, it is a very short but very long walk to Uhuru Peak. SUMMIT!!!!! the highest peak in Africa.
Uhuru Peak – Mweka Camp (descend)
5,895m (19,341ft) – 3,090m (10,138ft)
Average descending time: 3 hours
From the summit, it is a sustained descent to Mweka Camp.
Stay: Mweka Camp
Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast
3,090m (10,138ft) – 1,641m (5,384ft)
Average hiking time: 4 hours
The day is spent descending through open moorlands and the rainforest to the Park Gate. Transfer to a heavenly shower and a real bed at the RIGHT altitude.
Stay: Springlands Hotel
Meals: Lunch & breakfast
Transfer from Springlands Hotel to Kilimanjaro Airport for your flight home.
End of service
1 January to 31 December 2026
Private climbs according to your preferred dates OR DON’T CLIMB ALONE and join one of our pre-scheduled climbing dates!!!
We offer pre-scheduled climbing dates for those who wish to join other climbers. Anybody is welcome, as you will join other like-minded people with the same goal! These climbs allow you to meet other climbers, share the experience, encouraged each other and to celebrate your achievement together!
Pre-scheduled climbing dates for Machame 6-Day Route during 2026 / 2027:
To be advised!
(Not more than 12 people per group).
SA Resident Price per Person Sharing: R33,623 pps
International Traveller Price per Person Sharing: US$1,957 pps
INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS FROM SOUTH AFRICA:
International flights from Johannesburg or Cape Town are available on Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines.
Speak to our travel experts to start planning your tailor-made safari or tour.
+27 12 345 1942
Request a Quote
