Climb Kilimanjaro Machame Route

The entire climb up and down is approximately 62 km/ 37 miles from gate to gate. The height gain from the gate to the summit is 4157 metres, which is ascended over six days of around 5-7 days walking each day.

The seven day route on Machame allows for a first night at 3000m, then the following three nights at around 3900m, then the final camp at 4600m at midnight on day 6. Summit day involves ascending 1385m to Uhuru Peak and then descending all the way down to 3800m. Day 7 is then a descent through forest to the gate.

Day          Start Level   Daily High Point   Sleep Level  Camp name
Day One      1830m          3000m                3000m         Machame
Day Two       3000m          3850m                3850m         Shira
Day Three    3850m          4560m                3950m         Barranco
Day Four      3950m          4200m                3950m         Karanga
Day Five      3950m          4600m                4600m          Barafu
Day Six       4600m          5985m                3800m          Millennium
Day Seven   3800m         3800m                1830m

The camps for the seven day Machame route are Machame, Shira, Barranco, Karanga Valley, Barafu and Millennium (or sometimes Mweka). A full description of each camp is below.

Machame and Millennium Camp are on the tree line and have a number of campsites set in small clearings in the forest. The whole site can accommodate probably a hundred tents. You will see a central ranger station and a number of brick toilets and long drop latrines. The air is quite humid and it’s not too cold; being right in the trees you won’t see lots of other people round the site.

Shira Camp is situated on the vast Shira plateau which is a volcanic spill-off from the last explosion some 100,000 years ago. Open and exposed and often dusty with smaller, you will find more fragile plants among the rocks. Brick toilets and latrines and Ranger huts are around and the area is so huge it is easy to spread out and have some privacy. Shira could accommodate hundreds of tents fairly easily. Expect it to be colder here, more windy potentially. The views of the summit massif are really amazing, especially at dawn and dusk, and it’s worth getting up in the night if there is a full moon to see it rise behind the summit.

Barranco Camp is at the head of the steep valley which drops down into the Umbwe route that goes all the way down to Moshi. Tucked up underneath the summit massif there are huge dramatic cliffs to see, some remains of hanging glaciers and often the whole of Kibo will be plastered in snow. Meanwhile looking down the valley you can see the lights of Moshi. The campsite has brick toilets and latrines (long drops), a Rangers hut of course, and there is a lot of plant life here so it’s green and verdant, especially the giant groundsels which can grow several metres tall. The camp can take over a hundred tents quite easily but space is limited so you can sometimes expect to walk a distance to find your tent.

Karanga Camp is very open and situated somewhat on a slope so make sure your tent is on a flat piece of ground. There are great views of the summit massif again and you can see the route to the summit quite easily. Looking downhill you can see the lights of Moshi. Brick toilets and pit latrines again, a Rangers Hut and space for at least a hundred tents. It can be cold and windy here, and the cloud can come and go very fast. Water is a problem at this camp, the porters have to walk forty minutes back down the trail to the nearest stream.

Many people go direct from Barranco to the next camp Barafu in one day in order to climb Kilimanjaro in six days, so Karanga is a half-way stop, but it’s well worth the additional acclimatisation.

Barafu, meaning ‘ice’ in Swahili, is the final camp at 4600m. It is no longer covered in permanent snow but it is cold and rocky and exposed. People definitely feel the altitude here and you can expect snow and often wind. The campsites are dotted among nooks and crannies in the rocks, running the length of the ridge. Some camps are far below the Rangers hut and the start of the summit climb, so it can add more than half an hour to the ascent. With brick toilets and latrines, the facilities are now good but water is in short supply so the porters are forced to travel back downhill to the nearest stream. The Rangers here have large heavy duty stretchers at hand which have a single wheel underneath, so it’s possible to get people down quickly. There is also a helipad at the camp.

You can read more on our main climbing Kilimanjaro page about the weather and climate, difficulty and experience needed for the trip, and books and maps you might want to buy in advance.

You can read the full packing list for Kilimanjaro and also you can hire a lot of the items through this website when you book. We can also obtain items for you in-country when you arrive. There is more information on this blog about what to wear on Kilimanjaro and something on preparing for a trip to Kilimanjaro, and more advice on kit for Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru.

A day pack of about 40 litres is perfect to carry on the Machame route and each day will be a little bit different as to what goes inside it. Water bottles, rain gear, a few spare clothes, gloves and hat, sunscreen and lipsalve, snacks and camera equipment are all usual things to carry. The weight of your day pack should not be more than about 5-6 kgs; as you go higher, the weight will seem heavier and harder to carry. Meanwhile your main duffle bag will be carried by the porters.

You may want an umbrella for showers and to keep off the sun on a still day. Trekking poles are also useful but you don’t need to use them all the time. A flask for hot drinks is very useful on summit night, as is a headtorch. Also a rucksack cover or even a poncho to cover yourself and your bag. Some people bring mini spikes to put on their boots for summit night when it can be very slippy, but this is optional.