7-Day Mount Kilimanjaro Climb – Machame Route (“Whiskey Route”)
Paradise LoveBirds Safaris
Duration
7 Days / 6 Nights
Destinations
Mountain Kilimanjaro
Best Season
June–October & December–March
ITENARIES
Overview
The Machame Route is one of the most scenic and popular routes on Kilimanjaro. Known for its excellent acclimatization profile, it offers a high summit success rate, diverse landscapes, and stunning views of Shira Plateau, Lava Tower, Barranco Wall, and the summit.
Duration: 7 Days / 6 Nights, Accommodation: Tented camps ,Difficulty: Challenging, Best For: Adventurous trekkers seeking scenic views and better acclimatization.
DAY 1: Machame Gate to Machame Camp
- After registration at Machame Gate, begin climbing through dense rainforest, with humidity, monkeys, and exotic flora. Reach Machame Camp in the late afternoon.
- Elevation: 1,800m to 3,000m
- Hiking Time: 5–6 hours
- Habitat: Rainforest
- Meals: Lunch & Dinner
DAY 2: Machame Camp to Shira Camp
- Climb up a steep ridge and onto the Shira Plateau, one of Kilimanjaro’s most iconic high-altitude landscapes.
- Elevation: 3,000m to 3,840m
- Hiking Time: 4–6 hours
- Habitat: Moorland
- You get your first close views of Kibo.
DAY 3: Shira Camp to Lava Tower → Barranco Camp
- You rise to a hearty breakfast, then begin a steady climb out of the forest. The vegetation thins out and wide views open across rolling hills. You arrive at the vast Shira Plateau, an ancient volcanic landscape.
- Elevation: 2,650m → 3,500m
- Hiking Time: 5–6 hours
- Distance: 8 km
- Habitat: Heather & Moorland
- You settle at Shira 1 Camp, surrounded by panoramic scenery.
DAY 4: Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp
- Begin with the famous Barranco Wall climb — a thrilling and non-technical scramble offering amazing views.
- Elevation: 3,960m to 4,035m
- Hiking Time: 4–5 hours
- Habitat: Alpine desert
- Continue through valleys and ridges to Karanga Camp.
DAY 5: Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp
- A short but steep climb leads to Barafu Camp, your base for the summit attempt. Early dinner and rest before the midnight ascent.
- Elevation: 4,035m to 4,673m
- Hiking Time: 3–4 hours
- Habitat: Alpine desert
DAY 6: Summit Attempt – Barafu to Uhuru Peak → Mweka Camp
- Start your summit push at midnight. Reach Stella Point at sunrise, then continue to Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa. After celebrating, descend to Barafu for brunch and continue to Mweka Camp.
- Elevation: 4,673m to 5,895m → 3,100m
- Hiking Time: 10–14 hours
- Habitat: Arctic zone
DAY 7: Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate
- Descend through the rainforest to Mweka Gate. Receive your summit certificate and transfer back to your hotel.
- Elevation: 3,100m to 1,640m
- Hiking Time: 3–4 hours
What to pack
- Head lamp - 1pc
- Balaclava - 1pc
- Sun glass - 1pc
- Warm hat - 1pc
- Sun hat - 1pc
- Base Layer - 2pcs
- Top fleece - 2pcs
- Warm jacket/down jacket - 1pc
- Poncho - 1pc
- Long underwear - 2/3 pcs
- Sleeping bag - 1pc
- Warm trouser - 1pc
- Walk trouser - 2pcs
- Lip bum
- Sun cream lotion
What to pack
- Ski pant - 1pc
- Rain pant - 1pc
- Thin socks - 3pcs
- Thick socks - 3pcs
- Mountain Boot - 1pc
- Tennis shoe - 1pc
- Gators - 1pc
- Thin warm gloves - 1pc
- Thick Warm glove - 1pc
- Duffel bag/ rucksack - 1pc
- Day pack - 1pc
- Walking poles - 1pc
- Rain jacket/ wind breaker jacket
- First Aid Kit
- Baby wipes
Mountain crew
Apart from you, the mountain crew who accompany you are the most important people in Kilimanjaro. A good mountain crew will deliver an unforgettable summit – climb for all climbers. Experience is important to our crew, we have guides, cooks and porters who have been hiking Kilimanjaro well for over one hundred times– that experience is invaluable. Our guides are well trained, passionate and well knowledged on the flora and fauna of Mountain Kilimanjaro, and have gone through different First Aid courses in case of any emergency on the mountain. They are also very good at spotting altitude sickness and know what to do once it is spotted.
Money Matters
Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted in Tanzania , but note that American Express and Diners club are not accepted. In certain places, cash will be the only acceptable method of payment. Travelers should not rely on traveler’s cheques as these are not accepted in Tanzania .
The US dollar is always the best currency to carry and its important that the bank notes you bring have been printed after the year 2006, as older notes are often not accepted.
Tipping
Tipping is of course discretionary, but is an expected part of the way in which business is done in Tanzania. It counts as an expression of gratitude to those who – hopefully have made your experience an unforgettable one and enable you to directly reward those people.
We realize that both the process of giving tips and knowing how much to give can be difficult, so we provide the following guidance.
At the end of the climb, it is a good idea to hold a “Tipping ceremony” after breakfast on the last day the team gather and start singing some of the Kilimanjaro songs and after client/clients can have words to say to the crew and a leading guide will speak on behalf of the crew.
Tips can be placed in an envelope and given to the lead guide, who can distribute them to the crew (it is advisable to announces total amount in front of the group, so that all crew member are aware of how much is to be distributed) it is recommended the client can give from 250 US$ – 300 US$ per person per whole trip. An alternative method which mostly trekkers prefer is to give individual tips to the crew members, in which case the following amount can be used to guidance.
Chief guide $ 25US per day/per group
Assistant guide $20US per day/per group
Mountain chef $15US per day/per group
Mountain porter $8-10 US per day/per group
Giving more is also allowed. The above figures are only for guidance and can of course be varied at the trekker’s discretion. Gift of clothes, boots etc are also appreciated.
