Classic Machame Kilimanjaro trek in Tanzania via Whiskey Route

The classic Machame Kilimanjaro trek in Tanzania via Whiskey Route is a scheduled departure taking 8 days and camping along the route.

 
Activities
Trekking
Duration
8 days
Price
$1,650 to 1,790
 
 

The Machame (Whiskey) Route is the most popular camping route on Kilimanjaro. It’s a rugged combination of routes which begins through the rainforest at Machame Village on the southwest side of the mountain, and over six days, rises onto the edge of the Shira Plateau, down into the beautiful Great Barranco Valley, then circumvents the Kibo massif counter-clockwise through alpine desert until reaching Barafu Camp.

From here, the trek to the summit is done overnight to the crater rim on the steep scree slopes of the east-south-east facing Mweka Route. The trek winds through some beautiful scenery, which changes quite dramatically every day. The route done in six days is physically challenging for most people. The last two days (the trek from Barranco to Barafu and then the overnight trek to the summit) require mental and physical toughness, due to the high altitude and short amount of time to rest before the overnight summit attempt.

There are no huts on this classic Machame Kilimanjaro trek in Tanzania via Whiskey Route; the accommodation is in mountain tents and dining is in our mess tent.

SAFETY EQUIPMENT

  • Automated External Defibrillator (optional on most treks) : Included on treks with a night in Crater Camp
  • Trauma & medicine kit box: fully equipped as per Wilderness First Responder guidelines.
  • Mobile phones: Daily communications with our base in Enroute Viaggi office.
  • Medical equipment porter stays with the group at all times, to ensure that the safety gear is always nearby and ready to employ if anything happen to climber.
  • A safety briefing is performed by the head guide at the second camp on each trek, exhibiting all the safety gear, and its’ use, to ensure the best possible safety response.
  • Hyperbaric Chamber – a portable altitude chamber, for emergency use only.
  • Pulse-oximeter: The head guide checks and charts these numbers daily at dinner time, for each climber

 

Mountain Cuisine  (three hearty meals a day)

  • BREAK FAST: Fruits Juice, Fruit, Cereal/Porridge, Eggs bread/French-toast/Plain toast/Pancakes, Sausages, Margarine, Jam/Honey, Tea /Coffee and drinking chocolate
  •  SNACKS: Peanuts/ Crisps/Popcorns/Cookies , chocolate and dried fruit,
  • LUNCH /LUNCH BOX: Sliced Carrot and Cucumber stripes, Avocado sliced, Boiled egg, Vegetable /meats cutlets, Sandwiches (Egg/cheese / Tomato/Tuna /Meat/Peanut butter and fruits
  • DINNER: Soup, (Mushroom /Asparagus / Chicken / Tomato /Vegetarian), Bread, Salad, Rice/Pasta Potatoes, Chicken/Meat, Mixed vegetables, (Zucchini/Carrot/French-beans/Cabbage), Lentils, Fruit Salad, Fruit with custard, Tea/coffee/Milo and drinking chocolate

Price Includes

  • Comprehensive Passenger Liability Insurance
  • 2 days before and after climb
  • Private transfer to and from Airport, no shared
  • Clean, high quality tents with working zippers
  • large mess tent
  • short wave radios for summit day ( summit guides); or satellite mobile phone
  • Large portions of fresh, healthy, nutritious food
  • 1 toilet for 2 climbers / pax
  • 1 Shower Tent for 2 climber / pax
  • All Kilimanjaro National Park gate fees, camping fees and climbing permits.
  • Kilimanjaro National Park rescue fees (Kilimanjaro Rescue Team)
  • Basic first aid kit (for use in emergencies only) / full medical backup,
  • Qualified mountain guide, assistant guides, porters and cook,
  • Camping equipment (tents, camp chairs, tables, toilet & sleeping mattress
  • Water for washing up daily during Classic Machame Kilimanjaro trek in Tanzania via Whiskey Route
  • Porter to carry your duffel bag (max weight 15kg / 32 lbs) from one camp to the next camp.
  • Kilimanjaro National Park certificate for your successful summit attempt
  • Stretcher - Converts into a rigid steel-framed litter
  • Oxygen for emergency use - For groups of 5+, two kits (400L medical oxygen bottles, each with a regulator & 2 nasal canula masks) are provided
  • Pulse-oximeter - The head guide checks and charts these numbers daily at dinner time, for each climber.

Price Excludes

  1. Flights and airport taxes
  2. Items of a personal nature
  3. Compulsory tips for guides, porters and cook

What to expect

Itinerary for Classic Machame Kilimanjaro trek in Tanzania via Whiskey Route

DAY 1 Arrive at OUTPOST LODGE (HB)
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.

DAY 2 MACHAME GATE (5,950 ft./ 1,815 mt.) ~ MACHAME CAMP (9,850 ft./ 3,000 m)
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.

DAY 3 MACHAME CAMP ~ SHIRA CAMP (12,600 ft./ 3,840 m)
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.

DAY 4 SHIRA CAMP ~ BARRANCO CAMP (12,950 ft./ 3,950 m)
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.

DAY 5 BARRANCO CAMP ~ BARAFU CAMP (15,200 ft./ 4,630 m)
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.

DAY 6 BARAFU CAMP ~ UHURU PEAK(19,340 ft./5,895 mt.) ~ MWEKA CAMP(10,200 ft./3,110 m)
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.

DAY 7 MWEKA CAMP ~ MWEKA GATE (6,000 ft. /1,830 m)
Descend straight to the gate (2-3 hours), where you’ll have lunch and will be awarded climbing certificates for completing the Classic Machame Kilimanjaro trek in Tanzania via Whiskey Route. Private transfer back to Arusha, and drop at the hotel of your choice (hotel priced separately), or drop at JRO airport.

 

Classic Machame Kilimanjaro trek in Tanzania via Whiskey Route: From $1,650 to $1,790 for 8 days

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$1,650 to 1,790 8 days
 
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