7-Day Mount Kilimanjaro Machame Route Hike to Uhuru Peak

• Drive from Moshi to the Machame park entrance in the company of your professional guide.
• Trek through the lush forest to Machame Hut Camp (10,000 ft / 3000 m).
• Reach Machame Hut in the late afternoon while mist and low clouds dominate the camp.
• Enjoy supper in the mess tent. The temperature at this camp drops below freezing point, with possible frost in the morning.

• Relish an early breakfast in the mess tent and, if the weather permits, view the Western Breach of Kilimanjaro.
• Rest for a little while and then continue on the trail up to Shira Hut at about 3840 m.
• Take pleasure in this exposed camp, where temperatures drop below freezing point and full frost is possible in the morning. By now, the altitude will have affected most climbers, and sleeping in the tent becomes uncomfortable.

• Turn east on the trail into a semi-desert and rocky section, where you reach about 4600 m at Lava Tower.
• Get a chance to collect fresh water from streams supplied by melting snow and ice.
• Admire a spectacular picture of the Kilimanjaro sunset.

• Start your morning with a scramble up the almost vertical Barranco Wall to an altitude of about 4200 m.
• Stop for a rest at this point after a hearty lunch.

Dinner and overnight stay at camp.

• Take care to stock up on your water, as there is no water at Barafu Hut.
• Familiarize yourself with the camp, as is recommended for all climbers before dark, because this camp is situated on an exposed and dangerous ridge.

• Awaken at around midnight to start the summit assault in the north-western direction up the southeast valley towards Stella Point on the Crater rim. It is freezing at this point, and the footpath is unclear and steep in places.
• Carefully and slowly encounter snow from below Stella Point all the way to Uhuru Peak.
• Expect to be rewarded with the most beautiful African sunrise ever. The time to be on the summit depends on weather conditions. The power of the mountain is phenomenal. You lose consciousness of your own detached reality and melt into the earth to become part of the universe. Therefore, such an experience really enriches your life.

• Have a healthy breakfast before you descend through the rain forest to the park's gate.
• Arrive at the gate and enter your particulars again into the park's register.
• Climbers who reach Stella Point are issued green certificates, and those who reach Uhuru Peak receive gold certificates.
• Departure for your onward journey and end of services.