6-Day Kilimanjaro Machame Route Trek to Uhuru Peak

• Embark on a one-hour drive from Moshi to the Machame Route, where you complete park formalities, meet the crew of porters, and begin your climb. The first section of the route ascends steadily and involves real jungle bashing through magnificent forest. This path is less well trodden, and it is often wet and muddy underfoot.

• Make camp at Machame Camp at 3100 m.

Trekking Time: 4-6 hours / Distance: 9 km / Altitude gain: 1210 m

• The route continues up through the forest until you reach the steep ascent onto the Shira Plateau, where you are rewarded with views of the mountain. Looking back, you will be able to see Mt. Meru rising high above Arusha town.

• Camp at Shira Caves at 3840 m.

Trekking Time: 4-6 hours / Distance: 9 km / Altitude gain: 740 m

• Walk now on high moorland, as the landscape changes the entire character of the trek.

• Traverse the southwest side of Kilimanjaro, passing underneath the Lava Tower and the final section of the Western Breach, and finally reach camp at Barranco Camp at 3900 m. The day is spent at altitude up to 4600 m, but you follow the mountaineering code of walk high, sleep low to help avoid altitude sickness by aiding your body's acclimatization.

Trekking Time: 6-7 hours / Distance: 15 km / Altitude gain: 700 m

• Start the day by descending into the beginning of the Great Barranco, a huge ravine.

• Exit steeply up what has been termed the Breakfast Wall, which divides from the southeastern slopes of Kibo. It is a climb over rocks, not technical but long and tiring.

• Pass underneath the Heim and Kersten glaciers, and head towards the Karanga Valley at 4000 m for lunch.

• Avoid walking too long in the heat of the sun today by starting at midnight and heading steeply upwards to the summit glaciers. You will climb scree for 5 hours, gaining incredible height over a short distance. The views of the spectacular ice cliffs within the crater rim at Stella Point (5750 m), as the first rays of the sun emerge, are amazing. Spectacular ice cliffs within the crater surround you, and the views to Mawenzi Peak and beyond are breathtaking.

• Endure another hour of walking to your goal, the summit of Uhuru at 5895 m, the highest point. Uhuru means freedom in Swahili.

Trekking Time: 6-8 hours / Distance: 7 km / Altitude Loss: 1296 m

• Proceed on a gentle trek down through the rainforest to Mweka Gate at 1640 m, where you complete park formalities, are met by the vehicles, receive your certificate of ascent, and enjoy a well-earned shower and a cold beer or two.

Trekking Time: 4-5 hours / Distance: 10 km / Altitude Loss: 1360 m