12 Day Kilimanjaro Trekking Machame Route + Safari

After arrival at the airport (Kilimanjaro / Arusha), your private driver guide will pick you up at the airport and transfer you to your accommodation for dinner and overnight awaiting for your departure on the following day. Your mountain guide will meet you at your accommodation for the briefing and equipment checkup.

Hiking time: 5 hours
Distance: About 7 km’s
Habitat: Montane forest

Early in the morning we drive to Machame gate which takes about 90 minutes. You will have lunch at the gate. You start your ascent and enter the rain forest almost immediately. There is a strong possibility of rain in the forest, which will transform the trail into a very soggy, muddy and slippery experience. Most of the time porters and cook happens to reach to the camping site before you for preparation of meals as well as setting of tents. Sometime weather condition in the night temperatures can drop at Machame campsite.

Hiking time: 5 hours
Distance: About 7 km’s.
Habitat: Moorland.

Early in the morning after breakfast, the day is spent to reach Shira cave (3750 m) where you will have hot lunch. The night at this bare camp will even be colder than the previous night, with temperatures dropping. The trail take us for an hour or so to the top of the forest and then for about two hours at a gentler gradient through the moorland zone. Hiking to this point you will be able to see in an easterly direction, the Western Breach with its spectacular glaciers. You are now due west of Kibo and after a short hike you will reach the Shira cave in the evening walk.

Hiking time: 7 hours
Distance: About 11 km’s
Habitat: Semi desert.

The route now turns east into a semi desert and rocky landscape surrounding Lava Tower, where you reach an altitude of 4600m after about a five hours walk. Lunch is served in a designated area before ascending the rocky scree path to Lava Tower (4600m). Definitely, the toughest day so far. It is normally around this point, where for the first time, some climbers will start to feel symptoms of breathlessness, irritability and headaches. After lunch you descent again by almost 700m to the Barranco camping area and after reaching the high altitude of 4600m at Lava Tower, the true acclimatization benefit of this day becomes clear. This descent to Barranco camp takes about two hours and offers great opportunities to take some beautiful photographs of the Western Breach and Breach Wall. The camp is situated in a valley below the Breach and Great Barranco Wall, which should provide you with a memorable sunset while you wait for the preparation of your dinner.

Hiking time: 8 hours
Distance: About 10 km’s
Habitat: Alpine desert

After breakfast, we leave Barranco and continue on a steep ridge passing the Barranco Wall, to the Karanga Valley campsite where we will have lunch before we proceed. Then, we leave Karanga and hit the junction which connects with the Mweka Trail. We continue up to the Barafu camp. At this point, you have completed the South Circuit, which offers views of the summit from many different angles. Here we make camp, rest, enjoy dinner, and prepare for the summit day. The two peaks of Mawenzi and Kibo are to be seen from this position.

Hiking time: 7 hours to reach Uhuru Peak & 7 hours to descend to Mweka.
Distance: About 14km
Habitat: Stone scree and ice-capped summit.

You will wake up around 2300hrs, and after some tea and biscuits you start climbing to Uhuru peak into the night. You will head in a northwesterly direction and ascend through heavy scree towards Stella Point on the crater rim. This 6-hour walks to Stella point is for many climbers, mentally and physically the most challenging on the route. At Stella Point (5757m) you will stop for a short rest and will be rewarded with the most magnificent sunrise you are ever likely to see (weather permitting). From Stella Point you will normally encounter snow all the way on your 1-hour ascent to Uhuru Peak. The time you will spend on the summit will depend on the weather conditions. Do not stop here for too long, as it will be extremely difficult to start again due to cold and fatigue. Enjoy your accomplishment and a day to remember for the rest of your life. The walk back to Barafu from the summit, takes about 3 hours. Here you will have a well-earned but short rest and collect the rest of your gear, before heading down to Mweka hut (3100m). The route is not difficult and will take you down the rock and scree path into the moorland and eventually into the forest. The camp is situated in the upper forest and mist or rain can be expected in the late afternoon. Dinner and washing water will be prepared.

Early morning after breakfast, we depart to Tarangire National Park. The Park is named after the Tarangire River which runs through it.  This ‘river of warthogs’ is the only source of water for wildlife in the region during the dry season. In places, the vegetation is quite dense, including elephant grass, acacia woodlands and lush groundwater forest. The Park is well known for its elephant families, which can often be seen congregating by the river. You may also see giraffe, bushbuck and hartebeest. These animals are closely followed by a range of predators, including lions and leopards. There are more breeding species of birds found in Tarangire National Park than anywhere else on the planet!

After Lunch and an extensive gamedrive, we head for our comfort partner lodges in Karatu for dinner and overnight.

Early morning after breakfast, we depart to Ngorongoro crater. When you first see Ngorongoro Crater, it looks like a forgotten world. Concealed by the steep volcanic walls is a pristine wilderness including sweeping savannah, pockets of acacia woodland, and glistening lakes and swamps. The Crater was created when a large volcano exploded and collapsed in on itself two to three million years ago. It is famous for both its geological delights and for being a natural reserve which is home to some of the densest large mammal populations in the whole of the African continent. The drive down the into the Crater is an adventure in itself and when you reach the Crater floor, you quickly find yourself amongst large numbers of wildebeest, zebra, gazelle, and more than 500 bird species. The Crater provides you with the best chance of seeing the endangered black rhino, which can sometimes be spotted in the open grasslands. After Lunch, we drive to the Serengeti National Park.

You will spend 2 nights inside Serengeti National Park.

Early morning after breakfast, we continue with our en-route game drive in the Serengeti to Karatu. Serengeti National Park is undoubtedly the best-known wildlife sanctuary in the world, unequaled for its natural beauty and scientific value, it has the greatest concentration of plains game in Africa. It is the migration for which Serengeti is perhaps most famous. Over a million wildebeest and about 200,000 zebras flow south from the northern hills to the southern plains for the short rains every October and November, and then swirl west and north after the long rains in April, May and June. Late afternoon, drive straight to Karatu through Ngorongoro conservation area.

Early morning after breakfast, we depart to we depart to Lake Manyara National Park which is an unspoilt paradise and is best known for its abundance of birds and tree-climbing lions. The dramatic western escarpment of the Rift Valley forms the Park’s western border.  To the east is the shallow, alkaline Lake Manyara. The lake covers a large area of the park, flooding and drying with the seasons and is home to thousands of flamingos during the rains. The name Manyara comes from the Maasai word ‘emanyara’, a popular plant which is used to build the protective enclosure around a family homestead (boma). The Park’s vegetation is diverse, ranging from savannah to evergreen forest. On your exploration of the park you may see giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, elephant and if you are lucky; lions lounging in the trees. After Lunch and an extensive game drive, we head back to Arusha or to the airport to catch your onwards flight.

If you would like us to book an extra accommodation in Arusha, we’re happy to do that.