7-Day Kilimanjaro · Machame Route

The Machame Route, nicknamed the Whisky Route, is Kilimanjaro's most popular climb because it is the most scenic and arguably the most rewarding. It crosses five distinct climate zones, rainforest, heath and moorland, alpine desert, the arctic summit zone, and back through the rainforest on descent, in a single trek of around 60 kilometres. The Barranco Wall on day four is one of the most photographed scrambles on the mountain, and the southern circuit traverse provides spectacular views of the southern glaciers.

We run Machame as a seven-day climb (six nights on the mountain) rather than the more common six-day version. The extra day is dedicated to acclimatisation between Karanga and Barafu, it materially improves your summit success rate (our seven-day success rate is around 90%, versus roughly 75% for six-day climbs) and gives your body the time it needs to adapt to thinning air. We do not run the six-day version because the success rate does not justify the saving.

All our climbs are KPAP-registered (Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project), meaning our porters are paid the proper wage, carry no more than 20 kg, sleep in proper tents, and eat three meals a day. The crew is the engine of the climb, a typical seven-day Machame climb has a guide, an assistant guide for groups of four or more, a chef, and three porters per climber. Your job is to walk; everything else is carried, cooked and pitched for you.

The summit is reached at sunrise on day six after a midnight start from Barafu (4,673 m). The final 1,200 metres of ascent take five to seven hours, the slowest, longest hours of the climb. We descend back to Mweka Camp the same afternoon, sleep at 3,068 m, and walk out through the rainforest on day seven.