Mount Kilimanjaro, 9 days on the Machame Route with an American guide

Join a certified mountain guide for this 9 day journey to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro via the beautiful Machame Route! Enjoy a challenging yet stunning trek to the top of the tallest mountain in Africa!

Group

East African Mountains

9 Days

Aug - Oct, Dec

High

Intermediate

Highlights

Tackle a seven summit, completing a tough climb and a remarkable achievement
Follow the Machame Route, a beautiful route through different climactic zones
Top guides who place an emphasis on customer experience and safety

Description

Take in the views from the highest point of Africa during this 9 day adventure to the summit of the iconic Mt. Kilimanjaro!

As one of the seven summits, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro is an impressive achievement. As a non-technical ascent, it is accessible to those without specific skills but who have a solid fitness level and the desire to push themselves through a tough journey.

During this 9-day trip, we will ascend the mountain via the Machame route, considered one of the most beautiful trails. While this popular route can be crowded at times, we prefer this route for several reasons. Importantly, this route allows for better acclimatization than other options, as several days during the climb involve “climbing high and sleeping low.” We will be setting up our own camps when using this route, so there is so some flexibility to make tactical changes. Lastly, we will be able to descend the mountain following a different route. See below for the complete day-by-day itinerary, which also includes the different camping spots, distances, and elevation gains/losses.

We take care to plan this trip with high standards of customer service and safety. A US-based guide will accompany you on the trip, in conjunction with top local guides and porters. We only work with professional local guides who speak English and have the appropriate wilderness and high altitude safety training. We offer extensive pre-trip assistance, so that you arrive in Tanzania fully prepared. We will provide comfortable tents and sleeping pads, and we will prepare delicious fresh food throughout the journey. A separate commode tent will be available (as toilet facilities on the mountains are often less than desirable). We will also have oxygen on hand in case of an emergency.

While no specific skills are required for this trip, we recommend that you complete extensive training prior to embarking on this journey. It is important that you have a high level of fitness to complete the challenging climb at high altitude. Completing strenuous hikes with significant altitude gains is the best form of training, although strength workouts with weights is another great way to train.

Book now for this incredible opportunity to complete an awe-inspiring ascent of a seven summit. With an expert mountain guide and a fantastic local team, you will journey to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa!

Check out our other once-in-a-lifetime adventures throughout the world: Aconcagua 18-day expedition via the Normal Route, Everest Base Camp, Nepal, 17 Day Guided Trek, or 10-day Trek to Machu Picchu with an American Guide!

Price includes

Accommodation included
Guiding fee
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Transport during the trip
Permit and entrance fees
Porters

Price details

Includes: 2 nights hotel in Moshi (before and after the climb), transport between Moshi and trailhead, national park fees including camping fees and rescue fees, professional guides, porters, tents and sleeping mat, meals, bottled oxygen for emergencies, information sessions and trip preparation led by your US guide. Does not include: Airfare, visa to Tanzania, lunch or dinner in town at hotel, equipment or personal gear

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Tanzania

You will arrive in the Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO). Your guides will meet you for your transfer to the lodge in Moshi. Relax with your fellow trekkers before a final briefing and gear check.

Day 2: Machame Hut

After breakfast, we depart to the Machame gate, the entrypoint to the Machame route. Once we take care of the required registrationa nd paperwork with the national park authorities, we begin our trek.

After 2 hours hike, we stop to rest and enjoy our first lunch on the trail. After lunch, we hike for another 2.5 hours before reaching our first campsite at the Machame Huts (9,900 ft/3,021 m), where we can enjoy a lovely view of Kibo.

Distance: 6 mi/10 km

Time: Approx 6 hours

Elevation gain: 3,970 ft /1,210 meters

Day 3: Shira Hut

We continue on today. We trek through undulating terrain today – steep sections followed by descents. This will help with the acclimatization process. After about 6 total hours of trekking, we arrive at our next resting point – Shira Camp (12,600 ft/3,839 m), where we stop for the night.

Distance: 5 mi/8km

Time: Approx 6 hours

Elevation gain: 2,680 ft/818 m

Day 4: Barranco Camp

Today’s trek is also another great opportunity to acclimatize, as we will climb high and sleep low. We will trek to a high point at the Lava Tower of 15,200 ft before descending down to our stopping point at Barranco Camp (13,080 ft/3,986 m), a site with lovely views of the surrounding alpine terrain.

Distance: 7 mi/11 km

Time: Approx 7-10 hours

Elevation gain: 2,590 ft/790 m

Elevation loss: 2,110 ft/643 m

Day 5: Karanga Camp

Following breakfast, we must scramble over Barranco wall. From there, the path takes us downhill toward Karanga Camp (13,230 ft/4,034 m. We will arrive at camp in time for a late lunch, and have the afternoon to rest and relax.

Distance: 3 mi/5km

Time: 4-5 hours

Elevation gain: 1,300 ft/400 m

Elevation loss: 1,170 ft/350 m

Day 6: Kosovo Camp

Today we trek through a volcanic, moon-like landscape on our way to Kosovo Camp, a section of the trail with incredible views. After stopping at Barafu Camp for lunch, we continue ascending to Kosovo Camp (15,950 ft/4,863 m), which we think is a better stopping point than Barafu.

Distance: 3 mi/5km

Time: 5-6 hours

Elevation gain: 2,720 ft/830m

Day 7: Summit!!!

After resting for a bit, we rise a little after midnight for our summit push, arriving at Stella Point – the crater rim – around daybreak. After pushing for another hour, we have reached the summit at Uhuru Peak (19,344 ft/5,896 m), where we celebrate our success from the highest point in Africa.

Distance: 4 mi/7 km

Time: 8-10 hours

Elevation gain: 3,390 ft/1,033m

Next, we must begin our descent. We will make our way back down to Kosovo Camp, where we rest and pack our gear. We then continue on to Millennium Camp (12,500 ft/3,810 m for the night.

Distance: 6 mi/10km

Time: 7-9 hours

Elevation loss: 6,840 ft/2,086 m

Day 8: Back to Moshi

We trek all the way down the mountain to Mweka Gate for our return to our lodge in Moshi. We have a relaxing night and a delicious farewell dinner.

Distance: 6 mi/10km

Time: 6-7 hours

Elevation loss: 6,600 ft/2,010 m

Day 9: Departure

We bid farewell as you continue on your journey! You may choose to return back to your home country or continue the adventure with an optional safari extension.

Details

More info

You will enjoy healthy, delicious, and fresh food during the trek prepared in a hygienic manner. Food will include: fruits, vegetables, chicken, meat, eggs, sausage, pancakes, soups, juices, fish, rice, pasta, and more. We can also accommodate food allergies or dietary restrictions (gluten free, lactose intolerant, kosher, halal, and more).

Meeting point

Kilimanjaro Airport

About the guide

Miyar

5.0

(26)

Guide Agency

At Miyar Adventures, we know that every trip is as much about discovering yourself as it is about discovering the world. Miyar was founded because of our passion for climbing - a passion we will strive to share with you whether you join us for a trip close to home or in a remote corner of the Himalayas.

We strive to be your trusted companion as you chase your life-long dreams. We believe it is our duty to ensure that you are safe and that you have fun every time you climb with us.

We want to make climbing accessible to all adventure-seekers, regardless of their age and climbing background. And when we go climbing with seasoned climbers, we make sure they have enough of a challenge.

Miyar's guides have relevant training through the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) for the terrain in which they guide. This includes training in rock climbing, ice climbing, glacier travel, and snow sports, as well as avalanche training and Wilderness First Responder or higher level medical certification.

Languages

Hindi | English

Certificates

AMGA

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What people are saying about Miyar

Gillian

Sandeep and his wife, Jasmine, are lovely guides! We did a 1 day intro to rock climbing excursion with them and we had a great time! They communicated well and provided us with a fun and safe day of climbing. They chose routes based on our experience and taught us a lot. I highly recommend hiring Miyar Adventures. We have already shared their info with friends and family.

Five days of awesome is all I can say. Glen our instructor and guide was extremely knowledgeable. I had previous glacier mountaineering experience and his techniques were so much more efficient than what I had been taught. To top it off we had a great summit day.

Whole group summited! Huge thanks to the guides for helping us all get there! It's certainly not an easy climb, but the entire experience was fantastic. Especially loved the snow skills training on the second day. Lots of fun was had practicing the self arrest & team arrest. The team arrest training was a huge confidence builder to see that I wasn’t going to take the entire team down if I fell The lead guide (Glen) was fabulous. You can tell he really enjoys sharing his passion for the outdoors with the guests on his trip. Folks in the store are super helpful as well. Sandeep (owner) is great, and have talked with him in the store & via email several times to get advice. Great pre-trip guidance (including a meeting the night before the climb to make sure you have all the gear you need & nothing you don’t), and you can tell how much Sandeep cares about making sure every guest has a great experience. Lots of reasonably priced gear rental options available here as well if you aren’t sure if mountaineering is for you. Considering a Kili trip while I’m still in good hiking shape, and they’ll be the first place I look at if I decide to book.

I took the Mountaineering skills course (5 days) in Baker. I learned so much about Glacier travel, rope management, crevasse rescue, and much more! Glen, our guide was awesome and highly knowledgeable. We also got to summit Mt. Baker during the course which was the most magical part! I HIGHLY recommend them!

Myself and my daughter climbed Mt. Baker with Miyar Adventures via Easton Glacier route, Simon was our guide. The whole experience was epic in many ways. Simon's knowledge is excellent, I would trust him 100% in any situations that may come up on the mountain. We learned a lot and it was fun. The overall organization from Miyar was great (including informational emails from Jake and communication with Sandeep). Great company that I would choose again in a heartbeat.