Climbing Kilimanjaro through the Machame route can be done in six days. I travelled with G Adventures and their incredible team were the reason I reached the summit. Each day offers unique challenges and perspectives. My trip included turning 42 on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, before I reached Uhuru Peak and had high altitude birthday cake and did something of a mountain strip-tease on the final ascent.
Other than a short rocky section similar to the final stretch to Mweke Camp, the trail is in good condition, but almost everything was aching for the final descent.
You' start the hike at the edge of the Alpine Desert, after about an hour of climbing in the dark you enter the Arctic Zone, but it is incredibly hard to know when you’ve actually reached this point as you are hiking in darkness and seeing very little but the ground under your feet.
Imposing, and surrounding Barranco camp on three sides, the climb up is challenging, but rated as a ‘scramble’ so you don’t need to be an expert. A lot of sites call it the ‘Death Wall’ and throw around terrifying descriptions of how you have to hug the wall to avoid plummeting to your death.
The Lava Tower is impressive, rising up in front of the campsite, dark stone causing a shadow over the tents. Its easily visble from some distance due to the flat plain around it.
Machame is nestled in the forest, and so is quite free from wind. It also is layed out in clearings and so each group has some small level of privacy from each other.
The Gate is one of a handful of entrances to Kilimanjaro and the start of the Machame Route. Many tours will prepare a lunch or breakfast for hikers on their trips, served in covered terraces with seating and long tables.
