7-Day Machame Route Kilimanjaro Climb 2026–2027

What Is the 7-Day Machame Route?

The 7-day Machame Route is a camping climb across Kilimanjaro's southern slopes, with an extra night at Karanga Camp that gives you more time to acclimatise before summit night. You start at Machame Gate, cross the Shira Plateau, climb to Lava Tower, scale the Barranco Wall and summit Uhuru Peak (5,895 m) from Barafu Camp, then descend via Mweka. Prices start from $2,090 per person.

This is the itinerary we recommend for most first-time climbers. It combines the Machame Route's varied scenery with a steadier pace than the 6-day version: instead of walking from Barranco to Barafu in one long day, you stop at Karanga, so you start summit night better rested and better acclimatised.

This page covers each day with altitudes and walking times, how acclimatisation and summit night work, what is included in the price and how to prepare.

Climb at a Glance

Route Highlights

• Our recommended balance of scenery, acclimatisation and length
• Acclimatisation via Lava Tower (about 4,600 m) before sleeping at Barranco
• An extra night at Karanga Camp, splitting the hardest approach in two
• The Barranco Wall scramble and views of Kibo's southern glaciers
• Sunrise at Stella Point, then the crater rim walk to Uhuru Peak

The 7-day Machame climbs gradually over five days, with the Lava Tower acclimatisation hike on Day 3 and an extra night at Karanga, then descends via Mweka. The table summarises each day.

Day 1: Machame Gate to Machame Camp (3,000 m)

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Day 1 climbs through Kilimanjaro's rainforest. After breakfast and a briefing from your guide, we drive you from your hotel in Moshi at about 9 am to Machame Village, where the crew prepares the loads and you receive a packed lunch. If the road is too muddy, the last 3 km to the gate is on foot, which takes about an hour.

After park registration, the trail climbs steadily through the forest. Good boots, gaiters and trekking poles help when the path is wet. You stop for lunch about halfway and reach Machame Camp in the late afternoon, where your tents are already set up.

• Overnight: Machame Camp (tents)
• Meals: Lunch and dinner, plus drinking water
• Terrain: Rainforest, steady climb, sometimes muddy

Day 2: Machame Camp to Shira Camp (about 3,850 m)

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Day 2 leaves the forest behind. After about an hour through rainforest glades, you climb into open moorland with low shrubs, stopping for lunch after a couple of hours.

In the afternoon you continue onto the Shira Plateau, where you get your first views of the Western Breach and its glaciers. Shira Camp is exposed, and temperatures can drop below freezing at night, so have your warm layers ready.

• Overnight: Shira Camp (tents)
• Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus drinking water
• Terrain: Moorland and open plateau

Day 3: Shira to Lava Tower (4,600 m) and Down to Barranco Camp (3,950 m)

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Day 3 is the main acclimatisation day. You climb east on a steep path above the last vegetation to Lava Tower, a volcanic plug at about 4,600 m, in five to six hours. Lunch here gives your body time at altitude.

You then descend about two hours below the Western Breach to Barranco Camp, past giant groundsels. The sunset over the Barranco Valley is one of the highlights of the climb. Pay attention to how you feel and tell your guide about any symptoms of altitude sickness.

• Overnight: Barranco Camp (tents)
• Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus drinking water
• Terrain: Alpine desert, then a descent into the valley

Day 4: Barranco Wall to Karanga Camp (about 4,000 m)

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Day 4 starts with the Great Barranco Wall, which looks daunting but is a non-technical scramble; you use your hands in a few places, and your guides help on the trickier steps. From the top, you continue below the Heim Glacier and then descend into the Karanga Valley.

Karanga is the last water source on the route, so the porters collect water here for the rest of the ascent. You arrive in time for lunch and have the afternoon to rest or take a short walk, with views of Mawenzi. This is the extra night that sets the 7-day itinerary apart.

• Overnight: Karanga Camp (tents)
• Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus drinking water
• Terrain: Rock scramble, ridges and valleys

Day 5: Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp (about 4,650 m)

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Day 5 is a short climb east across ridges and valleys until you join the Mweka Route, then up the ridge to Barafu Camp. You arrive around midday, with time to rest.

Barafu is a rocky, windy ridge, so learn the layout of the camp before dark and keep your headlamp handy. Prepare your summit gear, change your batteries and go to bed by about 7 pm to sleep a few hours before summit night.

• Overnight: Barafu Camp (tents), with a short rest before summit night
• Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus drinking water
• Terrain: Rocky ridges

Day 6: Summit Night to Uhuru Peak (5,895 m), Then Down to Mweka Camp

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Day 6 starts around midnight. You climb for about six hours up steep scree switchbacks between the Ratzel and Rebmann glaciers to Stella Point (5,756 m) on the crater rim, which most climbers consider the hardest part of the trek. With good timing you will see the sunrise here.

Keep moving because of the cold, and walk along the rim for about another hour to Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa. After photos at the summit sign, you descend to Barafu for a rest and a meal, then continue down to Mweka Camp at about 3,100 m.

• Overnight: Mweka Camp (tents)
• Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus drinking water
• Terrain: Steep scree, crater rim, long descent

Day 7: Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate and Back to Moshi

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Day 7 is a scenic three-hour descent through the rainforest to Mweka Gate. Wait until you and all of your gear have reached the gate before tipping your crew. After signing out, you receive your summit certificate: green for reaching Stella Point, and gold for reaching Uhuru Peak.

If the road is too muddy for vehicles, you walk another hour to Mweka Village, about 3 km away. You have a hot lunch there before the drive back to your hotel in Moshi. Your hotel night after the climb is included in the price.

• Overnight: Your hotel in the Kilimanjaro area (included)
• Meals: Breakfast and lunch
• Terrain: Rainforest descent

The 7-day Machame acclimatises better than the 6-day version because it adds a night at Karanga Camp, at about 4,000 m, before you move up to Barafu. You also keep the Lava Tower day, when you climb to about 4,600 m and sleep at Barranco, about 650 m lower: the 'climb high, sleep low' principle.

The extra night means you reach Barafu around midday on Day 5 rather than late afternoon, so you have more rest before summit night. Altitude sickness depends on how fast you gain height, not on fitness, so this slower schedule is one of the most effective ways to improve your chances.

If you want an even more gradual ascent, the 8-day Lemosho starts on the western side and takes longer to gain height. Our guide to improving your summit chances explains the other factors.

Summit night starts from Barafu Camp around midnight. You climb by headlamp up a long, steep scree slope between the Ratzel and Rebmann glaciers to Stella Point on the crater rim, usually reaching it around sunrise. Uhuru Peak is about another hour along the rim.

It is very cold, often well below freezing with wind chill, so you wear all your warm layers. Keep moving steadily and take only short breaks. Your guide turns climbers back if they show serious signs of altitude sickness, because safety always comes before the summit.

• Keep water in an insulated bottle so it does not freeze
• Keep phone and camera batteries warm inside your jacket
• Eat small snacks often, even if you are not hungry
• Reaching Stella Point earns a certificate even if you do not continue to Uhuru Peak

The Machame Route can be climbed year-round, but the driest windows, January to mid-March and June to October, give the best trail conditions. The 7-day schedule also gives a little more flexibility if the weather is poor on one day.