Kilimanjaro trekking

KILIMANJARO SCHEDULED GROUP TREK

“WHISKEY ROUTE” – Classic Machame Route

  8 DAYS / 6 NIGHTS on the  up the mountain

Route Description

Daily itinerary

DAY 1            Arrive at OUTPOST LODGE (HB)

Arrive on own (or by private transfer, at a supplement) at the Outpost Lodge. Dinner is served at the lodge after a comprehensive climb briefing.

DAY 2                                      MACHAME GATE (5,950 ft./ 1,815 mt.)  ~ MACHAME CAMP (9,850 ft./ 3,000 m)   

Departure from Arusha will be at around 8am for the Machame Gate, about 1.5 hours drive. Upon completion of entry formalities, begin walking through the mist on a 4 x 4 track for about an hour into the forest. The track ends, and the trail continues up through the dripping, verdant forest. Trekkers will likely hear the many exotic birds in the canopy above, and many even see black & white colobus monkeys and sykes monkeys as they hike along the forest floor. The trek is quite long (12 miles / 20 km), though not very steep, and it takes from 5 to 7 hours trekking to reach the first camp. Machame Camp is just above the forest zone, in the heather zone. When it is clear, there are views of jagged Shira ridge and the summit itself.

  DAY 3                  MACHAME CAMP ~ SHIRA CAMP (12,600 ft./ 3,840 m)Wake early to a steaming cup of tea of coffee served in your tent, and then after breakfast, begin up the steep track through a savannah of tall grasses, and trees of giant Heather and Erica. The clouds should clear for a beautiful view of the Western Breach and the glaciers atop which mark the summit; Uhuru Peak. Scramble around large boulders as you enter the moorland zone, marked by the bizarre lobelia and senecio plants, and volcanic rocks draped with lichen beards which protect wild alpine flowers growing at their bases. You’ll reach camp after descending a small valley and crossing a brook, then ascending up onto the Shira Ridge, after a total of about 4 to 5 hours of trekking.

DAY 4                    SHIRA CAMP ~ BARRANCOCAMP (12,950 ft./ 3,950 m)

Proceed steadily upward over long ridgelines of high desert about 4 hours, and break for lunch at about 14,500 feet (4,420 mt.). After lunch, continue to Lava Tower, a 300 foot-tall volcanic plug which marks an exposed pass at 15,000 feet (4,600 m). In the afternoon, descend the steep track into the Great Barranco Valley. Barranco Camp is set on a col (flat area) enclosed on three sides with steep valley walls and the Kibo massif itself. Hanging glaciers glint in the sunshine above, amidst the eerie landscape of plants such as the giant groundsels (Senecio Kilimanjari), and the uniquely endemic Giant Lobelia. Trekking time is from 6 to 7 hours.

DAY 5                    BARRANCO CAMP ~ BARAFU CAMP (15,200 ft./ 4,630 m)

The day begins with a scramble up the steep ‘Barranco Wall’, then we trek 3-4 hours and stop in the Karanga Valley for a hot lunch. In the afternoon the trail turns steadily uphill. The temperature will grow colder and the landscape more sparse as we near Barafu Camp. Barafu Camp is set on a small, exposed flat area on a ridge, acting a base camp from which you will make your summit attempt at midnight tonight. Eat and drink as much as possible before retiring to your tent for rest and sleep.

 DAY 6        BARAFU CAMP ~ UHURU PEAK(19,340 ft./5,895 mt.) ~ MWEKA CAMP(10,200 ft./3,110 m)

The steaming hot drink will arrive very early on this momentous day.  A midnight wake-up call is the start of a juggernaut (12-17 hours of trekking). You begin trekking at 12:30 to 1am.  The temperatures range from just below freezing at midnight, to

between 10 deg. F (-12 deg. C) to –10 F. (-23 deg. C) just before dawn at the summit. The winding path of endless switchbacks will take form and shape in the shadows of the Ratzel and Rebmann glaciers at early dawn, and behind you the spires of Mawenzi will be silhouetted against the red glow of the sun from beneath the clouds.  After about 6 hours of walking, you will come to the edge of the crater, at Stella Point, at 19,000 feet (5,790 mt.), which is the end of the steep track. From here, there is a gentle slope upward about 1 hour to Uhuru Peak. After a short time at the summit, descend the steep scree trail back to Barafu Camp for some rest, then again summon your strength for further descent to Mweka Camp for the night.

DAY 7                    MWEKA CAMP ~ MWEKA GATE (6,000 ft. /1,830 m)                                        

Descend straight to the gate (2-3 hours), where you’ll have lunch and will be awarded climbing certificates. Private transfer back to Moshi town, and drop at the hotel.

Day 8       Enroute Viaggi’s driver will pick you from your Hotel and transfer to Kilimanjaro international Airport  (JRO) for your flight back home.

Safety Equipment.

v  Automated External Defibrillator(optional on most treks) : Included on treks with a night in Crater Camp

v  Trauma & medicine kit box: fully equipped as per Wilderness First Responder guidelines,.

v  Mobile phones:  Daily communications with our base in Enroute Viaggi office.

v  Medical equipment porter stays with the group at all times, to ensure that the safety gear is always nearby and ready to employ if anything happen to climber.

v  A safety briefing is performed by the head guide at the second camp on each trek, exhibiting all the safety gear, and its’ use, to ensure the best possible safety response.

v  Hyperbaric Chamber- a portable altitude chamber, for emergency use only.

v  Pulse-oximeter: The head guide checks and charts these numbers daily at dinner time, for each climber.

v   Oxygen cylinder kitfor emergency use only: For groups from 6+, two kits (400L medical oxygen bottles, each with a    regulator & 2 nasal canula masks) are provided.

Mountain Crew:

staff has trained by an expert on mountaineering techniquessetting handlines with reliable anchors, route safety training, rock fall protocol training, and use of ice axe for cutting steps and self-arrest.

v  Professional chef /cook– trained to the highest standards on a set menu plan.

v  Campsite Location– Enroute Viaggi is always ensures not only the best camp location on the mountain, but also proper setup and breakdown of each camp.

v  Porters: Trekking Mount Kilimanjaro would not be possible without porters. They are the backbone of all Kilimanjaro expeditions, and long have they been exploited by the tourism industry! However, a change has been happening, and ever so slowly there's a consciousness rising, both in terms of expectations of the porters and practices of a few tour operators; one that is sure to eventually turn the tide and create fair working conditions for porters on a large scale on Kilimanjaro. The Kilimanjaro Porter’s Assistance Project (KPAP) has been the driving force of this change in attitude and practice for the past 10 years. Based in Moshi, they are a Tanzanian non-governmental organization committed to improving the working conditions of the porters.

An element of our Kilimanjaro fair porter treatment system:

v  Enroute Viaggi ensures that we choose porters by means of a database which tracks all their work and their performance, and which chooses them in a way that fairly distributes the work.

v  We go to excessive lengths to uphold weight limits for porter loads (20kg per porter). We carry scales on each trek to ensure that daily, loads are not exceeded, ever.

v  We have porter welfare officers staffed at the start gates of every trek, to inspect porters and ensure adequate footwear, warm clothing and sleeping gear, plus eye protection, and ensuring that our system of fair porter treatment is truly being practiced.

v  We give our porters medical treatment due to injury, equal to that for paying trekkers

v  We provide annually professional wilderness first-aid training and language courses for our porters, including all costs (transport, accommodation and meals) during the course duration for all porters.

Furthermore, We are committed to these fair practices, and have an experienced, professional, and passionate team of managers, guides and porter welfare officers to ensure that we are 'on it'.

We are widely recognized for these efforts by everyone, including the most important segment of the population; the porters! Because of our commitment to fair practices, we've attracted the most reliable, strongest, friendliest and most dependable porters available.

Camping equipment & Mountain Gears:

v  Mountain Hardwear Trango 3.1 sleeping tents(a triple tent used as a double tent or single tent (with supplement)

v  All sleeping tents havecustom-made ground sheetscovering the both vestibules, to allow clean & dry storage of gear, and keeping water, mud or dust from entering the tent.

v  Cold-weather sleeping mats(closed cell foam)which cover the entire floor of the sleeping tent, ensuring that you (and all your gear) stays dry throughout the climb.

v  Large custom-designed and fabricated weatherproof dining tentswith fly sheet, four doors, windows and ventilation, and full floors with storm skirt and ropes.

v  Wash standsprovided for washing hands before each meal, with fresh hand-towelsprovided for each climber, before each meal

v  Wash basins provided for each trekker.

v  Hot water prepared for climber’s bottles at night

v  We purify all our climbers’ and staff drinking waterusing the PUR packet. Please visit the following website which describes (and demonstrates) the product we are providing for purification of all drinking water for all our Kilimanjaro clients and staff: http://www.csdw.com/csdw/pur_packet.shtml

v  We offerhigh quality rental gear/ trekking clothing like synthetic sleeping bags, Gore-Tex outer wear, warm layers, trekking poles, etc…

v  Sleeping tent (optional)features a ‘walk-in’ tent with aluminum frame beds & soft foam mattresses, allowing trekkers to sleep off the ground. At night, powerful solar LED lights light the tent. This 12’x 9’ tent features four entrances, ventilation ports, a fly sheet and storm skirt & storm ropes.

v  Hot showers (optional)Complete with a spacious rectangular framed tent, with a 15-liter solar shower bag perched on the top, shower mat and plenty of clothes hooks, plus bath towels.

v  Mess tent heater (optional)Small propane space heaters are provided for warming up the mess-tent before and during dinner-time, which we burn for 2-3 hours per evening.

  Mountain Cuisine  (three hearty meals a day)

v  BREAK FAST: Fruits Juice, Fruit, Cereal/Porridge, Eggs bread/French-toast/Plain toast/Pancakes, Sausages, Margarine, Jam/Honey, Tea /Coffee and drinking chocolate  

v  SNACKS: Peanuts/ Crisps/Popcorns/Cookies , chocolate and dried fruit,

v  LUNCH /LUNCH BOX: Sliced Carrot and Cucumber stripes, Avocado sliced, Boiled egg, Vegetable /meats cutlets, Sandwiches (Egg/cheese / Tomato/Tuna /Meat/Peanut butter and fruits   

v  DINNER: Soup, (Mushroom /Asparagus / Chicken / Tomato /Vegetarian), Bread, Salad, Rice/Pasta Potatoes, Chicken/Meat, Mixed vegetables, (Zucchini/Carrot/French-beans/Cabbage), Lentils, Fruit Salad, Fruit with custard, Tea/coffee/Milo and drinking chocolate

*Carbon Neutral: We purchase carbon credits for every trekker we take up Kilimanjaro, in official partnership with Carbon Tanzania. See: www.carbontanzania.com. These payments account for well documented forestry activities that reduce the amount of carbon (Co2) in the atmosphere.