Machame Route
The 7 Days Umbwe Route is the toughest route to the summit of Kilimanjaro.
If you’re an experienced, bold climber you’ll relish challenging yourself on the unforgiving but uncrowded and beautiful terrain.
You’ll enjoy breathtaking sights that few travelers see. You’ll experience the raw, primitive beauty of sun-bleached rocky outcrops and balance along knife-edge ridges with water-carved ravines swooping giddily below.
You’ll clamber upon the gnarled tree roots of ancient rainforest trails, traverse ice fields shimmering like frosted diamonds in the African sun, and sleep under sweeping, star-filled skies. As you stand proudly on Uhuru Peak at sunrise, you can say that you have conquered Umbwe.
General Expectations:
The Umbwe Route is the most challenging and steepest route to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. It is known for its direct ascent, making it a route suited for experienced climbers or those with excellent physical fitness. Here’s what you can expect:
- Difficulty Level
- The shortest and steepest route to the summit.
- Less time for acclimatization, increasing the risk of altitude sickness.
- Requires excellent physical endurance and previous trekking experience is highly recommended.
- Scenic Beauty
- Starts in a dense rainforest, offering a scenic but steep climb.
- Passes through mooreland, rocky ridges, and glaciers.
- Less crowded compared to other routes, providing a more isolated and wild experience.
- Route Duration & Itinerary
- Typically 5 to 7 days.
- A very fast ascent, meaning less time for acclimatization.
- Challenges
- Steep and technical terrain, especially in the first two days.
- High risk of altitude sickness due to rapid elevation gain.
- Not recommended for beginners or those who struggle with altitude.
- Success Rate
- Lower success rate compared to Machame or Lemosho routes due to poor acclimatization.
Day 1- Arrive in Moshi
This might be your arrival day in Tanzania, our driver will pick you up from the airport of your choice, Kilimanjaro International Airport, and drive you to the hotel for overnight.
Day 2- Umbwe Gate to Umbwe Camp
Your day starts early with a briefing, followed by breakfast and an hour drive from Moshi/Arusha to Umbwe Village (1,490 m/4,890 ft) where your guides and porters pack your equipment and supplies, and give you a lunch pack. You start your ascent at the small Umbwe Gate just above the village and follow a gentle winding vehicle track for an hour to a signboard that announces the small steep Umbwe trail.
Day 3- Umbwe Camp to Barranco Camp
forest glades to Giant Erica, Heather, and drier air. You continue up a ridge that drops steeply on both sides, and hopefully, the clouds will part to reward you with a view of Uhuru Peak looming overhead. After lunch, you enter a zone of giant groundsels (Seneci Kilimanjari) that seem to guard the heights, and this garden is one of Kilimanjaro’s special treasures.
Day 4- Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp
After breakfast, we continue up a steep ridge to the great Barranco Wall, then you climb this imposing obstacle, which turns out to be easier than it looks. Topping out just below the Heim Glacier, you can now appreciate just how beautiful Kilimanjaro really is.
Day 5- Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp
In the morning you hike east over the intervening ridges and valleys to joining mweka route which will be your decent route.
Day 6- Barafu Camp to Uhuru Peak to Mweka Camp
– Summit Day!
You will rise around 11:30 PM, and after some steaming tea and biscuits, you shuffle off into the night.
Your 6- hour climb northwest up through heavy scree between the Rebmann and Ratzel glaciers to Stella Point on the crater rim is the most challenging part of the route for most climbers. At Stella Point (5,685 m/18,650 ft) you stop for a short rest and a chance to see asupremely sanguine sunrise. At Stella Point you join the top part of the Marangu Route, but do not stop here too long, as it will be extremely difficult to start again due to cold and fatigue.
Depending on the season and recent storms, you may encounter snow on your remaining hike along the rim to Uhuru Peak. On the summit, you can enjoy your accomplishment and know that you are creating a day that you will remember for the rest of your life. After your 3-hour descent from the summit back to Barafu Camp, you will have a well-earned but short rest, collect your gear, and hike down a rock and scree path into the moorland.
Day 7- Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate to Moshi/Arusha
After a well-deserved breakfast, it is a short, scenic, 3- hour hike back to the Mweka gate. At the gate, you can sign your name and add details in a register. This is also where successful climbers receive their summit certificates. Climbers who reached Stella Point are issued green certificates and those who reached Uhuru Peak receive gold certificates. From the Mweka Gate, you will continue down to the Mweka Village, possibly a muddy, 3 km, 1 hour hike if the road is too muddy for vehicles.
END OF THE TOUR
The climb cost includes for lemosho route:
Transfers:
- Pick-up and drop-off at Kilimanjaro International Airport;
- Transfer to the trailhead – entry gate to Kilimanjaro National Park;
- Pick-up at the exit from Kilimanjaro National Park and transfer to the hotel;
Entry fees:
- All park fees collected by the Kilimanjaro National Park ( conservation fees, camping fees, crew fees, vehicle fee, rescue fee and all other fees collected by the Tanzania National Parks Authority).
Accommodation:
- One night at 3* hotel before the expedition and one night after; The hotels have everything for your comfortable stay – caring staff, nice rooms, reliable Wi-Fi, restaurant and swimming pool);
- Tented accommodation on Mount Kilimanjaro (modern, comfortable 4-Season tents North Face VE-25 or Kilimanjaro Tents).
Please note:
All accommodation is on sharing basis (i.e. you will be sharing with your travel companion a twin/double room in the hotel and a tent during the hike. If you travel alone, we will match you with a same-sex adventurer).
Meals:
- Breakfast in the hotel before and after the hike;
- All meals on the hike. Our Kilimanjaro diet includes energy-rich and highly nutritious meals prepared by our professional high-altitude cooks.A typical diet on Kilimanjaro includes different soups, garnishes, several types of fish and meat, fresh fruit and vegetables; vegetarian/gluten-free/halal options are available at no extra cost;
- All drinks on the hike (coffee, tea, hot chocolate and water).
Hiking and safety equipment:
- 4-inch (10-cm) thick and comfortable sleeping mats;
- All group equipment (spacious and comfortable dining tent, camping table and chairs, crockery and cutlery);
- Oxygen cylinders and oximeters;
- GPS-tracking service;
- Complete medical kits.
Climbing crew:
- Professional guides, licensed by Kilimanjaro National Park. All our guides are the holder of Wilderness First Responder or Wilderness First Aid certifications. All our guides have 4+years of successful mountaineering experience;
- Dedicated support crew (assistant guides, camp master, porters, cooks, etc.).
The climb cost excludes:
- Airline tickets;
- Visa fee;
- Lunch and dinner at the hotel (before and after the ascent);
- Personal gear rentals;
- Mountaineering insurance.
- This tour starts and ends in Arusha
- Book your own international flights when using this operator
- A transfer from and back to the airport is included
- Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour can be arranged for an extra cost