Kilimanjaro Climbing via Machame Route Followed by 2 Days Safari to Lake Manyara & Ngorongoro Crater - 10 Days

Arrive in Tanzania via Kilimanjaro International airport (JRO) Lindo Travel staff will pick you up and transfer to Moshi town where you will spend the first night at Panama Garden resort, For those who will arrive through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Kenya, we will pick them and transfer by Riverside Shuttle to Moshi.

Your day starts early with a briefing, followed by breakfast and a 50-minute drive from Moshi to Machame gate where your guides and porters prepare and pack your equipment and supplies. After registering at the park office; you start an ascent and enter the rain forest immediately. So from here good footgear, trekking poles, and gaiters are useful. You will enjoy a welcome lunch stop halfway up and will reach the Machame camping area in the late afternoon. Your porters will arrive at camp before you and will erect your tent before you arrive. In the evening, the porters boil drinking and washing water while the cook prepares your dinner.

Approx hiking hours: 5-6 hours.

Distance: 11 Km or 7 miles.

Zone: Rainforest

You will wake up early in the morning at Machame camp and after breakfast, climb for an hour to the top of the forest, then for 2 hours through a gentle moorland. After a short lunch and rest, you continue up a rocky ridge onto the Shira Plateau where you will be able to see Kilimanjaro great Western Breach with its stunning glaciers. Sometimes the walls of the Western Breach are draped with extensive ice curtains. You are now west of Kibo on the opposite side of the mountain from the Marangu Route, after a short hike, you will reach Shira campsite. Porters will boil drinking and washing water before serving dinner.

Approx hiking hours: 5-6 hours.

Distance: 5 Km or 3 miles.

Zone: Low Alpine Zone

After spending a night under the imposing Great Barranco Wall, you will climb this awesome obstacle which turns out to be easier than it looks. You can now appreciate just how beautiful Kilimanjaro really is. The route then heads down through the Karanga Valley and goes over intervening ridges and valleys to join the Mweka Route which will be your descent route. From there you have already completed the South Circuit which offers views of the summit from many different angles.

Approx hiking Hours: 4- 5 hours.

Distance: 4 Km or 2 miles.

Zone: High alpine zone

The famous snows of Kilimanjaro are far above Barafu Camp near the summit of the mountain. So make sure that you familiarize yourself with the terrain before dark to avoid any accidents. Prepare your equipment and warm clothing for your summit climb. This should include replacing your headlamp and camera batteries and to prevent freezing consider carrying your water in a thermal flask.

You will rise around 11:30 PM and after some steaming tea and biscuits followed by 6-hour climb northwest up through heavy scree between the Rebmann and Ratzel glaciers to Stella Point on the crater rim, this 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. 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 and eventually into the forest to Mweka Camp (3,100 m/10,170 ft). This camp is in the upper forest, so you can expect mist or rain in the late afternoon. Dinner and washing water will be prepared.

Approx hiking Hours: 4-6hrs.

Distance: 12 Km or 7 Miles.

Zone: Glacial zone and all preceding zones.

Transfer to the hotel for summit certificate and get preparation for your 2 days safari.

Zone: Rain forest

Total distance covered is: 62 Km or 37 miles

On this day your safari will start at 7:15 AM in the morning with your guide and drive to Lake Manyara National Park which takes about 1 hour. The park offers a mosaic of vegetation habitats which can sustain a high density of wildlife. Its groundwater forest which acts like a giant filtering sponge which gradually releases water so it can flow gently into streams, instead of running off, prevents the soil from eroding.

From its high concentrations of animals such as elephant, buffalo, and antelopes to its dense forests of Trichilia, ficus, and Acacia species, the park is diverse with both wildlife and vegetation. With its location at the base of the east African rift valley along the Gregory rift, it offers spectacular viewing of the escarpment. Lake Manyara is one of those national parks which offer rich and diverse game viewing within a reasonably small area. It is one of the best areas for elephant viewing and tree climbing lion, after a game in Lake Manyara national park then drive to overnight at Bougainvillea Lodge.

After breakfast around 7:30 AM you will descend into the crater for a wonderful game drive with picnic lunch. The Crater (World Heritage site) holding a permanent population of more than 30,000 animals, with its 2000 ft, high walls, you can expect to see lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, hippos, flamingos, jackals, rhinos, antelopes, many birds, and other species. The crater is also home of the rare black rhino almost extinct in Tanzania. With a bit of luck, you will see the “Big Five” during the game drive.

After breakfast, you will be picked up from the hotel to and drive to the Airport and you will be there 2 hours before your flight time.