MACHINE ROAD

This is undoubtedly the most beautiful of all for its scenery. Nicknamed the Whisky Route (because it's more difficult than many other routes), it's used by trekkers looking for a good acclimatization (at some point you have to go back down to go back up, which helps you acclimatize), who don't mind sleeping in tents, which are less expensive than Marangu huts, but very busy in high season: it's the most popular. Off-season, however, it's the ideal route. We start in the dense rainforest, where lianas intertwine, rubber trees and giant trees are home to blue monkeys, long-tailed colobus monkeys, antelopes and multicolored birds. Then comes the high moorland, with giant ragwort and lobelia, over which fly several species of birds of prey, including the crowned eagle. Finally, we arrive in the high-altitude deserts, overlooked by glaciers and eternal snows... all the way to the summit!

Day 1: Machame Gate (1,800 m) - Machame Hut (3,050 m). Above the Chagga village of Machame, the trail rises along a ridge covered by thick forest, which soon gives way to tall grasses and giant heather. After a 4-5 hour walk, we set up camp at Machame Hut. From here, a fantastic view of Kibo opens up on a clear day.

Day 2. Machame Hut - Shira Hut (3,690 m). The trail climbs through moorland. Then the landscape changes: mossy streams meander through volcanic lava and caves, amid the ghostly scenery of the high steppes, where giant ragwort trees stand sentinel over an untouched treasure. Shira's camp is set up in the middle of this high plateau, after a 4-5 h climb. Enjoy the view of Kibo from the back, and the magnificent view of Mont Meru from the front! An interesting and not too strenuous hike, under the guidance of a guide, is along the very aerial edge of the plateau, from where the panorama is extraordinary.

Day 3. Shira Hut - Barranco Camp (3,950 m). This is an important day for acclimatization, as we go up in order to come down again. After leaving Shira camp, we finally make our way to Kibo. The climb is gentle and steady up to the Lava Tower pass, at 4,750 m. Here, the great orange lava tower towers over us, overlooking Kibo's great western rift. The descent from the pass to Barranco Camp brings us, after a 5-6 h walk, to the edge of a gigantic canyon, the Grand Barranco. The tent is pitched at the foot of the fantastic Barranco wall.

Day 4. Barranco Camp - Barafu Camp (4,550 m). After a steep ascent of the great wall, you cross several valleys before reaching the Karanga River, the last waterhole. Steep ascent before lunch on a vast plateau at Karanga Camp, where some trekkers stay overnight to acclimatize. There can be a long queue in high season, as the path is narrow and cliffside, with no other option for passage. The high-mountain atmosphere is lunar, a chaos of stone and sparse vegetation. We cross two new shallow valleys, then climb a moraine to reach the Barafu camp, after a 6 to 7-hour hike. This stage leads under the glaciers (Barafu in Kiswahili). The wind blows hard here.

Day 5. Barafu Camp - Uhuru Peak (5,895 m) - Millenium Camp (3,820 m). This is a 5 km trip with 1,300 m of ascent - the most intense effort of the whole trek - and lots and lots of descent (hiking poles required, legs are shaking!). We set off in the middle of the night (between midnight and 2 a.m. depending on the pace of the group), so as to be able to enjoy the enchanting sunrise as we reach the summit ridge... The cold is very intense. The trail rises quickly over slag, then sometimes over still-hard snow, over the western ridge of the valley forming the southeast side of Kibo. The slope reaches the foot of the Ratzel and Rebman glaciers. The atmosphere is unreal amidst these hanging glaciers. Then it's on to the edge of the plateau, to Stella Point (5,756 m). Once you get there, you're almost there! The hardest part is over, as you're right on the edge of the crater. Following the rim to the west (left), you finally reach Uhuru Peak, after 7 hours of effort (sometimes up to 9 or 10 hours for the slowest). The view over the concentric interior of the crater, the rest of the massif and the surrounding area is fantastic. The wind can be violent. The descent follows the same path, with feet sinking into the ash and slag. Barafu camp is reached after 3 hours' descent from Stella Point, or more depending on the condition of your legs. A more or less short halt is scheduled here (no more than 45 minutes to avoid the risk of altitude sickness - we'll come and shake you out of it!), then it's back downhill for another 3 to 4 hours via the Mweka route. With the exception of the land rescue team (with their stretcher mounted on a single wheel with two enormous suspensions), this route is now one-way and forbidden to climb. There were too many accidents in the past due to poor acclimatization (the summit was reached in 3 days). Depending on the day's events, arrival at the Millenium Camp can take up to 15 hours. The camp is beautifully set in the pine forest.

Day 6. Millenium Camp - Mweka Gate (1,650 m). 3 h of very pleasant descent, through pine forest and then magnificent primary forest.