Why has Alpine Ascents chosen the Machame route for the ascent and the Mweka route for the descent over the Marangu route?
The Marangu Route, also know as the “Tourist Route” or “Coca Cola route” is convenient for people who choose not to prepare for Kilimanjaro as an expedition. You can stay in crude, rather crowded shelters, so you do not need tents. The route is very crowded by anyone’s standards and, truth be known, the success rate on this route is very low because people tend to ascend too quickly. If you look at a map of Kilimanjaro you will see that our route, the Machame Route, climbs to over 12,000 feet on the mountain and then traverses a significant portion of Kilimanjaro at this elevation. Altogether we spend three nights in different camps at the same approximate elevation, before we ascend to high camp for our summit attempt. This part of the trip is beautiful in its own right – unlike anything you will see on the Marangu Route – and it has the added benefit of allowing us to acclimatize by taking the longer route. With regard to our descent, the Mweka is beautiful, feels very remote, and is
