Our Opinion of the Umbwe

The Umbwe route is our least favourite of the Kilimanjaro climb routes. Given its steep ascent, it doesn’t offer much time to acclimatise and so has a low summit success rate. In our view, other Kilimanjaro routes such as the Lemosho route are much better choices. We recommend the Umbwe route only be attempted by strong hikers who are confident in their ability to acclimatise quickly to high altitude.

Umbwe route overview

The 7 day version of the Umbwe Route includes an acclimatisation day at Barranco where guests can walk up and visit Arrow Glacier before heading back to Barranco Camp. Generally recommended for more fit and adventurous types, this route is very steep in the first 2 days. For those that want more of a challenge with less crowds this is a good choice.

Then,  6 day Kilimanjaro hike starting at Umbwe Gate and ascending via Stella Point. Note that it joins the Machame route in the Barranco Valley, and hence has similar levels of people on trail as the Machame Route thereon. There is a night time ascent to the summit and descent is via Mweka Route. 

This route is highly recommended for scenic value and has a medium to high success rate, especially if you choose the 7 day itinerary. 

The six-day options is not recommended for first-time trekkers.

• It is a good Kilimanjaro route for acclimatization as it has a climb high, sleep low opportunity for trekkers on day three. Here trekkers climb from Shira Camp 2 to Lava Tower at 4,600 meters, where they have lunch and then back down to Barranco Campn(3,900 meters) to sleep.
• Like all Kilimanjaro routes, the Machame is a challenging trek with stunning scenery through four diverse climatic zones.
• There is a good opportunity to split pre-summit day climb by adding an extra rest day at Karanga Camp (only available to seven day trekkers) to leave hikers well rested before summiting.
• The route has however got very popular over the past few years which means it can get busy, especially at Barranco where climbers join up with trekkers from the Lemosho, Shira and Umbwe routes.
• The Machame route only offers fully catered camping.