Machame route begins from the south-western side of the mountain; the trail passes through some of the mountains finest features, including the cloud forest of Kilimanjaro’s southern plains, the dry and dusty Shira Plateau and the delightful groundsel-clad Barranco campsite. Furthermore, you have a choice of ascent routes to the summit, with the thrill-seekers opting for the daunting Western Breach route to the summit, while majority head for the lengthy, long winded climb up the Barafu trail, with the Rebmann glacier edging into your field of vision on your left as dawn breaks behind Mawenzi on your right. Furthermore, unlike Marangu route, on Machame route you don’t use the same path to descend as you took to climb up the mountain but instead you come down via the Mweka route, a steep but very pretty descent encompassing inhospitably dry mountain desert and lush lowland forest in a matter of a few hours.