Climbing Kilimanjaro on the Machame is considered to be more difficult than on the Marangu route or Rongai route.

Hence it's jokingly called the "Whiskey Route", a tougher climb than the "Coca Cola route" (Marangu). Now before you hit the back button to check out Marangu, consider that although the Machame route is supposed to be more difficult, the succes rates are higher on Machame than on Marangu!

Climbing the Machame route is more difficult, but not technically difficult.

Mostly it is simply a longer and often times steeper trek. It covers more ground and involves more ups and downs. It wears you out more, takes more energy, not more skill. But it offers much better acclimatisation!

Some people are terribly worried about climbing the Barranco Wall. Don't worry. It's not a cliff face and it's not a climb. It's mostly a very steep path that requires you to use your hands every now and then and to scramble a bit in a couple of places.