9 days · Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro — Northern Circuit, 9 Days
The longest route on Kilimanjaro, circling the quiet northern slopes. More days on the mountain, more acclimatisation, and the highest summit success rate of any route.
Is this trip for you?
Trip type
Private expedition
Your own guides, cook and porters, on your own dates. We do not merge you into someone else's group, which means the pace is set by your party and nobody else's summit night.
Ages
10 and over
Kilimanjaro National Park sets a minimum age of ten. Beyond that we go on how you answer our health questions rather than on your age, and we may ask for a doctor's note first.
Fitness
Good general fitness
No technical climbing and no ropes on any route we run. What it asks for is five to eight hours of walking a day for a week, and one very long night. Three months of hill walking beforehand is worth more than any gym programme.
Group size: Private party, with guides, a cook and porters sized to it
Day by day.
-
1
Londorossi Gate to Big Tree Camp
Picked up around 08:00 for the drive to Londorossi Gate. The Northern Circuit shares its start with Lemosho: a steady climb through the forests of the Lemosho Glades to Big Tree Camp at 2,780 m.
- Altitude
- Londorossi Gate 2,385 m → Big Tree Camp 2,780 m
- Distance
- 7 km / 4.3 mi
- Walking
- 4 hours
- Habitat
- Rainforest
- Meals
- Lunch and dinner
-
2
Big Tree Camp to Shira 1
Across grassy moorland and heather scattered with volcanic rock, with Kibo above the cloud ahead. A reasonable amount of height, and steep in places. Shira 1 Camp at 3,500 m.
- Altitude
- Big Tree Camp 2,780 m → Shira 1 3,500 m
- Distance
- 8.5 km / 5.3 mi
- Walking
- 7 hours
- Habitat
- Rainforest into moorland
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
3
Shira 1 to Shira 2
A steady climb across the Shira Plateau with the Northern Icefields in view, an acclimatisation walk in the afternoon, and the night at Shira 2 at 3,900 m.
- Altitude
- Shira 1 3,500 m → Shira 2 3,900 m
- Distance
- 8.9 km / 5.5 mi
- Walking
- 5 hours
- Habitat
- Shira Plateau moorland
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
4
Shira 2 to Moir Hut
East up a ridge and then south-east towards the Lava Tower, before turning off the main trail to Moir Hut at 4,200 m, a little-used site at the foot of Lent Hills. Several walks from camp make this a good acclimatisation day.
- Altitude
- Shira 2 3,900 m → Moir Hut 4,200 m
- Distance
- 14 km / 8 mi
- Walking
- 6 to 8 hours
- Habitat
- Upland desert below Lent Hills
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
5
Moir Hut to Buffalo Camp
A moderately steep climb out of Moir valley, up Lent Hills and back to the trail, then across a rock field to Buffalo Camp at 4,020 m, looking north over the plains towards the Kenyan border.
- Altitude
- Moir Hut 4,200 m → Buffalo Camp 4,020 m
- Distance
- 12 km / 7 mi
- Walking
- 5 to 7 hours
- Habitat
- Rock field and northern slopes
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
6
Buffalo Camp to Third Cave
Up Buffalo Ridge into increasingly sparse country. This side of the mountain is rarely walked and feels like it. Through remote valleys on the northern slopes to Third Cave Camp at 3,800 m.
- Altitude
- Buffalo Camp 4,020 m → Third Cave 3,800 m
- Distance
- 8 km / 5 mi
- Walking
- 5 to 7 hours
- Habitat
- Remote northern valleys
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
7
Third Cave to School Hut
A steady climb over the Saddle between Kibo and Mawenzi to School Hut at 4,750 m. We rest and eat early for the summit.
- Altitude
- Third Cave 3,800 m → School Hut 4,750 m
- Distance
- 5 km / 3 mi
- Walking
- 4 to 5 hours
- Habitat
- The Saddle, between Kibo and Mawenzi
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
8
Summit day, then Mweka Camp
Away around midnight. Past the Hans Meyer Cave at 5,220 m and up to Gillman's Point on the crater rim at 5,681 m for sunrise, then one to two hours more to Uhuru Peak at 5,895 m. Down by Stella Point to Barafu, then to Mweka Camp at 3,070 m in the upper forest.
- Altitude
- School Hut 4,750 m → Uhuru Peak 5,895 m → Mweka Camp 3,070 m
- Distance
- 18 km / 11 mi
- Walking
- 10 to 14 hours
- Habitat
- Arctic summit zone, then upper forest
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
-
9
Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate
A gentle walk down through the rainforest to Mweka Gate at 1,640 m, park formalities and certificates, then the drive back to the hotel.
- Altitude
- Mweka Camp 3,070 m → Mweka Gate 1,640 m
- Distance
- 9.1 km / 5.7 mi
- Walking
- 3 hours
- Habitat
- Rainforest
- Meals
- Breakfast
Where you sleep.
On the mountain
Three-season mountain tents, sleeping mats, and a mess tent with a table and chairs. Three meals a day cooked on the mountain, and filtered water throughout. Marangu is the exception: it uses the park's huts throughout.
Before and after
Bed and breakfast in Moshi the night before the climb and the night you come down, with hot water, laundry and somewhere to leave the luggage you are not carrying up.
Upgrades
A portable flush toilet with its own tent is US$70 per toilet and tent for the climb, and is the upgrade most parties are glad they took. Single tents and a walk-in tent with a camp bed are available on request, as is an extra night in Moshi at either end, which most climbers who fly in the same day end up wishing they had booked. We also hire out clothing, mountain kit and sleeping bags - though we would rather you brought your own boots.
We book against availability for your dates rather than naming a property we may not be able to get you into. Your written quotation names every lodge and camp before you pay anything.
What is included
- Park fees and camping fees
- 18% VAT on tour fees and services
- Three-season mountain tents
- Transport to and from the mountain gate
- Professional mountain guides, a cook and porters
- Three meals a day on the mountain
- Filtered water throughout the trek
- Accommodation before and after the trek
- Fair wages for the mountain crew, at the rates set by Kilimanjaro National Park (KINAPA) and the Kilimanjaro Association of Tour Operators (KIATO)
- Private airport transfers both ways
Not included
- Flights
- Visa fees
- Travel insurance
- Sleeping bag
- Tips for the mountain crew
- Items of a personal nature
- Alcoholic and soft drinks
- Laundry services
- A doctor travelling with the group
- A portable flush toilet with its own tent, which is US$70 per toilet and tent
When to go.
January to mid-March — warm and clear
The warmest climbing window, with clear mornings and a good chance of snow on the summit cone. Busy, but less so than the northern-hemisphere summer.
June to October — cold, dry and busy
The most reliable weather of the year and the highest traffic on the mountain. Nights are the coldest, which is what a proper sleeping bag is for.
Late March to May, and November
The rainy months. We do run climbs then, on the northern and western routes that sit in the mountain's rain shadow, but you should expect wet forest days and we will say so plainly before you book.
Questions about this trip.
What makes the Northern Circuit different?
It goes all the way around the mountain's northern side, which almost nobody else does. Nine days is the longest profile on Kilimanjaro, the camps from Moir Hut onwards are often empty, and you approach the summit from School Hut rather than Barafu.
Is it harder than the other routes?
It is longer, not steeper. More days of walking, at a gentler gradient, with the best acclimatisation of anything on the mountain.
Is the ninth day on the mountain?
No. Day nine is a rest morning in Moshi and your transfer, or the first day of a safari extension. Eight of the nine are walking days.
Will we see anyone else up there?
Between Moir Hut and Third Cave, often nobody at all. You rejoin the crowds only on the summit itself.
On this route
Where you will be.
Compare
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Make this itinerary yours.
Add days, drop a park, change the pace. This is a starting point, not a fixed departure.