10 Day Northern Circuit Route Kilimanjaro Climb Expedition

Meet and greet upon your arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, our driver will take you to Keys Hotel in Moshi town for briefing and overnight stay.

Your Kilimanjaro adventure starts with a drive from Keys Hotel to the Londorossi Park Gate where you will sign in. You then drive along the rainforest track for around 45 minutes until you reach the Lemosho Glades and the start of the trek. You will walk for 3-4 hours up the stunning rainforest trail – keeping an eye out for the monkeys, sleeping at the Mti Mkubwa (Big Tree) campsite for your first night on Kilimanjaro.

Lemosho Rainforest Lemosho starts in lush, fertile rainforest. It is the first ecological zone you encounter on Kilimanjaro. The following are animals you can spot along the hike in the Lemosho rain forest: Blue Monkey. The Blue Monkey, also known as the Diademed Monkey, can be found in Kilimanjaro's rainforest, especially around Big Forest Camp (the first campsite on the Lemosho Route); White Necked Raven; Colobus Monkey; and Four Striped Mouse.

From the Big Tree camp you will follow the trail through the rainforest until it steepens slightly leading you to the moorland zone where you will get your first sight of Kibo. You will cross the Shira Ridge where the trail flattens as you reach Shira Camp 1 which is located next to a mountain stream on the Shira Plateau.

Today is a gentle walk across the Shira plateau leading you to Shira Camp 2, located on moorland meadows by another mountain stream. A variety of additional walks are available in the afternoon on the plateau making this a good day for acclimatization. If you are feeling tired, use the afternoon to rest around camp.

Aboit the Shira Plateau: The formation of the Shira plateau on Mount Kilimanjaro occurred long ago, about 500,000 years ago from an ancient caldera (volcanic crater) that has thus eroded over a significant amount of time to form a plateau on the base of the volcanic pit

This is a long trek day heading east which passes through the ‘Garden of the Senecios’ and then enters the high alpine desert zone. The morning is spent trekking up to Lava Tower and the iconic Shark’s Tooth rock formation at 4,600 meters, where you will have lunch. After lunch you will join the northern circuit heading down to Moir Camp at 4,200 meters. This is an important day in your trek as you will get to experience high altitude and then sleep low, which is good for the acclimatization process.

Garden of the Senecios: About an hour before reaching Shira II camp, you will pass by an area known as the “Garden of Senecios”, consisting of uniquely shaped trees that look a bit like a form of desert palm-tree. You will also get to see more of these on Day 3 and be sure to get a picture with these eye-catching trees.

This day involves a moderately steep climb out of Moir Valley. Trekkers can take a small detour here to climb the summit of Little Lent Hill at 4,375 meters before returning to the Northern Circuit trail. From here the route follows a series of inclines and declines, skirting around the northern slopes of Kibo to Buffalo Camp (4,020 meters).The trek gives great vistas out across the plains that lie north of Kilimanjaro and stretch out to the Kenyan / Tanzanian border. You will arrive at Buffalo Camp just after midday, where you will have lunch and have time to rest after a long day hiking.

This day starts with a climb up the Buffalo ridge and down into Porfu Camp where lunch is usually served. The route then continues east around the northern slopes to the Rongai Third Cave at 3,800 meters. The trek is shorter than the day before and by now you should be feeling well acclimatized to the altitude. You will arrive at the Third Cave just around mid-afternoon.

This day involves a steady incline up and over the Saddle which sits between the peaks of Kibo and Mawenzi Peak. Trekkers then continue walking south-west up to School Hut (4,800 meters). After arriving at School Hut you will be served an early dinner and then you should get some shut-eye as you will be awoken before midnight to start your summit attempt. Remember to prepare all your gear, including warm clothes, insulated water bottles, snacks, headlamp and camera before going to bed.

We will start our ascent by torchlight at about midnight so that we can be up on the Crater rim by sunrise. On selected Non-Exclusive departure dates each month, the climb will be particularly beautiful as we ascend in the light of the Full Moon. The steep climb over loose volcanic scree has some well-graded zig-zags and a slow but steady pace will take us to Gilmans Point (5,685 m) in about five or six hours. We will rest there for a short time to enjoy the sunrise over Mawenzi. The trail leads west along the crater rim to Uhuru Peak (5,896 m), passing close to the spectacular glaciers and ice cliffs that still occupy most of the summit area. We retrace our steps along the crater rim to Stella Point and then descends down through Barafu Camp to reach Millenium Camp (3,800 m). [11-15 hours walking]

The final day is a short hike through the dense montane rainforest from Millennium Camp (3,950 meters) to Mweka Gate (1,640 meters). At the gate you will need to sign-out with the authorities, who will also provide you with your official certificate – a green certificate for those who made it to Gilman’s Point and a gold certificate for those who reached Uhuru Peak. It is customary to give your guides and porters tips at this point before being driven back to Keys Hotel in Moshi.