Northern Circuit

Your Mmeku Tours representative meets you at JRO and drives you to your hotel at the foot of the mountain. Time to shower, rest, and shake off the flight.

Later your lead guide runs a full trek briefing and a hands-on kit check so anything missing can be rented in town the same evening.

Note: Hotel cost includes breakfast only. Check-in from 2:00 PM.

A scenic drive through coffee villages brings you to the remote Londorossi Gate on the western side of the massif. Park formalities and a hot lunch precede a short transfer to the trailhead.

The trail eases you in through moss-hung montane rainforest to Mti Mkubwa (Big Tree) Camp, where the crew has hot drinks, washing water and dinner ready under the mess tent.

A steady climb takes you out of the forest and into the giant-heather zone. The vegetation shortens, the sky opens, and Kibo appears ahead.

You crest the Shira Ridge and drop gently onto the Shira Plateau to Shira 1 Camp for the night.

A long, gentle traverse across the vast Shira Plateau, the ancient collapsed caldera on Kilimanjaro's west shoulder, with Kibo always ahead.

You arrive at Moir Hut, a rarely used camp beneath the Lent Hills. Time for a short acclimatisation walk up the ridge before dinner.

Today the route turns north and begins the long loop around Kibo that gives the Northern Circuit its name. You leave the crowds behind for good.

You climb the Lent Hills for a stunning view before dropping onto the northern slopes to Buffalo Camp, quiet, wide open, and dry.

A traverse day across the northern side of the mountain, with the dry plains of Amboseli and the peaks of Kenya visible on a clear morning.

You reach Third Cave Camp by early afternoon. Rest, hydration, and an acclimatisation stretch.

A short but steady climb into the alpine desert brings you to School Hut, tucked below the northern flank of Kibo.

Lunch, oximeter check, kit prep for summit night, and an early dinner. Lights out around 7:00 PM.

Note: Layered summit clothing, headlamp, and full water bottles laid out before sleep.

You leave School Hut around midnight for the ascent up the northern rim. Six to seven hours later you reach Gilman's Point on the crater rim, then follow the rim to Uhuru Peak (5,895m) for sunrise.

After summit photos you descend the scree, past Barafu, to a hot meal, then continue down through the moorland to Mweka Camp on the forest edge.

A gentle morning descent through the montane rainforest to Mweka Gate. Colobus monkeys often see you off.

Summit certificates are issued at the gate, then a private transfer takes you back to your hotel in Moshi for hot showers, cold drinks, and celebration dinner.