9-Day Lemosho Northern Circuit Route

Our 9-Day Lemosho Northern Circuit Route can include both our Standard and All-Inclusive Packages. Any climber (even if part of a group) can choose their own package if they prefer one over the other. All our Kilimanjaro climbs include:

2 nights accommodation at a high-end hotel before the climb
1-night accommodation at a high-end hotel after the climb

This exciting journey via our 9-Day Lemosho Northern Circuit Route including the hotel nights takes 12 days (excluding flights).

Day 1/9: Start of the expedition in the tropical rainforest. Overnight at forest camp.

Drive Time: ~3 hours
Trek Time: ~2–3 hours
Distance: ~3 miles / 4.8 kilometers
Starting Elevation: 7,700 ft / 2,100 m (Lemosho Gate)
Ending Elevation: 9,255 ft / 2,821 m (Forest Camp)
Elevation Gain: ~1,555 ft / 475 m

We’ll pick you up from your hotel in the morning and depart Arusha at 9:00 AM. The scenic drive to Lemosho Gate takes about three hours, winding through local towns and farmland toward the western side of Kilimanjaro. We’ll make a brief stop midway to grab water, snacks, or stretch out.

Upon arrival at the gate (7,700 ft / 2,100 m), you’ll enjoy a packed lunch while the team handles permits and gear check. This is also where we meet your full mountain crew, porters, guides, and chefs, and begin the official start of your climb.

The day’s trek takes you through the Rainforest Zone, one of the most vibrant ecosystems on the mountain. Expect a rich, green canopy overhead, earthy trails underfoot, and a chance to spot black-and-white Colobus monkeys and Blue monkeys in the trees.

After a 2–3 hour hike covering approximately 3 miles (4.8 km), we arrive at Forest Camp (a.k.a. Mti Mkubwa), located at 9,255 ft / 2,821 m. This marks your first night on the mountain, surrounded by the sounds of the forest and the warmth of your private dining tent. Welcome to your Kilimanjaro expedition

Day 2/9: Enter the moorland heather zone. overnight at shira 1 camp.

Trek Time: ~5–7 hours (including lunch break)
Distance: ~5 miles / 8 kilometers
Starting Elevation: 9,255 ft / 2,821 m (Forest Camp)
Ending Elevation: 11,300 ft / 3,444 m (Shira 1 Camp)
Elevation Gain: ~2,045 ft / 623 m

After breakfast at Forest Camp, we begin the steady ascent toward Shira 1 Camp, leaving the lush Rainforest Zone behind and entering the dramatic Heather and Moorland Zones. As the vegetation begins to change, you’ll notice the landscape open up, offering your first sweeping views of the Shira Plateau.

We’ll stop for a lunch break about halfway through the day. Your mountain chef team will set up a scenic outdoor lunch, giving you time to refuel and enjoy the scenery.

This stretch is approximately 5 miles (8 km) and takes 5–7 hours to complete, depending on pace and weather. The trail is a mix of gradual uphill and steeper sections as we gain 2,045 ft (623 m) of elevation. The terrain shifts into hardy shrubs, wildflowers, and strange alien-like flora unique to Kilimanjaro’s mid-mountain zones.

By late afternoon, we reach Shira 1 Camp at 11,300 ft (3,444 m), your home for the night, perched on the edge of the Shira Plateau with epic views of Kibo Peak looming in the distance.

Day 3/9: Cross the shira plateau. Overnight at moir camp.

Trek Time: ~5–7 hours (including lunch break)
Distance: ~6.8 miles / 11 kilometers
Starting Elevation: 11,300 ft / 3,444 m (Shira 1 Camp)
Ending Elevation: 13,779 ft / 4,200 m (Moir Camp)
Elevation Gain: ~2,479 ft / 756 m

We continue our journey from Shira 1 Camp deeper into Kilimanjaro’s wild terrain, pushing higher into the Heather and Moorland Zone, and gradually entering the stark beauty of the High Alpine Desert.

This day’s trek covers roughly 6.8 miles (11 km) and takes 5 to 7 hours, depending on pace and breaks. Expect a steady ascent with some rocky and open terrain as the vegetation gets sparser and more rugged. You’ll start noticing dramatic changes in the landscape, low shrubs, volcanic rock formations, and sweeping panoramic views of the mountain.

We’ll stop for lunch mid-hike, with your chef team preparing a hot meal in one of the most unique dining locations you’ve probably ever experienced.

We finish the day at Moir Camp, a remote, scenic spot tucked into a high valley at 13,779 ft (4,200 m). The views here are unreal, and the solitude gives you a real sense of being deep in the mountain, far from the typical tourist routes.

This is one of the most unique and rarely visited camps on the mountain, giving you that off-the-beaten-path feel that’s core to the Kiliwarrior experience.

Day 4/9: Trek to Pofu Camp.

Trek Time: ~5–7 hours (including lunch break)
Distance: ~6 miles / 10 kilometers
Starting Elevation: 13,779 ft / 4,200 m (Moir Camp)
Ending Elevation: 13,200 ft / 4,025 m (Pofu Camp)
Elevation Loss: ~579 ft / 175 m

We begin our trek with a steady climb out of the Moir Valley, taking in wide views of Kilimanjaro’s alpine desert as we travel along less-traveled paths. Today’s trail carves through a quiet part of the mountain, offering solitude, stillness, and massive open skies.

The terrain shifts between volcanic rock and hardened desert slopes, gradually descending to Pofu Camp at 13,200 ft (4,025 m). Along the way, we stop for a scenic mid-day lunch, prepared fresh by your mountain chef crew.

We arrive at Pofu Camp in the late afternoon, a peaceful, remote camp nestled along the Northern Circuit. Few climbers take this route, it’s one of Kilimanjaro’s best-kept secrets.

Day 5/9: Hiking to Third Cave Camp.

Trek Time: ~5–6 hours (including lunch break)
Distance: ~6 miles / 10 kilometers
Starting Elevation: 13,200 ft / 4,025 m (Pofu Camp)
Ending Elevation: 12,696 ft / 3,870 m (Third Cave Camp)
Elevation Loss: ~504 ft / 155 m

Today’s trek follows the gentle curves of the mountain’s northern slopes. The trail moves through a series of shallow valleys with thinning vegetation and open desert views. It’s a quieter route that gives you time to reflect and soak in the scale of the mountain around you.

We stop mid-hike for a hot lunch before continuing toward Third Cave Camp, located at 12,696 ft (3,870 m). By now, you’re fully acclimatized and your body has found its rhythm.

This is one of the final nights before summit push, a moment to rest, eat well, and get into the mental space for the challenge ahead.

Day 6/9: Hiking to School Hut Camp.

Trek Time: ~4–5 hours
Distance: ~3–4 miles / 5–6 kilometers
Starting Elevation: 12,696 ft / 3,870 m (Third Cave Camp)
Ending Elevation: 16,076 ft / 4,900 m (Outward Bound School Hut)
Elevation Gain: ~3,380 ft / 1,030 m

Today is a direct ascent from the northern side into the heart of the saddle, the wide, barren plain that separates Mawenzi and Kibo peaks. The terrain becomes stark and lunar-like, a dry and quiet stretch that feels like another planet.

The pace is steady and controlled, focused on preserving energy and allowing your body to continue adjusting to altitude. By early afternoon, we reach Outward Bound School Hut at 16,076 ft (4,900 m), where we’ll rest and prep for tomorrow’s summit push.

We eat a hot lunch at camp and spend the rest of the day hydrating, organizing gear, and mentally preparing for the final climb. Tomorrow is your shot at the summit.

Day 7/9: Summit Day.

Trek Time:

School Hut to Uhuru Peak: ~6–8 hours
Summit to Barafu Camp: ~2–3 hours

Distance: ~7 miles / 11 kilometers total
Starting Elevation: 16,076 ft / 4,900 m (School Hut)
Summit Elevation: 19,340 ft / 5,895 m (Uhuru Peak)
Ending Elevation: 15,239 ft / 3,983 m (Barafu Camp)
Elevation Gain (to Summit): ~3,264 ft / 995 m
Elevation Loss (to Barafu): ~4,101 ft / 1,250 m

This is it, summit day.

We wake at 3:00 AM for a light breakfast and gear check before beginning our final push. Headlamps on, we climb through volcanic scree and switchbacks toward Gilman’s Point (18,638 ft / 5,681 m), reaching the crater rim just after sunrise.

From there, it’s a steady 1–2 hour hike to Uhuru Peak, the true summit of Kilimanjaro and the highest point in Africa. You’ll pass the last remaining glaciers and feel the full impact of the altitude, the cold, and the magnitude of your achievement.

We aim to summit in daylight, not at dawn like most groups, so you’ll have space, silence, and the summit to yourself. After photos and time to reflect at the Roof of Africa, we begin our descent along the crater rim to Stella Point, then down to Barafu Camp for a well-earned night of rest.

You did it.

Day 8/9: Making our descent down to mweka camp.

Trek Time: ~4–5 hours
Distance: ~7 miles / 11.2 kilometers
Starting Elevation: 15,239 ft / 3,983 m (Barafu Camp)
Ending Elevation: 10,204 ft / 3,110 m (Mweka Camp)
Elevation Loss: ~5,035 ft / 873 m

We begin our descent through the alpine zone, dropping fast through shifting terrain, scree, dust, then shrubs and vegetation as you re-enter the Moorland Zone.

The oxygen thickens with every step down. Your lungs will feel the difference. After about 4–5 hours, we arrive at Mweka Camp (10,204 ft / 3,110 m), our final night on the mountain.

It’s the victory lap. Legs may be tired, but the hard work is behind you.

Day 9/9: Complete our descent and head back to Arusha

Trek Time: ~3–4 hours
Distance: ~6 miles / 9.6 kilometers
Starting Elevation: 10,204 ft / 3,110 m
Ending Elevation: 5,423 ft / 1,653 m
Elevation Loss: ~4,781 ft / 1,457 m

Final push.

After breakfast at Mweka Camp, we begin our last descent through the lush rainforest toward Mweka Gate (5,423 ft / 1,653 m). It’s a 3–4 hour hike, and around 6 miles / 9.6 km. The trail can be slippery, you’ve dropped nearly 5,000 feet in the last 24 hours, but every step is downhill from greatness.

At the gate, we’ll:

Sign the Official Kilimanjaro National Park Register
Receive a cold drink (you earned it)
Get presented with your Official Summit Certificate by your Head Guide

Then we load up the vehicle and begin the 3-hour drive back to our Premium Hotel in Arusha. Arrival is usually around 3 PM, depending on how early you left camp.

Showers. Real beds. Your Kilimanjaro story, complete.