Lemosho Northern Circuit
Tour Highlights
This 8 day / 7 night Lemosho – Northern Circuit route has a midnight summit ascent from School Hut camp. It’s great for those who want the advantages of all Lemosho routes – more remote/less crowded/very beautiful first half of the climb – but don’t want the steepness/scrambling of the Western Breach option, or the crowds of Southern Circuit option, and prefer not to sleep at the high altitudes of Crater Camp. This route’s gentle, slow ascent allows the body enough time to acclimatize to the high altitude, however the actual distance hiked is significantly longer than Lemosho – Western Breach or Lemosho – Southern Circuit routes, since you will traverse the entire northern side of Mount Kilimanjaro (the less visited and drier side). You will walk through the Shira plateau, a world heritage site. Amazing views can be experienced from the second day of the hike onwards. On clear days, climbers can see as far as the Ngorongoro highlands and catch glimpses of Mt. Meru. Then, as you get to the northern side, views are into Kenya. Eventually you join Rongai and Marangu routes so the trail gets busier the closer you get to the summit.
Safari Itinerary
From your lodge, we will make our way to the Londorosi gate on the Western side of Mt. Kilimanjaro (a few hours drive from Arusha). We will begin our hike at the Lemosho trail head. Please note that in rainy/muddy conditions, sometimes the vehicles can’t make it to the true trailhead so there can be some extra hiking – but Serengeti Pride vehicles usually make it farther than any other company due to our great drivers and vehicles. After a picnic lunch, we will hike for about 4 hours to the forest camp. In the forest, exotic moss and flowers delight the eye while bird calls entertain the ear. You may see Black and White Colobus monkeys as well as signs of the elephants that travel in this area. We will overnight at Forest Camp.
Hiking: 4-5 hours
Overnight Altitude ~8,817’
As we leave the Montane Forest and enter the Hagenia zone, our views open and we will catch our first views of the Kibo peak. This is a good acclimatization hike, as we go up and down several ridges along the way to our highest point of the day at 11,500’ before descending to camp. Overnight at Shira 1 Camp.
Hiking: 6-9 hours
Overnight Altitude 11,300’
We will traverse the Heath zone of the Shira Plateau and begin climbing the western slope of the KIbo Massif. Along the way, we will enjoy a picnic lunch at Scott Fisher’ memorial camp (the well-known Mt. Everest guide). We will continue on to the upper heath zone and Moir camp. Depending on the weather, acclimatization hikes can be arranged in the late afternoon
Hiking: 5-6 hours
Overnight Altitude: ~13,650′
Hike about 4-7 hours, depending on stops along the way. You have quite a ridge to climb up as you depart Moir camp, so it’s best to start out very slowly until you crest the ridge. This is a great acclimatization day.
Hiking: 4-7 hours
Overnight Altitude: ~13,400′
Continue your traverse around the northern side of Mount Kilimanjaro, with expansive views, as you find your way to Third Cave Camp.
Hiking: 5-7 hours
Overnight Altitude: ~12,800′
We get into our highest elevation camp today. Try to get to bed early for some rest before you start your night-time summit ascent (usually starting around midnight) to Gilman’s Point, through Stella Point, and for the final push up to the summit.
Hiking: 4-5 hours
Overnight Altitude: ~15,500’
Summit day. We will start our ascent to the summit (19,340ft – 5,896m) around 11:00 PM or midnight the night prior. The goal for you – and numerous other climbers – is to reach the peak right at sunrise. In reality, due to differences in hiking speed, energy, and altitude acclimatization, there is a several hour span where most climbers reach the summit. Using headlamps (bring extra lithium batteries, which last much better in cold dark conditions!) you will ascend 6-7 hours to Gilman’s point, traverse the Crater Rim to Stella Point and then up another 1-2 hours to Uhuru Peak, the summit. After a summit celebration and photo, descend to Barafu camp for lunch and then to Mweka camp to sleep overnight. By advance request we can sleep at Millenium camp instead; this is at ~12,000’ so less descent today, but means more descent tomorrow.
Hiking: Very variable on both the up and the down; 13-17 hours typical
Summit 19,341’
Overnight Altitude: 10,448’
We make the final descent to the trailhead today, about 3-5 hours hiking. Here we will have lunch and say goodbye to our mountain crew before leaving Mount Kilimanjaro and heading back to town. Arrive at your lodge usually between 3-5 PM.
Hiking: 3-5 hours
INCLUSIONS
Group climb prices are in US Dollars, per person, based on twin or double occupancy. Our prices include ground transportation to and from the trailhead, guides, porters, park fees (these and any government mandated taxes/fees are subject to government increase after booking), 2 nights lodging before the climb and one night after the climb (usually at Planet Lodge, but other options are possible too), all meals during the climb and some meals while staying at hotels/lodges, portable camping toilet in a privacy tent, safety/emergency gear including Gamow bag (hyperbaric chamber), oxygen (brought for emergencies not routine use), pulse oximeter, group first aid kit. Airport transfers (Kilimanjaro or Arusha town airports, or hotels/bus station in Arusha) are included but only if you arrive and depart on the assigned group dates. For arrivals and departures on other dates we charge airport transfer fees extra.
Single Supplement
If you request a single room/tent, we charge a single supplement of $700 US Dollars. If you are traveling solo and willing to share a room/tent, we charge a single supplement of $700 US Dollars but it is waived if a room-mate/tent-mate can be found for you (ie someone else in the group of the same gender is available and willing to share). In the rare case of a climb with only one person in the group, the client may eat meals in the cook tent rather than having a separate mess tent, table and chairs just for one person.
EXCLUSIONS
Our prices exclude flights, tips/gratuities, bottled water/beverages at lodges, and travel visas.
