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The Northern Circuit route is a fantastic Kilimanjaro route that’s walked by relatively few. It offers amazing scenery, excellent acclimatisation, and a quiet trek. We tell you all the reasons we love this Kilimanjaro route!
The Northern Circuit route is the longest and newest of the seven established Kilimanjaro routes. It’s one of the best routes because of its great acclimatisation profile, high summit success rate, stunning views, and comparatively relaxed pace. It’s also much less crowded than the other Kilimanjaro routes. Simply put, it’s one of the best ways to experience the roof of Africa.
The Northern Circuit route is definitely our favourite Kilimanjaro route along with the Lemosho route. If you have the extra time to spare, we believe that the Northern Circuit is the best route for experiencing Mount Kilimanjaro. For starters, it offers stunning scenery including the quiet, rarely visited northern slope. The Northern Circuit is the only route to show you this side of the mountain! You also get to explore more of Kilimanjaro via this slightly longer route, thereby enjoying its various environments thoroughly. We recommend choosing this Kilimanjaro climb route if you have the extra time and money available.
Northern Circuit overview
We are often asked which is the best route to climb Kilimanjaro on or which has the best scenery or the best acclimatisation. The Northern circuit route is the answer to all of these questions and more. This is relatively new route introduced as a variation to the Lemosho / southern circuit approach and is commonly referred to as Kilimanjaro 360 as it practically covers the entire mountain.
This route is a camping based route and always includes a portable toilet as some of the remote camps on the Northern slopes do not have public facilities. This means the price is usually higher than other routes however also means it is one of the quietest.
The Northern circuit starts from the west and follows the same path as the Lemosho route for the first couple days. From here you divert towards the Northern Icefields and circle the mountain clockwise till the remote northern slops. Your journey continues clockwise and eventually joins the Rongai route on the North east / East to summit via Kibo / Gilmans point and finally descend via Mweka.
We recommend a minimum of 9 days via this route to offer the best acclimatisation profile and maximise your chances of reaching the summit and enjoying the huge variety of scenery offered.
One of the best routes to ascend Kilimanjaro! Scenic. Quiet (less than 5% of traffic on the mountain follows this route). Perfect for acclimatisation.
