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Kilimanjaro · 5 min read

Where you sleep on Kilimanjaro

Tents on every route but one, huts on Marangu, and a high camp on bare rock the night before the summit. A tour of the camps, from the rainforest to the crater rim.

On Kilimanjaro you sleep in a different place every night, and the places change as much as the scenery. The first camp is in forest or moorland with running water nearby. The last one before the summit is a rocky shelf at 4,600 metres with nothing growing. Between them are camps on plateaus, in valleys and on ridges, each with its own character.

This page explains what a camp is, the difference between tents and huts, and what to expect at the main stops on each route.

Itineraries

Kilimanjaro climbs we run

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Wooden A-frame huts on a bare ridge above a sea of cloud.

At a glance

Camping routes
Machame, Lemosho, Rongai, Umbwe, Northern Circuit. Tents your crew carries and pitches.
Hut route
Marangu only. Shared dormitory huts at Mandara, Horombo and Kibo.
What a camp has
A designated site, a ranger post, long-drop toilets, a water source nearby except at high camp.
What your crew adds
Your sleeping tent, a mess tent, a kitchen tent, and usually a private toilet tent.
High camps
Barafu, Kibo Hut, School Hut. Around 4,600 to 4,700 metres. Bare, cold and busy.
Nights
Five to eight, depending on the route.
Trekkers picking their way across dark volcanic rock toward Kibo's snow-streaked summit.

A camp, explained

The park sets out fixed campsites on every route, and everyone camps in them. Each has a ranger hut where your guide signs the group in and out, a set of long-drop toilets, and, on all but the highest camps, a stream or spring for water.

Your crew arrives before you and sets up your own small camp within the site: sleeping tents for the climbers, a mess tent with a table and stools where you eat, a kitchen tent, and tents for the crew. Most operators also carry a private toilet tent with a portable toilet, which is a real improvement on the public ones.

The sites vary in size. Some, like Barranco, are broad and hold many groups. Others are small and quiet. In the peak months of August and September the popular camps on Machame and Marangu are full every night.

A camp of tents spread across a rocky slope, with Kibo's snow and cloud above.

Tents

Your sleeping tent is usually a three-person mountain tent shared by two climbers, so there is room for your bags. It is pitched on a groundsheet with a sleeping mat inside. You bring or hire the sleeping bag.

The mess tent is where you eat, and where you spend the evenings, because it is warmer than your own tent and there is a lamp. Tea at four, dinner at half past six, the health check and the briefing, and then bed.

The tents are up when you arrive and down after you leave. You never carry or pitch anything. Your only job is to keep your kit organised inside the tent, which is harder than it sounds in the dark at altitude.

Climbers with heavy packs pausing on rocks high on the mountain.

Huts on Marangu

Marangu is the only route with huts, and it is why some people choose it. There are three groups: Mandara at 2,700 metres in the forest, Horombo at 3,700 metres in the moorland, and Kibo at 4,700 metres below the summit slope.

Mandara and Horombo are clusters of small A-frame huts with bunk beds and mattresses, four to eight people to a hut, plus a larger dining hall. Kibo is a single stone building with dormitories. All have cold-water washrooms and flush or long-drop toilets.

A hut means a solid roof, a bed off the ground, and a dry place in the rain. It also means sharing with strangers, noise, and the busiest accommodation on the mountain. Bring earplugs.

Orange tents pitched on a rocky shelf below Kibo, with cloud drifting across the mountain's flank.

The camps on the southern routes

Machame Camp, at about 3,000 metres, is the first night on the Machame route, right at the edge of the rainforest. Damp and mild.

Shira Camp, at about 3,800 metres, sits on the open plateau with Kibo in view. Cold once the sun goes, and often the first place people feel the altitude.

Barranco Camp, at about 3,900 metres, is in a valley below the Barranco Wall, among giant groundsels. Many people's favourite camp on the mountain.

Karanga Camp, at about 4,000 metres, is a short day on from Barranco on the seven-day schedule, on a ridge with wide views south.

Barafu Camp, at about 4,600 metres, is the high camp. Bare rock, wind, no water source, and everyone in bed by six for the midnight start.

Mweka Camp, at about 3,100 metres, is the last night, back in the forest after the summit. Warm, and the first proper sleep in days.

Trekkers walking a path through low heath toward Kilimanjaro's long summit ridge.

The camps on the other routes

Lemosho starts lower and quieter, with Mti Mkubwa at about 2,800 metres in dense forest, then Shira 1 and Shira 2 on the plateau before joining the Machame camps at Barranco.

Rongai's camps are on the drier northern side: Simba Camp, then Kikelewa, then Mawenzi Tarn at 4,300 metres, one of the most dramatic sites on the mountain, in a bowl beneath the jagged peaks of Mawenzi. From there it joins Kibo Hut.

The Northern Circuit passes Moir Hut, Buffalo Camp, Third Cave and School Hut on the quiet northern slopes. You will often have these camps almost to yourself.

On the way down, Mweka Camp for the southern routes and Horombo for the eastern ones. Every route ends at a gate, a signing-out, and a drive to a hotel bed.

Green and yellow tents in a high camp below the snow-streaked summit of Kibo.

Staying comfortable

Bring a sleeping bag rated to at least minus ten, and a proper sleeping mat, because the cold comes up through the ground. Hire both in Moshi if you do not own them.

Keep a dry set of clothes just for sleeping, and put tomorrow's clothes in the bag with you so they are not freezing at dawn.

A head torch is the one thing you use every night. Keep it where your hand falls.

Use the private toilet tent if your operator provides one. Ask before you book whether they do.

And go to bed early. It is dark by seven, the mess tent empties by eight, and the mornings start at six. The mountain runs on the sun.

Questions

Do you sleep in tents on Kilimanjaro?
On every route except Marangu, yes. Your crew carries and pitches the tents, and there is a separate mess tent for meals. Marangu uses shared dormitory huts.
Are there toilets at the camps?
Every camp has public long-drop toilets. Most operators also bring a private toilet tent with a portable toilet, which is far better. Ask before you book.
Can I get a single tent?
Usually, for an extra charge. Tents are normally shared by two climbers. Ask when you book.
What is the high camp like?
Barafu, Kibo Hut and School Hut all sit around 4,600 to 4,700 metres on bare rock, with no water source and a cold wind. You arrive early, eat early, and try to sleep from about six before the midnight start.
Is there water at the camps?
At all camps except the high camps, the crew collects water from nearby streams and boils or treats it. At high camp, water is carried up from below.
Can I charge my phone?
No. There is no power on the mountain. Bring a power bank, keep it warm, and use airplane mode. Signal is patchy at some camps and absent at others.
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