It takes days of climbing to come within reach of the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro. But then, after hiking during the day like you'd expect, we start trekking the final stretch towards Uhuru Peak at midnight.
Why?
Why summit Kilimanjaro at night, when it’s icy cold, you can’t see beyond the beam of your torch, and every instinct tells you to return to your tent and dive back into your sleeping bag?
There are reasons to the madness, we assure you, so please read on …
It’s called summit night by some and summit day by others, and both are valid names as you start hiking at midnight and finish hiking in the afternoon.
Why summit Kilimanjaro at night?
Here are the handful of reasons why most tour operators (including us at Follow Alice) start the summit climb at midnight ...
1. It’s hard to sleep at altitude
The higher the altitude, the harder it is to sleep at night. This is because the reduced oxygen makes breathing more difficult. Instead of everyone lying awake in bed fretting over the mega hike ahead of them, we bite the bullet and set out early for the summit.
You might like to learn more about this topic in Sleeping on Kilimanjaro – all you need to know.
2. There’s much ground to cover
Another of the key reasons for the night-time start is that there’s so much ground to cover! Regardless of whether the base camp for your summit attempt is Kibo Hut or Barafu Camp, you have to trek for hours to reach the summit. Then, you must still trek for hours more down the Mweka route to reach that night’s rest camp in the forest zone. You can't overnight again at one of the base camps as you need to free them up for those who are trekkers a day behind you.
The glaciers on Kilimanjaro are beautiful by moonlight
3. Water is scarce near the summit
All of the water used for drinking, cooking and cleaning during your trek is obtained from streams, but these are only found lower down on the mountain. The summit’s base camps are in the alpine desert zone, where usually there isn't flowing water.
So the longer you stay at very high altitude on Kilimanjaro, the more water that must be carried up to camp. And the porters can only carry so much before you need to hire more porters.
So this is yet another reason that we must cover a whopping great distance on summit day on Kilimanjaro, and hence our midnight starting time.
Only the lower part of Kilimanjaro has streams for obtaining water
4. Sunrise offers the best views
The morning sun's rays paint a landscape in magical colours that the harsh midday sun simply cannot beat. So what better time of day to stand atop the summit of Kilimanjaro and gaze down over the mountain and the African plains than first light?
Sunrise bathes the snow, glaciers and rocks of Kilimanjaro in beautiful varying hues. It's the most beautiful time of day to stand atop the 'roof of Africa'!
Note too that an important waymarker on the path to Uhuru Peak is Stella Point. We aim to reach this famous viewpoint at sunrise. From there, you hike for just about half an hour or so in the sun's warming rays to reach Uhuru Peak.
This is what Reto, one of Follow Alice's founders, has to say about reaching Stella Point on his Kilimanjaro climb:
The biggest moment during summit night for me was reaching Stella Point when darkness, the freezing cold and uncertainty vanished. The sun came out, the temperature started rising and I felt in a very good physical state to tackle the last half an hour along the crater rim to Uhuru Peak. I felt like nothing could go wrong anymore and this half an hour to the actual summit was one of the happiest and most intense in my life, filled with natural beauty and the feeling of having achieved something truly extraordinary.
The last bit of the climb is done in the welcome light of the rising sun
What is the schedule for summit night?
Below is the schedule we at Follow Alice follow for summit night. We’re not alone in doing things this way – you’ll be joined on the path by trekkers climbing with other operators.
- 11 pm: You're woken up by a member of your mountain crew and brought a hot drink. Then it's time to dress, pack and get ready to leave camp.
- Midnight: You leave base camp and head for the summit!
- Around sunrise: Stop at Stella Point (5,739 m) to marvel at the beauty of the sunrise and the emerging view.
- About 30 minutes later: Reach the highest point on Kilimanjaro, Uhuru Peak (5,895 m)! Celebration time!!
- 15 minutes later: Begin the descent.
- Afternoon: Reach Mweka or Marangu Camp. Collapse into a chair and think in wonderment over your massive achievement!
Climbers leaving Barafu Camp for the summit of Kili
Full-moon summit climbs
At Follow Alice we also offer full moon summit climbs. As the name suggests, these climbs are timed so that summit night takes place under a full moon. This is a truly special way to climb Kilimanjaro, as the moonshine illuminates your entire path up to the summit! You also get to see the glaciers under the moonlight, which is truly beautiful.
