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Kilimanjaro · 7 min read

Kilimanjaro summit night, hour by hour

Midnight to sunrise on the crater rim, honestly described.

Active Kili Top · Arusha · Updated 3 October 2026
Tents at a high camp on Kilimanjaro under a clear night sky
A high camp on Kilimanjaro at night.

Kilimanjaro summit night is the part of the climb everyone asks about and the part that is hardest to picture in advance. It is not technical. There is no rope and nothing to climb with your hands. It is a very long, very slow walk uphill in the dark and the cold, at a height where each breath carries about half the oxygen it does at the coast, followed by a descent that is longer still.

This is how the night usually runs on the routes that leave from Barafu, which include our Lemosho and Machame plans, with the differences for the routes that leave from Kibo Huts. The clock times are typical ones. Your guide sets the real ones on the night, according to the group and the weather.

The short answer

Kilimanjaro summit night starts around midnight. From Barafu Camp at about 4,670 m you climb scree by head torch for five to seven hours to Stella Point on the crater rim, then walk about an hour to Uhuru Peak at 5,895 m. With the descent, the day lasts 12 to 14 hours.

At a glance: Kilimanjaro summit night from Barafu Camp

Typical times for a steady group. Yours may be an hour or more either side.
Time (typical)Where you areWhat happens
About 11 pmBarafu Camp, about 4,670 mWoken with tea and biscuits; dress in every layer
Around midnightLeaving BarafuHead torches on, a slow line up the ridge
1 am to 5 amThe scree slopeSwitchbacks, short stops, the coldest hours
About 6 amStella Point, about 5,756 mThe crater rim, usually near sunrise
About 7 amUhuru Peak, 5,895 mThe summit sign, photographs, a short stay
9 am to 10 amBack at BarafuRest, eat, pack
Mid-afternoonMweka Camp, about 3,100 mThicker air, and the end of the day
Next: Before midnight ↓Contents ↑

Before midnight: the evening at Barafu Camp

You reach Barafu by early afternoon. The name means ice in Kiswahili, and the camp sits on a bare rock ridge at about 4,670 m with no water of its own; everything is carried up. The afternoon is for an early dinner, the guide’s summit briefing and laying out your kit: every layer you own, head torch with spare batteries, gloves, water and snacks you can eat with cold hands.

Then you lie down, usually by seven. Almost nobody sleeps properly at this height, and that is normal. Resting still does you good. Put tomorrow’s water and your batteries inside the sleeping bag, because both suffer in the cold, and keep your summit clothes close so that you dress warm.

You are woken at about eleven with tea and biscuits. The start is at night for practical reasons. It puts you on the rim near sunrise, it leaves the whole of the day for a very long descent, and the loose scree is firmer underfoot while it is frozen. Under a full moon the slope is lit, which we discuss in when to climb, and when not to.

Next: Midnight to dawn ↓Contents ↑

Midnight to dawn: Barafu to Stella Point

From Barafu to Stella Point is a little under 1,100 m of height gain, and it takes most groups five to seven hours. The path climbs the rocky ridge above camp and then zigzags up a long slope of scree. You see the pool of your own torch, the boots of the person ahead, and a line of other lights above and below. The pace is the slowest you have ever walked. That is how it is meant to be.

It is cold from the first step and coldest in the hour before dawn. The average temperature at the summit is about minus seven degrees Celsius, and published accounts of summit night give a range from a few degrees above freezing to around minus fifteen, before any wind. Drinking tubes freeze, so carry a bottle inside your jacket. Fingers and toes complain. Stops are kept short because you cool down quickly once you are standing still.

The difficulty is the altitude, not the gradient. Headache, nausea and a deep tiredness are common, and many people go quiet between two and five in the morning. Guides watch for this and talk to each climber. Tell yours the truth when you are asked how you feel. Eat and sip a little at every stop even if you do not want to. Above all, do not hurry to keep warm.

Next: The crater rim ↓Contents ↑

Sunrise on the crater rim: Stella Point to Uhuru Peak

Stella Point, at about 5,756 m, is where the path from Barafu meets the rim of Kibo’s crater. Most groups arrive around sunrise. The slope eases, the light comes up behind Mawenzi to the east, and for the first time in hours you can see where you are: the crater on one side, the southern glaciers on the other. For most climbers this is the moment the night turns.

The summit is not at Stella Point. Uhuru Peak is a further 140 m higher and about an hour away along the rim, on a broad path that is gentle by comparison. It is also the highest and slowest hour of the climb. The park issues a certificate for reaching the rim as well as one for Uhuru, and for some climbers Stella Point is the right place to stop.

At 5,895 m there is the summit sign, a queue for photographs in the busy months, and a view across the ice fields to the plains. Nobody stays long, usually ten to twenty minutes. The body does not recover at this height, and the guide will want everyone moving down while they are still steady on their feet.

Next: From Kibo Hut ↓Contents ↑

Summit night from Kibo Hut: Gilman's Point on Marangu and Rongai

The Marangu and Rongai routes start summit night from Kibo Huts, at about 4,710 m on the eastern side of the cone. The timing is the same: woken around eleven, walking by midnight. The path zigzags up scree to Gilman’s Point, which the park’s sign gives as 5,685 m, and reaches the rim there instead of at Stella Point.

Gilman’s Point is lower than Stella Point and further from the summit. From there you walk round the rim, past Stella Point, to Uhuru Peak, which takes roughly two hours. So the climb to the rim is slightly shorter in height and the walk along it is longer. The scree steepens towards the top, and the last stretch below Gilman’s is slow, cold work in the final hour of darkness.

Our Northern Circuit plan leaves from School Hut, at about 4,800 m, and joins the same path to Gilman’s Point. It then descends the southern side past Barafu to Mweka Camp, which makes it the longest summit day we run, at 13 to 15 hours. On Marangu and Rongai you return to Kibo Huts to rest and eat, then cross the saddle to Horombo at about 3,720 m.

Next: The descent ↓Contents ↑

The descent from Uhuru Peak, and when to turn back

The way down is the half of the day people forget to prepare for. From Uhuru you return to Stella Point and descend the scree to Barafu in two to three hours, sliding where the surface is loose. After a rest and a meal you carry on down to Mweka Camp at about 3,100 m. That is close to 2,800 m of descent in one day, on legs that have been working since midnight. Walking poles earn their place here.

The reward is immediate. With every few hundred metres the air thickens, headaches lift and appetite returns. The CDC Yellow Book notes that acute mountain sickness improves rapidly with a descent of 300 m or more, and that when symptoms worsen, descent is mandatory. By the time you reach camp in the afternoon you have been on your feet for 12 to 14 hours, and most people sleep better that night than on any other.

Turning back is part of summit night, not a failure of it. A headache is common. Loss of balance, confusion, breathlessness that does not ease with rest or a wet cough are different, and they mean going down at once. On our climbs an assistant guide descends with anyone who needs to, and nobody goes down alone. Read altitude is not a fitness test before you go, and check that your insurance covers 5,895 metres.

Next: Questions ↓Contents ↑

Questions people ask

From Barafu Camp it takes five to seven hours to reach Stella Point and about another hour to Uhuru Peak. The descent to Barafu takes two to three hours, and most itineraries then continue down to a lower camp. Expect 12 to 14 hours of walking in all.

Usually around midnight, after being woken at about eleven. Starting at night puts you on the crater rim near sunrise and leaves the full day for the long descent. Guides sometimes start slower groups a little earlier and faster ones a little later.

Well below freezing. The average temperature at the summit is about minus seven degrees Celsius, and before dawn it can be around minus fifteen, with wind chill on top. You need a down jacket, insulated gloves, a warm hat, thermal layers and windproof outer layers.

It is the hardest part of the climb for nearly everyone. The path is not technical, but you are walking steeply uphill for hours in the dark and cold with far less oxygen than usual, after little sleep. A slow pace and good acclimatisation in the days before matter most.

Stella Point, at about 5,756 m, is where the Barafu path reaches the crater rim. Uhuru Peak, at 5,895 m, is the true summit and the highest point in Africa. It lies about an hour further along the rim. The park issues certificates for both.

Gilman’s Point is on the eastern side of the crater rim, at about 5,685 m. Climbers on the Marangu, Rongai and Northern Circuit routes reach the rim there after climbing from Kibo Huts or School Hut. Uhuru Peak is roughly two hours further round the rim.

Climbers do not use bottled oxygen to reach the summit; the climb relies on acclimatising over several days. Many operators carry emergency oxygen for treating someone who is ill while they descend. Ask your operator what is carried, and remember that going down is the real treatment.

You turn round with a guide and go down, and you will feel better as you descend. Nobody should be sent down alone. Many people who stop do so at or below the crater rim, and the decision is made by you and your guide together on the night.

Last updated 3 October 2026

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