Kilimanjaro: Northern Circuit

We grade all of our trips to try and make it easy to understand the fitness levels required. These are broad guidelines however so you’re welcome to chat to us about any specific concerns you might have.

You’ll find more information about these levels here and you can find the difficulty rating for this specific trip at the top of the page.

After you book, we’ll get to work confirming that the dates you’ve selected are completely available.

There are extremely rare circumstances that may mean we’re unable to confirm your booking. These circumstances are limited to events beyond our control or not being able to secure the services that you wanted to book.

In the extremely rare event that we’re unable to confirm your booking you will be offered an alternative itinerary or a full refund without any fees. Please do not book any non-changeable travel plans until you receive the confirmation from us. This will be within 72 hours.

A detailed Trip Dossier will then be sent to you after you make your booking. It’ll contain all the information you might need to help you pack and get prepared for your trip, including information on visas, vaccinations, packing and training.

We encourage you to refer to the UK Government’s official travel advisory service when planning your trips. You can find the FCDO advice here.

And when you travel, we work closely with local experts to put together the best itineraries. We’ve worked with them exhaustively to provide safe adventures at great value. They know their destination better than we ever could so you’ll be in good hands! You can read a bit more about why we will only ever have locally-led trips here.

It might not be an issue. Some destinations such as Rwanda have firm rules in place about how old people should be in order to visit the gorillas. In other destinations it’s more of a guideline.

Please do contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

1. adding in extra days or cutting out a day here or there;
2. squeezing in other destinations or removing them;
3. starting or finishing the trip in a different place;
4. staying in a hotel or guesthouse that we don’t list as an option.

Yes, absolutely. Here’s a link to where you can read more about how we are an ABTOT member and have an ATOL licence and what this means for your financial protection when booking a trip with us.

Deposits vary from destination to destination and from trip to trip. Generally speaking we require a deposit of 25%. This amount may be higher for certain trips where more services that usual need to be booked and paid for in advance (such as gorilla permits in Rwanda). Deposits are non-refundable.

Balance payments are required up to 70 days prior to travel.

If you need to cancel your booking, the following fees will apply based on the time before your scheduled departure:

• Immediate loss of deposit (25% of total cost) upon cancellation.

• 50% of the total cost if cancelled after the balance is paid and up to 45 days before departure.

• 75% of the total cost if cancelled 30 to 45 days before departure.

• 100% of the total cost if cancelled within 30 days of departure.

These fees compensate for expenses and bookings made on your behalf in anticipation of your trip.

All of our trips to mainland Tanzania will start and end at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO).

If you’re also travelling to Zanzibar then flights can be booked from Zanzibar International Airport (ZNZ). You might also look at flights out of Dar Es Salaam (DAR) but please be aware that this will require you to take a ferry to the mainland.

Please let us know if you need assistance selecting flights for your trip.

Unfortunately we can’t provide an exhaustive list of everything included in the ‘What’s Included’ section of this page as we include a whole bunch of stuff on our trips!

If it’s in the itinerary and we’ve not explicitly said that it’s an optional activity, then yes – it’s almost certainly included. If you’re not sure, please ask.

The meals that are included are all listed on the daily itinerary.

For the accommodation, we’ve got a shortlist of properties that we use. You can get a sense of the types of accommodation we use higher up the page in the ‘Where We’ll Stay’ section. We cannot guarantee any specific properties for your trip as it’s based on availability. If you are wanting to specifically request a property then please get in touch as we’re able to customise our trips.

This trip spends time in locations where there might be significantly cold temperatures (below freezing) during the day with further temperature drops at night. You might be staying in poorly insulated accommodation in rural locations. It’s important that you are adequately equipped and that you remain sufficiently hydrated and nourished.

Our guides are trained to mitigate the risks associated with undertaking activity in cold weather but you should be aware of the risks and ensure you’re appropriately prepared.

A lot of our trips spend considerable time above altitudes of over 2,500m. Some people may experience symptoms associated with Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). It’s really important to note a couple of things. Firstly, past experience at high altitudes is not necessarily an indicator of how you’ll fare in the future. Secondly, our itineraries have been curated and our guides  have been trained to mitigate the risks associated with trekking at altitude. However, due to the nature of trekking at altitude it’s vital that you report any symptoms to your guide immediately. It’s also important that you have travel insurance covering you up to the maximum altitude at which you’ll be trekking.

Yes, it is. We run adventurous trips and it’s mandatory that you have suitable travel insurance in place to cover overseas medical treatment as well as evacuation or repatriation.

We can’t recommend which provider you use but the main things we’d encourage you to look out for is that you’re fully covered for the activities you’re taking part in (i.e., covers you up to the altitude you’ll be trekking at) and that it covers cancellation in the event that illness or other circumstances prevent you from travelling.

Tips are not included in any of our trips. They are entirely discretionary but in most cases are expected by the teams that will be looking after you. We know it can be daunting to work out exactly what to give so whilst this guideline hopefully helps, please remember that it’s a completely personal choice and you should feel free to tip more or less based on the quality of service that you receive.

Lead Trekking Guide: $25 USD per day

Assistant Trekking Guide: $15 USD per day

Porters or Support Staff: $6-15 USD per day

Drivers: $10 USD per day

Again, tipping is not compulsory and please only do so if the service you’ve received warrants it. It’s hugely appreciated and a way for the teams looking after you to supplement their income.