Northern Ice Field

The Northern Ice Field (NIF) is the largest surviving body of ice on Mount Kilimanjaro, spread across the northern summit plateau of Kibo. Once part of a continuous ice cap that crowned the mountain, it has thinned and fractured into separate glaciers as Kilimanjaro’s famous “snows” retreat — yet it remains the most substantial ice on the highest mountain in Africa, and one of its most striking summit features.

For climbers who reach the crater rim near Uhuru Peak and Gilman’s Point, the towering vertical walls of the Northern Ice Field are among the most unforgettable sights on the entire mountain — ancient ice cliffs glowing in the dawn light, high above the clouds of equatorial Africa.

Overview of the Northern Ice Field

The Northern Ice Field is a plateau glacier occupying the cooler, north-facing part of Kibo’s summit. Because it lies on the shaded northern aspect, it has endured longer than the ice on other sides of the mountain, and today holds the greatest remaining volume of ice on Kilimanjaro.

At its edges the ice field is divergent, splitting into individual named glaciers — most notably the Credner Glacier and the Drygalski Glacier. Two other glaciers once associated with this ice, the Great and Little Penck, have since disappeared entirely, a stark measure of how much the mountain’s ice has changed.

Where Is the Northern Ice Field Located?

The Northern Ice Field sits on the northern summit plateau of Kibo, Kilimanjaro’s highest volcanic cone, close to the crater rim and above 5,700 metres. It is the counterpart to the mountain’s two other summit ice bodies, the Southern Ice Field and the smaller Eastern Ice Field.

Key location details:

• Mountain: Mount Kilimanjaro (Kilimanjaro National Park)
• Position: Northern summit plateau of Kibo
• Feeds glaciers: Credner and Drygalski (Great & Little Penck now vanished)
• Elevation: approximately 5,700–5,895 m
• Status: largest remaining ice body on Kilimanjaro; retreating

What Is an Ice Field, and How Does It Differ from a Glacier?

An ice field is a broad, connected mass of ice that can feed several outlet glaciers around its margins. On Kilimanjaro, the summit ice cap was once continuous, but as it shrank it separated into distinct ice fields on the northern, southern, and eastern parts of the plateau.

The Northern Ice Field is therefore not a single glacier but a reservoir of ice from which named glaciers descend. A defining feature of these plateau glaciers is their dramatic vertical ice margin walls — sheer cliffs of ice, sometimes many metres high, that mark where the ice field ends and reveal its internal layers, or stratifications, built up over centuries.

Size, Elevation, and Climate

The Northern Ice Field lies in Kilimanjaro’s arctic summit zone, where the air is permanently below freezing yet the equatorial sun is intense. This unusual combination drives the way the ice behaves and retreats.

Conditions on the ice:

• Nighttime surface temperatures on the NIF average around −9 °C (16 °F), with average daytime highs near −4 °C (25 °F).
• On nights of extreme radiational cooling, the surface can plunge to between −15 and −27 °C.
• Summit precipitation falls mainly as snow and graupel and often vanishes within days.
• Although air temperatures stay below freezing, strong solar radiation melts and erodes the vertical ice walls.

Ancient Ice: The Age and Origin of the Northern Ice Field

The Northern Ice Field has long fascinated climate scientists. Ice cores drilled from the NIF have been interpreted as reaching a basal age of around 11,700 years, suggesting the ice preserves a record stretching back close to the start of the Holocene epoch, when higher rainfall allowed Kilimanjaro’s ice cap to reform.

That great age is not settled science, however. A later analysis of ice from exposed vertical cliffs in the NIF suggested an age extending only to around 800 years, and the true age of Kilimanjaro’s plateau glaciers remains a subject of active scientific debate. What is clear is that this ice has archived centuries of atmospheric history — a natural record now being lost as the ice disappears.

A Vanishing Ice Field: Retreat and Climate Change

The Northern Ice Field is part of one of the most closely watched examples of tropical glacier loss in the world. Almost 85 percent of the ice cover on Kilimanjaro disappeared between 1912 and 2011, shrinking from about 11.4 km² to under 1 km².

Key facts about the retreat:

• Average annual ice loss was about 1.1 percent from 1912 to 1953, rising to 1.4 percent (1953–1989) and 2.5 percent (1989–2007).
• Of the ice still present in 2000, nearly 40 percent had gone by 2011.
• The glaciers are thinning as well as shrinking in area, and have no active accumulation zones.
• One 2013 assessment estimated most of Kilimanjaro’s ice will vanish by around 2040, and that it is highly unlikely any ice body will remain after 2060.

As the largest remaining ice mass, the Northern Ice Field is central to this story — both as the ice most likely to persist longest, and as a powerful visual symbol of a changing climate.

Why the Northern Ice Field Is Retreating

The reasons behind Kilimanjaro’s ice loss are more subtle than simple warming. Research indicates that a decrease in atmospheric moisture — lower specific humidity following a sharp climate shift at the end of the 19th century — rather than rising air temperature has driven the long-term shrinkage. In fact, no clear warming trend was found at the elevation of these glaciers between 1948 and 2005.

Because the summit air stays below freezing, the ice does not simply melt from the top. Instead, loss occurs mainly through solar radiation striking the vertical ice walls and through sublimation, where ice turns directly to vapour in the dry, intensely sunlit air. Once those vertical margins are exposed, as scientists have noted, there is essentially no pathway for the plateau glaciers other than to keep retreating.

Seeing the Northern Ice Field

The Northern Ice Field is best appreciated from the summit area of Kibo. Climbers on the various routes glimpse its glaciers and ice walls as they approach and cross the crater rim, particularly around sunrise.

• From Gilman’s Point and along the rim to Uhuru Peak, the northern glaciers and ice cliffs come into dramatic view.
• The Northern Circuit Route traverses the quiet northern slopes beneath the ice field’s domain.
• Climbers taking the Western Breach into the crater pass close to the summit glaciers and can camp at Crater Camp among the ice.

Wherever it is seen, the sheer scale and blue-white beauty of the ice — suspended above equatorial Africa — leaves a lasting impression.

Why the Northern Ice Field Matters

Beyond its stark beauty, the Northern Ice Field carries real significance. Scientifically, its ice preserves a record of past climate that researchers have used to understand the history of tropical Africa. Symbolically, its retreat has become one of the world’s most recognisable images of glacier loss.

Interestingly, the disappearance of the summit ice would have only negligible impact on the region’s water supply — it is the forests far below, not the glaciers, that are the essential water reservoirs for local communities. The ice field’s importance is instead scientific, historical, and deeply emblematic of Kilimanjaro itself.

What the Experience Feels Like

Standing near the Northern Ice Field at dawn is one of the great experiences of a Kilimanjaro climb. After a freezing night-time ascent, climbers crest the rim to find themselves beside ancient walls of ice, glowing pink and gold as the sun rises over the plains far below.

There is a profound sense of witnessing something rare and fleeting — ice that has crowned equatorial Africa for centuries, now visibly retreating within a human lifetime. For many trekkers, the summit glaciers are as moving as the summit itself.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Northern Ice Field

Where is the Northern Ice Field on Mount Kilimanjaro?

The Northern Ice Field lies on the northern summit plateau of Kibo, Kilimanjaro’s highest cone, near the crater rim above 5,700 m. It is the largest of the mountain’s three main summit ice fields.

Why is the Northern Ice Field the largest remaining ice on Kilimanjaro?

Its position on the cooler, shaded northern side of the summit has protected it from the intense solar radiation that has erased ice on other aspects, so it has endured longer and holds the greatest remaining volume of ice.

What glaciers belong to the Northern Ice Field?

The Credner and Drygalski glaciers descend from the Northern Ice Field. The Great and Little Penck glaciers, once part of this ice, have completely disappeared.

How old is the ice in the Northern Ice Field?

Ice cores have suggested a basal age of around 11,700 years, though a later study of exposed ice cliffs indicated an age extending only to about 800 years. The exact age remains debated by scientists.

Is the Northern Ice Field disappearing?

Yes. Along with the rest of Kilimanjaro’s ice, it has retreated dramatically — nearly 85 percent of the mountain’s ice cover was lost between 1912 and 2011. Estimates suggest most of Kilimanjaro’s ice could be gone by around 2040.

Why is Kilimanjaro’s ice retreating if the air stays below freezing?

Loss is driven mainly by reduced atmospheric moisture, intense solar radiation on the vertical ice walls, and sublimation — ice turning straight to vapour — rather than by conventional melting from above.

Can you see the Northern Ice Field when climbing Kilimanjaro?

Yes. Its glaciers and ice cliffs are visible from the crater rim between Gilman’s Point and Uhuru Peak, from the Northern Circuit Route, and especially from within the crater on the Western Breach route.

Need help with Kilimanjaro National Park?

If you’d like help understanding Kilimanjaro National Park, choosing the right route, or planning a safe and well-paced climb that brings you close to remarkable features like the Northern Ice Field, we’re happy to guide you through the options and logistics so you can experience the mountain at its most wild and rewarding.