Southern Ice Field

The Southern Ice Field (SIF) is one of the three great remnant ice bodies crowning the summit of Kibo, Mount Kilimanjaro’s highest cone. Draped across the southern part of the summit plateau, it is the ice field that most climbers glimpse on their final approach to the roof of Africa — a shining wall of glaciers rising above the clouds on the side of the mountain that faces the climbing routes.

From the Southern Ice Field descend some of Kilimanjaro’s most famous named glaciers, including the Rebmann, Kersten, Decken, Heim and Ratzel glaciers — the dramatic ice cliffs that appear in so many photographs of the summit.

Overview of the Southern Ice Field

The Southern Ice Field is a plateau glacier resting on the southern flank of Kibo’s summit. Together with the larger Northern Ice Field and the smaller Eastern Ice Field, it is what remains of the once-continuous ice cap that covered the top of Kilimanjaro.

Because it sits on the sunlit southern side of the mountain — directly above the popular southern approach routes — the Southern Ice Field is the ice most travellers associate with Kilimanjaro. Its margins break into a series of individual glaciers whose sheer, stratified ice walls are among the summit’s defining sights.

Where Is the Southern Ice Field Located?

The Southern Ice Field lies on the southern summit plateau of Kibo, above 5,700 metres and just below the crater rim on the side of the mountain that faces the Machame, Umbwe and Barafu approaches. It is the counterpart to the mountain’s other summit ice bodies.

Key location details:

• Mountain: Mount Kilimanjaro (Kilimanjaro National Park)
• Position: Southern summit plateau of Kibo
• Feeds glaciers: Rebmann, Kersten, Decken, Heim and Ratzel
• Elevation: approximately 5,700–5,895 m
• Status: major remaining ice body on Kilimanjaro; retreating

The Glaciers of the Southern Ice Field

What makes the Southern Ice Field so memorable is the cluster of named glaciers that spill from its margins down the southern face of Kibo. Each was named by early explorers and scientists who studied Kilimanjaro, and together they form the classic profile of ice cliffs seen from the summit approaches.

The named glaciers include:

• Rebmann Glacier — named after Johannes Rebmann, the missionary who in 1848 became the first European to report snow on Kilimanjaro.
• Kersten Glacier — named after Otto Kersten, a member of the Baron von der Decken expedition.
• Decken Glacier — named after Baron Carl Claus von der Decken, an early explorer of the mountain.
• Heim Glacier — named after the Swiss geologist Albert Heim.
• Ratzel Glacier — named after the geographer Friedrich Ratzel.

A defining feature of these glaciers is their dramatic vertical ice walls — sheer cliffs, sometimes tens of metres high, that reveal the layered ice built up over centuries and that catch the first light of dawn as climbers reach the crater rim.

Size, Elevation, and Climate

The Southern Ice Field lies in Kilimanjaro’s arctic summit zone, where the air remains permanently below freezing yet the equatorial sun is fierce. On the sunlit southern aspect, this exposes the ice to especially intense solar radiation.

Conditions on the ice:

• Summit surface temperatures stay below freezing year-round, typically ranging from a few degrees below zero by day to well below −15 °C on cold, clear nights.
• Precipitation in the summit zone falls as snow and graupel and often disappears within days.
• Despite sub-freezing air, direct sunlight melts and undercuts the vertical ice walls, driving their retreat.
• The glaciers have no active accumulation zones, so they lose more ice than they gain.

A Vanishing Ice Field: Retreat and Climate Change

The Southern Ice Field is part of one of the world’s most studied examples of tropical glacier loss. Almost 85 percent of Kilimanjaro’s ice cover 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 southern glaciers have thinned and fragmented, with some ice walls retreating year on year.
• 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.

Because the Southern Ice Field faces the sun and the main climbing routes, its retreat is among the most visible and frequently photographed evidence of Kilimanjaro’s shrinking ice.

Why the Southern Ice Field Is Retreating

The causes of Kilimanjaro’s ice loss are more nuanced than straightforward warming. Research points to a decline in atmospheric moisture — lower specific humidity following a sharp climate shift at the end of the 19th century — rather than rising air temperature as the main long-term driver. No clear warming trend was found at the elevation of these glaciers between 1948 and 2005.

Since the summit air stays below freezing, the ice rarely melts from the top. Instead, it is lost mainly through solar radiation striking the vertical ice walls and through sublimation, where ice turns directly to vapour in the dry, sunlit air. On the sun-facing southern side, this process is especially effective, and once the vertical margins are exposed there is little to halt their retreat.

Seeing the Southern Ice Field

The Southern Ice Field is the ice most climbers see up close, because it sits directly above the southern summit approaches.

• Climbers ascending from Barafu toward Uhuru Peak pass beneath the southern glaciers as they climb to the crater rim.
• The Machame Route, Lemosho Route and Umbwe Route all bring trekkers up the southern side toward this ice.
• Nearby summit features such as Stella Point offer sweeping views of the ice cliffs at sunrise.

At dawn, the layered ice walls of the Southern Ice Field glow gold and rose above the clouds — one of the most photographed sights on the entire mountain.

Why the Southern Ice Field Matters

The Southern Ice Field is more than a spectacle. Its glaciers, named for the explorers and scientists who first studied Kilimanjaro, are a living link to the mountain’s exploration history. Scientifically, the ice preserves a record of past climate, and its rapid retreat has become one of the most recognisable images of glacier loss anywhere in the world.

The disappearance of the summit ice would have little effect on the region’s water supply — that role belongs to the forests lower down the mountain — but its cultural and scientific value is immense, and its shrinking cliffs are a vivid reminder of a changing planet.

What the Experience Feels Like

For most climbers, the first close encounter with the Southern Ice Field comes at dawn on summit day, after a long night-time ascent. Cresting the rim near Stella Point, trekkers find themselves beside towering walls of ancient ice, glowing in the sunrise as the plains of Tanzania stretch out far below.

There is a powerful sense of standing beside something rare and fleeting — ice that has crowned equatorial Africa for centuries, now visibly retreating. For many, these glaciers are as unforgettable as the summit sign itself.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Southern Ice Field

Where is the Southern Ice Field on Mount Kilimanjaro?

The Southern Ice Field lies on the southern summit plateau of Kibo, above 5,700 m and just below the crater rim, on the side of the mountain that faces the main southern climbing routes.

Which glaciers belong to the Southern Ice Field?

The Rebmann, Kersten, Decken, Heim and Ratzel glaciers all descend from the Southern Ice Field.

Why are the southern glaciers so often photographed?

Because the Southern Ice Field faces both the sun and the popular southern climbing routes, its dramatic ice cliffs are seen up close by most climbers at sunrise, making them the classic image of Kilimanjaro’s summit.

Is the Southern Ice Field disappearing?

Yes. Like the rest of Kilimanjaro’s ice, it has retreated sharply — nearly 85 percent of the mountain’s ice was lost between 1912 and 2011, and most is projected to be gone by around 2040.

Why is the ice retreating if the summit stays below freezing?

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

Can you see the Southern Ice Field when climbing Kilimanjaro?

Yes. Climbers on the Machame, Lemosho and Umbwe routes pass beneath it, and the ice cliffs are seen at close range on the final ascent from Barafu toward Stella Point and Uhuru Peak.

Need help with Kilimanjaro National Park?

If you’d like help understanding Kilimanjaro National Park, choosing a route that brings you close to the summit glaciers, or planning a safe and well-paced climb toward features like the Southern Ice Field, we’re happy to guide you through the options and logistics so you can experience the roof of Africa at its most spectacular.