Best Mountain Camping Spots
Mountain camping above the treeline requires a different equipment set from forest or coastal camping: shelter rated for wind rather than rain, insulation for temperatures that can drop well below freezing even in summer, navigation skills for terrain where trails are not always marked, and altitude awareness. The locations below span a range from accessible alpine sites with hut support to genuine high-altitude expedition camps.
1. Egypt Lake, Banff National Park, Canada
The Egypt Lake backcountry area in the Sunshine Meadows zone is the most accessible alpine camping in the Canadian Rockies. The campground at 2,225 metres has tent pads, a food cable system, and a warden's cabin. The Pharaoh Lakes and the Scarab Lake circuit from the base camp add two to three extra days of alpine travel. Permit required through Parks Canada. The route begins at the Sunshine Meadows gondola parking area.
2. Jomolhari Base Camp, Bhutan
At 4,080 metres below the Jomolhari massif on the Bhutan-Tibet border, the Jomolhari Base Camp is the highest camp on the Jomolhari Trek — one of Bhutan's most famous high-altitude circuits. The trek requires a government-assigned guide and a daily permit fee (currently USD 250 per day per person, inclusive of accommodation and meals at lower sites). The campsite itself is on an open yak pasture with the full northern face of Jomolhari visible at dawn. Acclimatisation from lower elevations is required; altitude sickness is a genuine risk above 3,500 metres.
3. Mawenzi Tarn Huts, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
At 4,330 metres on the north face of Mawenzi, this Kilimanjaro National Park camp is on the less-frequented Rongai route. The camp provides mountain huts (not luxury accommodation) and tent platforms. The Mawenzi summit and the saddle between Mawenzi and Kibo are accessible from here. All Kilimanjaro camping requires an NPS permit, an accredited guide, and payment of park fees which are among the highest per-day camping fees in Africa.
4. Everest Base Camp area, Tibet/Nepal border
The Cho Oyu Base Camp (listed in the geojson data) and the standard Everest Base Camp in Tibet's Qomolangma National Nature Preserve require permits from the Tibet Autonomous Region. Camping at 5,200 metres on the Rongbuk Glacier approach is the standard set-up for trekkers approaching from the Tibetan plateau. Nepal-side EBC trekking uses teahouse accommodation rather than independent camping. The Tibet-side approach provides a true camping experience at altitude with direct glacier access.
5. Sahale Glacier Camp, North Cascades, USA
At 2,050 metres on a rocky promontory above the Cascade Pass in North Cascades National Park, Washington, the Sahale Arm camping area is one of the most scenically extreme front-country-permitted camps in the lower 48 states. No facilities; tent pads only, a composting toilet, and a food locker. The view encompasses Boston Glacier, the Quien Sabe Glacier, and most of the Cascade Range in both directions. Permit required through recreation.gov; competition is intense for summer dates.
6. Glacier Basin, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA
At 2,900 metres in the Glacier Gorge drainage below the east face of Long's Peak, the Glacier Basin campground is one of the most popular high-altitude family campgrounds in the US Rockies. Electric hookups are not available; bear boxes are required for food storage. The Glacier Gorge trailhead is a short walk from the campground and provides access to the most concentrated collection of alpine lakes in the park: Jewel Lake, Mills Lake, and the Black Lake drainage.
7. Refugio Grey, Torres del Paine, Chile
On the moraine above Lago Grey and the Grey Glacier at 200 metres elevation, the Camping Grey and associated Refugio provide the best glacier-face camping access in the southern Andes outside Antarctic expeditions. The Camping Los Cuernos on the east arm of the W circuit is in a lower but more dramatically positioned site below the Los Cuernos towers. Both require advance booking through the Vértice Patagonia system; capacity is limited.
8. Ngorongoro Wild Camp, Tanzania
On the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater at 2,400 metres, the Ngorongoro Wild Camp provides camping at altitude above one of the densest wildlife concentrations in Africa — the crater floor 600 metres below holds permanent populations of lion, elephant, black rhino, and the largest density of predators in the world. The combination of alpine altitude camping and wildlife proximity is unique in Africa. Permits through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority.
9. Spiti Nature Camp, Himachal Pradesh, India
In the Spiti Valley at approximately 3,800 metres in the rain shadow of the Himalayas, the Spiti Nature Camp provides a base for Tibetan plateau landscape exploration. The valley is accessible from Manali over the Rohtang Pass (open June through September) or via the longer Kinnaur Valley route. The monasteries of Key, Tabo, and Dhankar are the cultural circuit; the wildlife — snow leopard at higher elevations, Tibetan wolf, and bharal (blue sheep) — is the primary wildlife draw.
10. Glacier Meadows, Mount Rainier, Washington, USA
At 1,920 metres on the northeastern slopes of Mount Rainier, Glacier Meadows is the overnight camp for the Emmons Glacier route — the most popular guided route on Rainier's summit. The camp is on the Emmons Glacier lateral moraine with views across the glacier to the summit crater. An NPS backcountry permit and a summit climbing permit are required for the summit attempt. For trekkers not attempting the summit, Glacier Meadows is the turnaround point on the Inter-Glacier trail.
Altitude essentials
The rule of thumb for altitude acclimatisation above 2,500 metres is to ascend no more than 300 to 500 metres per day in sleeping altitude, with a rest day every third day. Above 3,500 metres, the symptoms of AMS (acute mountain sickness) — headache, nausea, loss of appetite, disturbed sleep — are common. The treatment for AMS is descent. Acetazolamide (Diamox) is a pharmaceutical acclimatisation aid prescribed in many travel medicine clinics for trips above 3,000 metres.