Mount Kilimanjaro Climbing

Kilimanjaro is the world’s highest free-standing, snow-covered equatorial mountain. Located in the North-East of Tanzania, nearly 75,000 people climb Kilimanjaro each year. It is certainly a test of your abilities with altitude sickness, nevertheless, it's high on the tourist bucket lists of most people. Kilimanjaro is a volcanic massif in north-eastern Tanzania, near the Kenya border. Its central cone, Kibo, rises to 19,340 feet (5,895 meters) and is the highest point of Africa. Kilimanjaro lies about 100 miles (160 km) east of the East African Rift System and about 140 miles (225 km) south of Nairobi, Kenya.

Kibo, the youngest and highest, retains the form of a typical volcanic cone and crater and is linked by a 7-mile (11-km) saddle at about 15,000 feet (4,500 meters) with Mawensi (16,893 feet [5,149 meters]), which is the older core of a former summit. Shira ridge (13,000 feet [3,962 meters]) is a remnant of an earlier crater. Below the saddle, Kilimanjaro slopes in a typical volcanic curve to the plains below, which lie at an elevation of about 3,300 feet (1,000 meters). The breathtaking snow-clad dome of Kibo contains a caldera (crater) on its southern side that is 1.2 miles (2 km) across and some 980 feet (300 meters) deep, with an inner cone that displays residual volcanic activity. Mansi's cone is highly eroded, jagged, and precipitous and is cleft east and west by gorges. Only Kibo retains a permanent ice cap. Mansi has semi-`permanent ice patches and substantial seasonal snow.

One of the most amazing aspects of the mountain is the accessibility of its peak to climbers with no mountain climbing equipment or real previous experience of scaling such heights. The breathable oxygen at the top is less than half the amount that is common at sea level. Climbers cover at least eighty kilometers, on nothing but their own two feet to reach the top and then return back.

The number of climbers has escalated to over a thousand a year during the last century. The increasing numbers each year have made it necessary for the National Park to insist that all climbs are pre-booked, and passes are no longer issued at the last minute at the park gate.

There are several routes you can decide to take when climbing Mount Kilimanjaro but each of them offers different challenges and expectations. Choosing the best climbing route for your Mount Kilimanjaro climbing shall surely improve your prospects of reaching the peak of the mountain.