Tanzania





Mount Kilimanjaro National Park


From the Serengeti to Zanzibar, Tanzania has more than its share of African travel icons. None, however, surpasses Kilimanjaro, whose snow-capped Uhuru Peak is the highest point on the continent. Rising in breathtaking isolation from the dusty scrubland along the Kenya border, Kilimanjaro, when measured from 900m base to 5,895-metre peak, also ranks as the tallest free-standing mountain in the world.

Scenically, Kilimanjaro can be something of a non-event, spending most of its time with its head shrouded in cloud. But when this veil lifts, typically in the late afternoon, it’s difficult to imagine a more inspirational sight than this distinctive snow-capped outline towering a full 5km above the likes of Moshi or Arusha National Park.

For hikers, the so-called Roof of Africa – its upper slopes protected in a 755 sq km national park – is one of the world's most accessible high summits, reached via a sequence of vegetational zones spanning everything from tropical forest to arctic waste. The ascent requires no expertise, but nor should it be underestimated - sub-zero temperatures and giddying altitude changes will test anybody’s physical and mental resources, and a successful ascent is for many the achievement of a lifetime.


 



Vegetation and habitats

Wildlife

Activities

Getting there

Where to stay

Nearby places of interest





Vegetation and habitats






Wildlife





Activities





Getting there




Where to stay



Nearby places of interest



Checklist of conspicuous and noteworthy mammals: leopard, common eland, Abbott’s duiker, Harvey’s red duiker, common duiker, bushbuck, African elephant, African buffalo, bushpig, yellow baboon, blue monkey, black-and-white colobus, vervet monkey, tree hyrax, red forest squirrel.