Mount Kilimanjaro is in the Kilimanjaro National park, in
the north of Tanzania, striding the border to Kenya. The closest
town is Moshi, from where most trekking companies leave. But
it is also close to Arusha town and its domestic airport,
or Kilimanjaro International Airport.
Mount
Kilimanjaro is very special, because although it is not the
highest mountain in the world, it is the highest, which can
be climbed by anyone, who just follows the safety rules, without
needing mountaineering experience. It is also a very impressive
mountain, as it rises majesticly 5000 meters above the surrounding
landscape, as a result of the volcanic activity related to
the Great Rift.
Climbing
Mount Kilimanjaro takes you through different types of sceneries
and vegetation, from the thick tropical forest in the beginning,
to the rocky summit, through the heath and moorland zone and
the glacier!
There
are several routes leading up to the summit. The most common
one, and easiest, is the Marangu Route, which has huts, so
that much less equipment and porters are needed. Then comes
the Machame route, which is the second most common one. Then
there are the less frequented ones, like Mweka, Shira and
Rongai, for the more trained and adventurous.
Example
of a climb through the Machame Route
