The highest point in Africa
In The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Ernest Hemingway described the mountain: “as wide as all the world, great, high, and unbelievably white in the sun, was the square top of Kilimanjaro”. It is one of the most impressive sights in Africa, visible from as far away as Tsavo National Park in Kenya. Just 80 km east of the eastern branch of the Rift Valley, it is Africa’s highest mountain with snow-capped peaks rising from a relatively flat plain, the largest freestanding mountain worldwide, measuring 80 x 40 km and one of earth’s highest dormant volcanoes. At lower altitudes, the mountain is covered in lush rainforest, which gives way to scrub – there is no bamboo zone on Kilimanjaro – followed by alpine moorland until you get to the icefields. Try to see it in the early morning before the clouds mask it. Despite its altitude even inexperienced climbers can climb it, provided they are reasonably fit and allow themselves sufficient time to acclimatize to the elevation.
