Mount Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano in north-eastern Tanzania and, at 5,895 m, the highest mountain in Africa and the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. It has three cones: Kibo, the youngest and the summit, with fumaroles still active in its crater; Mawenzi at 5,149 m; and the eroded Shira at 4,005 m. The upper mountain and its forest belt form Kilimanjaro National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. Climbers pass through five zones on the way up — cultivated foothills, montane rainforest, heath and moorland, alpine desert and the arctic summit zone — and no technical skill is needed, only time to acclimatise. Seven routes are in use, from the hut-served Marangu path to the longer Lemosho and Northern Circuit approaches; most climbs take six to nine days. The ice cap that covered the summit in the 1880s has lost about 85% of its area since 1912, and the remaining Furtwängler, Rebmann and Credner glaciers are expected to disappear within decades.
Every trip is tailored — tell us your dates and we'll build the itinerary around you.
