Kilimanjaro Hiking tour journey you yo hike

Kilimanjaro Hiking Tour , Mount Kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro hiking tours ; Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa and the tallest free-standing Mountain in the world at an elevation of 5,895 meters (19,341 feet), the mountain is found in the North of Tanzania near the Kenya border.

The massif of Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa, the mountain lies about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of the East African Rift System and about 140 miles (225 kilometers) south of Nairobi, Kenya. The massif extends approximately East – west for 50 miles (80 kilometers) and consists of three principal extinct volcanoes that are

• Kibo (Centre)
• Mawensi (East) and
• Shira (west)
• Kibo – the youngest and highest. This volcano retains the form of a typical volcanic cone and crater and is linked by a 7 – mile (11 kilometers) 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, shira is a remnant of an earlier crater.

Below the saddle, Kilimanjaro slopes are in a typical volcanic curve to the plains below which lie at an elevation of about 3,300 feet (1,000 meters). The dome of Kibo is clad with snow and contains a caldera (crater) on its Southern side that is 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) across and about 980 feet (300 meters) deep with an inner cone that displays residual volcanic activity.

Mawensi’s cone is highly eroded, jagged and precipitous and is cleft east and west by gorges, only Kibo retains a permanent ice cap, Mawensi has a semi – permanent ice patches and substantial seasonal snow.

Mount Kilimanjaro and its surrounding forests were designated as a game reserve in the early part of the 20^th century, in 1973, Mount Kilimanjaro national park was established to protect the mountain above the tree line as well as the six forest corridors that extend downslope through the montane forest belt. In 1987, the park was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Mount Kilimanjaro has a series of vegetation zones (from base to summit) consisting of the semi-arid scrub of the surrounding plateau, the massif’s cultivated, well- western southern slopes, dense cloud forest, open moorland, alpine desert and moss and lichen communities.

The volcano hosts two notable species that grow in the moorlands are the giant lobelia and the giant groundsel.

The forests of the southern slopes and surrounding areas. Kilimanjaro hiking tours  offers the best opportunity  to experience  mount kilimanjaro.  Kilimanjaro  hiking tour features  access to the mount through different unique routes to mention Shira route , Umbwe route, northern circuit  route ,  Marangu route , Lemosho route ,  Rongai Route , Machame route .

Location of Nyerere National park

Mount Kilimanjaro is located in Northeastern Tanzania, near the Kenya border. This volcanic massif lies about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of the East African Rift System and about 140 miles (225 kilometers) south of Nairobi, Kenya.

The whole area lies between 2 ̊ 45’ to 3̊ 25’ S and 37 ̊ 00’ to 37 ̊ 43 (not far south of the equator)

What is the highest peak of Kilimanjaro

Mount Kilimanjaro central cone, Kibo is the highest peak rising to 19,340 feet (5,895 meters) and is the highest point in Africa, Kibo is the youngest of the 3 principle extinct volcanoes of Kilimanjaro and retains the form of a typical volcanic cone and crater.

Who the first to climb Kilimanjaro

The Kibo Summit of Kilimanjaro was first reached in 1889 by the German geographer Hans Meyer and the Austrian mountaineer Ludwig Purtscheller.

Geology of Moutain Kilimanjaro

• Mount Kilimanjaro is a gigantic stratovolcano
• Mount Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano, however the time it last erupted is not yet enough to declare it extinct
• Mount Volcano is the largest volcano in the East – West belt of volcanoes located in Northern Tanzania
• The formation of Mount Kilimanjaro began around 750,000 years back
• Mount Kilimanjaro has 3 main volcanic peaks (Shira, Mawenzi and Kibo) and a number of smaller parasitic cones, shira is the oldest peak on the mountain while Kibo peak is the latest.
• Kilimanjaro’s last major volcaic activity was in the past 360,000 years when Kibo erupted, the last volcanic activity happened about 200 years back and it formed the Ash pit that is present even today. The central ash pit measures 350 meters deep
• Kibo has 2 concentric craters of 1.9 X 2.7 kilometers and 1.3 kilometers in diameter respectively.
• Uhuru Peak is the highest point on Mount Kilimanjaro as well as the while continent of Africa.
• Since 1962, about 55% of Kilimanjaro’s glaciers have vanished, this is a strong indication of global warming or indicates the action of humidity caused by deforestation and clearing for farms. Today the total glacier area is roughly 2.5 square kilometers.
• The latest prediction foretells that Mount Kilimanjaro may lose the plateau ice within the next 30 – 40 years but it may retained the sloping ice for a while.

Mount Kilimanjaro Climate

There are two rainy or wet seasons, the wet season is experienced from November to December and March to May and the driest times of the year are the months of August to October.

Rain fall decreases rapidly the higher you go up the mountains and 96% of all rain on Kilimanjaro falls below 3000 m, the mean rainfall per annum at the Marangu Gate (the start of Marangu route) is 2300 mm.

Above 4500 m, the conditions are semi- arid and desert-like, the mean rainfall per annum at Kibo Huts (highest hut on Marangu route) is below 200 mm.

The northern side of the mountain is also drier than the southern side, the months of January to March are the warmest months

Vegetation Zones on Mount Kilimanjaro

There are 5 main vegetation zones on Mount Kilimanjaro and these are as follows

• Savannah bushland zone (700 – 1000 m on the southern side and 1400 – 1600 m on the northern side)
• Sub-Montane agro forest zone (largely populated farmlands and plantations to the south and south – east).
• Montane forest zone (the rainforest from 1300 m to 2800 m on the southern side, above 1600 m on the drier northern side).
• Sub – alpine moorland and alpine bogs (the heath and moorland, 2800 – 4000 m)
• Above this is the alpine desert zone·    
• Above this is the alpine desert zone

Climbing Mount Kiliimanjaro

Climbing to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro isn’t easy, you will be rewarded with seemingly endless views of Mawenzi’ jagged peaks, the Shira Plateau and a bird’s eye view of the distant horizons of Tanzania and Kenya below.Mount  Kilimanjaro is a natural wonder with a snow- capped summit and being that it situated close to the equator makes it more mysterious and climbing to its summit is a wonderful experience to have. Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is done using 7 (seven) established routes that lead to the summit, these are

• Lemosho route – arguably the most beautiful Kilimanjaro route
• Machame route – the most popular Kilimanjaro route
• Marangu route – the only route offering hut accommodation
• Rongai route – is the only route that approaches the summit from the north
• Northern Circuit – is the newest and longest Kilimanjaro route
• Shira route – has the highest starting elevation
• Umbwe route – the shortest, steepest and hardest Kilimanjaro route.
• There’s also a descent-only route called the Mweka route.

Are you planning to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, feel free to ask us any question in regards to this once-in a life time adventure.