Mount Kilimanjaro, a scenic show piece of Tanzania will always greet you on arrival. Just as you cross the Equator, Kilimanjaro’s white flat top, shimmers in the blue sky. Grand and majestic, it looks “as wide as all the world, great, high, and unbelievable white in the sun” as Hemingway had seen it. Standing at 5,895 metres above sea level, the Kilimanjaro is the highest landmark in Africa, the highest free-standing mountain in the world, as well as one of the highest dormant volcanoes.
Mount Kilimanjaro National Park was gazette in 1973 and officially inaugurated in July 1977. It has an area of 1,668 sq km. The park can be located between latitudes 2° 50’ and 3° 10’ S and between longitudes 37° 20’ and 37° 40’ E.
Kilimanjaro has several natural, scenic and cultural attractions which can correctly be called “pull factors”. The hike through Savannah, Montane Forest, Low Alpine, Heath & Moorland, Alpine Desert, Snowfield and Glaciers for instance, make the ascent to the summit similar to traveling to the Arctic from the Equator in the space of only a few kilometers.
Mount Kilimanjaro has five altitude zones; The Lower Slopes, Forest, Heather & Moorland, Highland Desert and The Summit.
On the other hand, a number of endemic plants are present in the park. The spectacular giant groundsels and lobelia are adapted to the Kilimanjaro conditions. These plants includes; Senecio johnstonii, Senecio kilimanjari, senecio cottonii, Lobelia deckenii.
The outstanding features of the park are its major volcanic centres. Shira peak (3,062 meters) in the west is the oldest in its lava formation. It is considerably eroded and only the southern and western rims remain. The jagged Mawenzi peak (5,149 meters) to east is one of the most dramatic aspects of the Kilimanjaro landscape and by far the greatest challenge to mountaineers. Kibo peak, the summit of Mountain Kilimanjaro, is the highest point in Africa at 5,895 meters and is also referred to as the Uhuru (Freedom) peak.
