Elevation: 19,341 feet
Completed: 8/2002 AND 6/2008 (w/Hunter)
Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and the tallest freestanding mountain on earth. Crowned with an everlasting snow-cap, this majestic mountain can be found inside the Kilimanjaro National Park of Tanzania, at 005.00 degrees south, 036 degrees east, 5895m a.m.s.l.
The mountain and its surrounding forests were designated a game reserve in the early part of the 20th 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. The park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.
Kilimanjaro has a succession of vegetation zones consisting of (from base to summit) the semiarid scrub of the surrounding plateau; the massif’s cultivated, well-watered southern slopes; dense cloud forest; open moorland; alpine desert; and moss and lichen communities. The forests of the southern slopes and surrounding areas are home to elephants, buffalo, and eland (oxlike antelopes). Smaller mammals inhabiting the forests include black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, and bushbuck and duikers (small African antelopes). The forests also host a rich variety of birdlife, including the rare Abbot’s starling.
The Kibo summit was first reached in 1889 by the German geographer Hans Meyer and the Austrian mountaineer Ludwig Purtscheller. The Kilimanjaro region is one of Tanzania’s leading producers of mild coffee, barley, wheat, and sugar; other crops include sisal, corn (maize), beans, bananas, wattle bark (Acacia), cotton, pyrethrum, and potatoes. The region is populated by the Chaga (Chagga), Pare, Kahe, and Mbugu peoples. The town of Moshi, at the southern foot of Kilimanjaro, is the chief trading centre and base for ascent. As Kibo’s peak can be reached without the aid of mountaineering equipment, thousands of hikers attempt the ascent each year.