Mount Kilimanjaro

Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa's highest mountain, a dormant volcano in north-east Tanzania near Moshi whose summit, Uhuru Peak, stands at 5,895 m. A summit climb takes six to nine days with a licensed guide and suits fit, well-prepared trekkers ready for altitude and freezing summit nights.

Kilimanjaro rises alone from the plains near the Kenyan border. It was built by volcanic eruptions over more than two million years, forming three cones: Shira in the west at 4,005 metres, which began erupting about 2.4 million years ago; Mawenzi in the east at 5,149 metres; and Kibo in the middle, whose crater rim holds the summit, Uhuru Peak. Kibo and Mawenzi began erupting about a million years ago. Kibo is dormant, with fumaroles still active in its crater.

The Chagga people have farmed the lower southern and eastern slopes for centuries. The German missionary Johannes Rebmann became the first European to report the mountain in 1848. Hans Meyer and Ludwig Purtscheller, accompanied by local porters and guides, made the first recorded ascent to the summit on 6 October 1889. The area above the treeline became Kilimanjaro National Park in 1973, and UNESCO listed it in 1987.

Climbers pass through five climate zones in a few days: farmland on the lower slopes, a rainforest belt with colobus monkeys, heath and moorland with giant groundsels and lobelias, an alpine desert of gravel and rock, and the arctic summit zone. Almost 85 percent of the summit ice cover disappeared between 1912 and 2011.

Several routes lead up. Marangu, on the southeast, is the only route with huts. Machame and Lemosho approach from the southwest with campsites and wide views, Rongai comes in from the north near Kenya, and the Northern Circuit makes the longest loop around the mountain. Most routes descend by the Mweka trail. On most routes the final push to Uhuru Peak starts around midnight from the high camp.

All climbs must be made with a licensed guide, and most people book through an operator whose price includes park fees, porters, food and camping gear. Most climbers avoid the long rains from March to May and the short rains around November. Choosing an itinerary of seven days or more gives more time to acclimatise and noticeably improves the chance of reaching the top.

Climbers fly into Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), between Moshi and Arusha, or come by shuttle bus from Nairobi. The route gates lie 25 to 45 km from Moshi, and most operators collect climbers from their hotel and register them at the gate in the morning. Park fees are charged in US dollars by Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), and children under 10 may not go to the summit. The driest seasons run from January to mid-March and from June to October, while the long rains of April and May leave the trails muddy.