The Kilimanjaro receives over 50,000 people every year. Being the tallest mountain in Africa, the numbers will be expected as it entices all the professional and amateur hikers. The mountain has beautiful views with animals and stunning vegetation. The Kilimanjaro Mountain is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
Being the tallest mountain in Africa makes its obvious that it has to be on this list. It’s also among the iconic mountains of the world that include Everest and Denali mountains.
So people that have visited these other mountains would love to visit this one too.
The mountain has an abundant wild life spread especially in the montane forest zone. There are many mammals as well as birds. Therefore for bird-watchers, you can enjoy the hike even more.
The mountain also has many primates as well like the Olive Baboons. There are Rhinos and forest elephants.
Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro
While the climb to Kilimanjaro’s summit isn’t easy, you’ll be rewarded with seemingly endless views of Mawenzi jagged peaks, the Shira plateau, and a bird’s eye view of Tanzania’s and Kenya’s distant horizons below.
We can also arrange for you to climb with the best, most experienced guides to ensure that you reach the summit safely.
Kilimanjaro is a natural wonder: a snow-capped mountain on the Equator, it has five unique climatic zones, each with its own vegetation. Climbing the mountain seems like a week-long trip through four seasons.
Because of the high altitude, unusual life forms such as the alien-looking giant groundsel plant and the delicate elephant flower have thrived.
You may have seen media coverage of a number of celebrities who have summited Kilimanjaro, or you may personally know someone who has.
The peak draws both novice and expert mountain hikers due to its non-technical nature and ease of ascent among the Seven Summits.
It is critical to have the best possible guides and porters if you want to succeed in reaching the top.
Altitude & Size
The highest mountain in the world is Everest which stands at an altitude of about 8,848 meters above sea level. The Kilimanjaro stands at an altitude of about 5,895 meters above sea level. This makes the Kilimanjaro about 2,950 meters shorter than the tallest mountain in the world.
However the Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in Africa. The mountain covers an area of about 388,500 hectares.
Geology
The Kilimanjaro Mountain is the tallest mounts in Africa and also among the biggest strato-volcanoes in the world. A stratovolcano is a mountain formed by vulcanicity with a serious of lava and ash laying on top of each other. This is caused by the volcano going through a series of volcanic eruption phases.
The Kilimanjaro covers an area of about 388,500 hectares and has an altitude of about 5895 meters above sea level. It is believed that Mountain Kilimanjaro was formed over 3 million years ago. The mountain erupted several times to make it bigger and that’s the current Kilimanjaro that we see today.
Climate
It’s possible that you can trek the Kilimanjaro any time throughout the year but some months are covered in cold weather and rains and snow especially the top and yet some are dry and a lot more favorable. Its best advised to hike the Kilimanjaro is between the months of December to February and Mid June to September. Ideally these are the dry months but even then, sometimes it can and gets a bit messy.
The wet months are March to Mid June and October to November.
Vegetation Zones
There are about five distinct vegetation types on the Kilimanjaro. Every vegetation type runs about 100 meters. In the range of about 800 to about 1800 meters there will be human settlement and human activity. The ranges from 1800 to about 2800 meters is another level of vegetation that as lush green growth.
This lush vegetation is so because this area receives between 1000 t0 2000mm of rain. While in this level of the ranges you will see a lot of huge tree ferns, moss, Junipers and sycamore trees. This place is a bit humid and this supports a range of plants like the impatiens Kilimanjaro.
The level between 2800to 4000meters is the Semi-Alpine vegetation. At this level you will see a lot of Lobelias, giant goundsel, colorful red pokers and Senecios trees. This area of the mountain mainly receives rain through the mist which usually covers the area without notice. The temperatures here of course will be below 0 degrees.
The other level above the 4000meters comprises of the Alpine desert vegetation zone. This area has a lot temperature variations during the days and night. This level of the mountain will barely have any plant life. The landscape is a bit desolate with some yellow daisies. The nights usually cold to the extreme and the sun has scotching rays during the day. This area has no life that survives and those small plants that try to grow can’t go beyond.
The lower mountain levels that have forested lands have good animal presence and birds like Green Wood Hoopoes, Hartlaub Turacos, and Silvery cheeked, tropical Boubous. There will be primates like olive baboons and more, mongoose monkeys. There is presence of elephants and duikers. Animals and plants struggle to survive in the higher altitudes of Moorland and the Heath vegetations. But you will see some mouse, doves, ravens and sun-birds at this altitude. The mice may be had to locate as move in the undergrowth.
The rest of the vegetation zones above 4000 meters above sea level are too harsh for any animals to survive and so you won’t find animals in the Arctic and Alpine zones.
Animals Facts
These are some of the animals that you expect to see while on the Kilimanjaro Mountain Ranges:
- Bush Baby: These animals are known by very any names such as little night monkeys, galagos and nagapies. These monkeys cry like human babies at night thus the name little night monkey. The bush babies are nocturnal animals with round eyes that give a good night vision. These eat grasshoppers and most insects as well as moths. They are able to catch some of these since they can hop from tree to tree. They also eat fruits and gums of trees.
- The White Necked Raven: This raven is named appropriately as it has a dominant white band around its neck. It’s an intelligent bird just like most of the raven. It is assumed that a raven is smarter than a 7 year old child. They have good reasoning, have good problem solving abilities and have the ability to hold group discussions. These ravens eat grains, fruits, insects and small reptiles. Human food is also something they can eat.
- Blue Monkey: The most common sighting have been around the Big forest Camp on the Lemosho trail. These monkeys are actually nothing like their name, they are not blue like the name suggests.They have an olive patches and grey fur. The faces have some yellowish color and are darker with reddish brown foreheads.
- Jackson’s Chameleon: They among the only creatures that can camouflage or change color according to environment, light, temperature and emotions. Each eye of the chameleon can move on its own without depending on the other and can look in different directions. They are slow in movement but they have the ability to move their tongue at a very high speed and at long distance almost twice their body length to catch their prey.
- Colobus Monkey: This monkey gets its name from a Greek word “kolobos” which means Mutilated. This is because that these monkeys don’t thumb like other primates. These colubus monkeys don’t have thumbs because this helps them swing on the canopies better than the rest of the other primates. When the colobus monkey is born, it’s white in color but as they grow older, they transform into the usual black and white. They have a long tail that is really fluffy.
- Four Striped Mouse: There are a lot of human activities around this area and this explains the presence of rodents. This type is specifically larger than the normal house mice. It has stripes that run down the back and are black and these are one of the special features. These are very active in the early hours unlike the other mice. They rest most of the time of the day but may come out a little more in the afternoon.
Peaks
The highest peak on the Kilimanjaro and it’s located on the Kibo volcano cone. It’s at 5895 meters above sea level which is the highest point of the Kilimanjaro Mountain. This portion the mountain alone receives over 30,000 people a year.
Climb Kilimanjaro Mountain in Tanzania with these recommended Kilimanjaro climbing companies or inquire with us directly below.
