Mount Kilimanjaro National Park

Kilimanjaro National Park, in the East African country of Tanzania hosting the continent’s highest mountain, snow capped Mt. Kilimanjaro. Around the base of its tallest peak, relatively accessible hiking trails wind through rain forest inhabited by colobus monkeys and past the volcanic caldera of Lake Chala. Approaching the summit of Uhuru Peak, the slopes steepen and are studded with glacial ice fields.

The park is located 300 kilometers (190 mi) south of the equator and in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania. The park is located near the city of Moshi. The park includes the whole of Mount Kilimanjaro above the tree line and the surrounding montane forest belt above 1,820 meters (5,970 ft).

The park is a home to elephants, buffalo and leopards

The Park is a scenic showpiece of Tanzania. 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 5895 meters above sea level, the Kilimanjaro is the highest landmark in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world.

The mountain is a dormant volcano which is comprised of three volcanic cones, Shira, Kibo (on which Uhuru summit stands) and Mawenzi.

Major attractions

They include “the montane forest, Shira, Mawenzi and Kibo peaks, landscape, a number  of traditional cultural sites, caves and lava tubes around the mountain. Mount Kilimanjaro was gazetted by UNESCO as a “World Heritage Site” in 1987.

Size and Location

It covers an area of 1,688 square kilometers (652 sq mi), 2°50’–3°10’S latitude, 37°10’–37°40’E longitude.

Getting there

By road, charter

What to do

Game drives, night game drives, Cultural tours, picnicking, bush lunch/dinner, mountain trekking, abseiling and forest walks.

When to go

Dry season (July-October) for trekking and large mammals; Wet season (November-June) for bird watching, the waterfalls and canoeing. All season for cultural tour

Accommodation

• Osy Grand Hotel
• Mount Kilimanjaro View Lodge
• Marangu Hotel
• Springland Hotel
• AMEG Lodge
• Kilimanjaro safaris lodge
• Babylon Lodge Ltd
• Mandara Hut (2,700 meters), Horombo Hut (3,720 meters), Kibo Hut (4,700 meters)