Thousands of climbers attempt to summit the roof of Africa each year. At 19,341 feet, Mount Kilimanjaro, in northeastern Tanzania, is the largest freestanding mountain in the world. Climbing one of the Seven Summits is no small feat, as hikers wrestle with the effects of altitude sickness on Kilimanjaro treks that typically span from five to nine days. I should know — I was one of them. My favorite part of this tiring but worthwhile experience was passing through five distinct ecological climate zones on the way to the top. Here’s what you need to know about each.
Mount Kilimanjaro is a large dormant volcano in Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world, at 5,895 metres (19,341 feet) above sea level and 4,900 metres (16,100 feet) above its plateau base. It is also the highest volcano in the Eastern Hemisphere and the fourth most prominent peak on Earth.
Kilimanjaro’s southern and eastern slopes served as the home of the Chagga Kingdoms until their abolition in 1963 by Julius Nyerere. The origin and meaning of the name Kilimanjaro is unknown, but may mean “mountain of greatness” or “unclimbable”. Although described in classical sources, German missionary Johannes Rebmann is credited as the first European to report the mountain’s existence, in 1848. After several European attempts, Hans Meyer reached Kilimanjaro’s highest summit in 1889.
The mountain was incorporated into Kilimanjaro National Park in 1973. As one of the Seven Summits, Kilimanjaro is a major hiking and climbing destination. There are seven established routes to Uhuru Peak, the mountain’s highest point. Although not as technically challenging as similar mountains, the prominence of Kilimanjaro poses a serious risk of altitude sickness.
One of several mountains arising from the East African Rift, Kilimanjaro was formed from volcanic activity over 2 million years ago. Its slopes host montane forests and cloud forests. Multiple species are endemic to Mount Kilimanjaro, including the giant groundsel. The mountain possesses a large ice cap and the largest glaciers in Africa, including Credner Glacier, Furtwangler Glacier, and the Rebmann Glacier. This ice cap is rapidly shrinking, with over 80% lost in the 20th century. The cap is projected to disappear entirely by the mid-21st century.
The History and Origin
The origin and meaning of the name Kilimanjaro is disputed. Although the Chagga people of the Kilimanjaro Region have no name for the mountain, they call its two peaks Kipoo and Kimawenze. The peaks’ names—usually rendered Kibo and Mawenzi—mean “spotted” in reference to Kibo’s snow and “broken top” due to Mawenzi’s jagged peak. “Kilimanjaro” may originate from the Chagga calling the mountain unclimbable—kilemanjaare or kilemajyaro—and explorers misinterpreting this as its name. This Kichagga language etymology relies on kileme, “that which defeats”, or kilelema, “that which has become difficult or impossible”. The -jaro could be derived from njaare, a bird, or jyaro, a caravan.
Early Western etymologies used a compound Swahili origin, with kilima translated as “mountain”. In 1860, Johann Ludwig Krapf wrote that the Swahilis used the name Kilimanjaro and that it meant either “mountain of greatness” or “mountain of caravans”, with a translation of njaro as greatness or jaro as “caravans”. In 1885, Scottish explorer Joseph Thomson reported “white mountain” as an alternative, with njaro denoting whiteness. This Swahili etymological approach is criticized as kilima is a diminutive of mlima (mountain) and actually means “hill”. However, mlima may have been misreported as kilima via conflation with the two peaks’ names, Kipoo and Kimawenze.
Krapf mentions an 1849 visit with a wakamba chief that called the mountain Kima jajeu, meaning “mountain of whiteness”. Another explanation is that jyaro may refer to a god or a deity that guarded the mountain from trespassers.
In the 1880s, the mountain became part of German East Africa and was called Kilima-Ndscharo in German. In 1889, Hans Meyer reached the highest summit on Kibo, which he named Kaiser-Wilhelm-Spitze for Kaiser Wilhelm. Following the Zanzibar Revolution and the formation of Tanzania in 1964, the summit was renamed Uhuru Peak: “Freedom Peak” in Swahili.
A Visitor’s Experience
My climbing partner and I started our journey in Marangu, located on the southeastern slopes, where Marangu Hotel arranged our 7-day trek, including assisting in finding a licensed guide, a requirement set by Kilimanjaro National Park. (The average climber hires 4 and 6 people to guide, cook, and carry equipment up the mountain.)
After a hearty breakfast, we set off on a two-hour drive to the Rongai Gate, one of seven climbing routes and the only one to approach the mountain from the northern side, ideal for avoiding rain and sighting animals. After winding through small towns and farmers’ markets near the Kenyan border, we arrived at the gate with our lead guide, David, our assistant guide, Abdallah, and their entire crew.
Some special sights on Mount Kilimanjaro include the Uhuru Peak summit, the unique Lava Tower, and the Shira Plateau. Other attractions are the rainforest with colobus monkeys, the mineral-streaked Zebra Rock on the Marangu route, and dramatic features like the Great Barranco Wall. Climbers may also see the active Reusch Ash Pit within the main crater, the plane crash site, and the Heim Glacier in the Karanga Valley.
Geological and volcanic sights
- Uhuru Peak: The highest point on the mountain, at 19,340 feet. The name means “freedom” in Swahili.
- Lava Tower: A 15,190-foot-tall, imposing black tower of volcanic rock, formed by an eruption.
- Shira Plateau: A collapsed volcanic crater on the western side of the mountain that offers great views.
- Reusch Ash Pit: An active, smaller crater inside the main crater that emits sulfurous fumes.
- Great Barranco Wall: A dramatic rock face that climbers must navigate.
The History of Mount Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro is attested to in numerous stories by the people who live in East Africa. The Chagga, who traditionally lived on the southern and eastern slopes of the mountain in sovereign Chagga States, tell how a man named Tone once provoked a god, Ruwa, to bring famine upon the land. The people became angry at Tone, forcing him to flee. Nobody wanted to protect him but a solitary dweller who had stones that turned miraculously into cattle. The dweller bid that Tone never open the stable of the cattle. When Tone did not heed the warning and the cattle escaped, Tone followed them, but the fleeing cattle threw up hills to run on, including Mawenzi and Kibo. Tone finally collapsed on Kibo, ending the pursuit.
Another Chagga legend tells of ivory-filled graves of elephants on the mountain, and of a cow named Rayli that produces miraculous fat from her tail glands. If a man tries to steal such a gland but is too slow in his moves, Rayli will blast a powerful snort and blow the thief down onto the plain.
The first climbers
The first ascent of the highest summit of Mawenzi was made on 29 July 1912, by the German climbers Eduard Hans Oehler and Fritz Klute, who named it Hans Meyer Peak. Oehler and Klute went on to make the third-ever ascent of Kibo, via the Drygalski Glacier, and descended via the Western Breach. The mountain lent its name to the 1914 Battle of Kilimanjaro during World War I.
The First women climbers
In 1909, London-born Gertrude Benham attempted to reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. After her porters abandoned the expedition upon discovering the skeletons of previous climbers, Benham continued alone and reached the edge of Kibo Crater, later named Gilman’s Point. Adverse weather conditions, including heavy snow and fog, made navigation difficult, leading her to turn back. The first woman to successfully reach the summit of Kilimanjaro was Sheila MacDonald, who completed the ascent on 30 September 1927.
Large animals are rare on Kilimanjaro and are more frequent in the forests and lower parts of the mountain. Elephants and Cape buffaloes are among the animals that can be potentially hazardous to trekkers. Bushbucks, chameleons, dik-diks, duikers, mongooses, sunbirds, and warthogs have also been reported. Zebras, leopards and hyenas have been observed sporadically on the Shira plateau. Specific species associated with the mountain include the Kilimanjaro shrew and the chameleon Kinyongia tavetana.
It is getting towards the festive season, and we know you must be planning your vacations with your families. Have you added Mount Kilimanjaro to your bucket list to visit? If not, then do so now and enjoy the trip of a lifetime.
Additional Source: Wikipedia
