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Mount Kilimanjaro National Park
Kilimanjaro. The name itself is a mystery
wreathed in clouds. It might mean Mountain of Light, Mountain of
Greatness or Mountain of Caravans. Or it might not. The local
people, the Wachagga, don't even have a name for the whole massif,
only Kipoo (now known as Kibo) for the familiar snowy peak that
stands imperious, overseer of the continent, the summit of Africa.
Kilimanjaro, by any name, is a metaphor for the
compelling beauty of East Africa. When you see it, you understand
why. Not only is this the highest peak on the African continent; it
is also the tallest free-standing mountain in the world, rising in
breathtaking isolation from the surrounding coastal scrubland –
elevation around 900 metres – to an imperious 5,895 metres (19,336
feet).
Kilimanjaro is one of the world's most
accessible high summits, a beacon for visitors from around the
world. Most climbers reach the crater rim with little more than a
walking stick, proper clothing and determination. And those who
reach Uhuru Point, the actual summit, or Gillman's Point on the lip
of the crater, will have earned their climbing certificates.
And their memories.
But there is so much more to Kili than her
summit. The ascent of the slopes is a virtual climatic world tour,
from the tropics to the Arctic.
Even before you cross the national park boundary (at the 2,700m
contour), the cultivated footslopes give way to lush montane forest,
inhabited by elusive elephant, leopard, buffalo, the endangered
Abbot’s duiker, and other small antelope and primates. Higher still
lies the moorland zone, where a cover of giant heather is studded
with otherworldly giant lobelias.
Above 4,000m, a surreal alpine desert supports
little life other than a few hardy mosses and lichen. Then, finally,
the last vestigial vegetation gives way to a winter wonderland of
ice and snow – and the magnificent beauty of the roof of the
continent.
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