Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the biggest mountains that are found in Africa. In fact, it is the tallest mountain found in the continent of Africa. Several theories explain the origin of this mountain but after studies and research conducted by several scholars and scientists’ reports show that Mount Kilimanjaro was brought into existence by volcanic activity. This is strongly proven by the fact that Mount Kilimanjaro has three volcanic cones. These are Mawenzi, Shira and Kibo.Some of the cones are extinct while others are dormant, meaning the dormant one is likely to erupt again. In the world rank, Mount Kilimanjaro is ranked first as the largest standing mountain. 

Mount Kilimanjaro is located in Tanzania and it is a snow-capped mountain. It has a height of 5,895 meters which is equivalent to 19,340 feet. It is also one of the oldest standing mountains in Africa since its existence can be dated from a long time ago, especially the 80’s. For a very long time it has been a major tourist attraction where visitors from different parts of the world come to visit and explore the nature of the mountain. 

Several climate zones and ecological systems are experienced around this place. Some of these include rainforests, heath and moorland among many clothes. A visit to Mount Kilimanjaro can therefore be one of the most interesting experiences that one would venture into.

 

Why is Mount Kilimanjaro Famous?

There are many aspects of Mount Kilimanjaro that make it more special than any other mountains. These same aspects are a major tourist attraction since the place has beautiful sceneries that are interesting and beautiful to watch and enjoy. The most interesting part of Mount Kilimanjaro is that one experiences an interesting climb across the mountain. Some interesting facts about Mount Kilimanjaro include the fact that it has snow caps, volcanic cones which are 3 in number and lastly because almost every different kind of climate is experienced in this place and its surroundings.

Mount Kilimanjaro is famous because it is the tallest mountain in Africa and the largest standing mountain in the whole world and therefore it is ranked among the seven summits of the world.

These seven summits are Mount Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus and Carstensz Pyramid respectively. Another fact about Mount Kilimanjaro is that it is dormant, meaning that it is temporarily inactive and can erupt at any time. As mentioned earlier, Mount Kilimanjaro experiences almost every type of climate because a walk through the whole mountain is like moving from one latitude to another and therefore climate varies over a certain distance. 

What Else Is Found In This Region?

Mount Kilimanjaro is not just a mountain, it contains special features and characteristics. It also has other special features in it that make it known across many parts and this contributes to the frequent visits by people from different parts of the world. The Kilimanjaro region is one of the

most developed regions of Tanzania. Most of the entire population living in Tanzania is found in this region. This population keeps on increasing from one day to the other. 

Apart from the mountain, several parks and reserves are found in the Kilimanjaro region. Some of the parks found here include the Kilimanjaro National Park and Mkomazi National Park. Surrounding the mountain are also different types of lakes and other minor mountains. Due to this, therefore, the Mount Kilimanjaro region is a major tourist attraction in Tanzania.

Can Tourists Visit Mount Kilimanjaro?

Mount Kilimanjaro is a major tourist attraction. Just like all tourist attractions, it has its major characteristics and features that make it attractive to tourists from across many parts of the world. Tourists are of great economic importance to every country as they bring in foreign exchange, boost a country’s tourism sector and increase the cultural heritage of every single country that they make a visit in among many other benefits of tourists. It is one of the major sites that are frequently and constantly visited in Tanzania. 

Tourists are absolutely allowed to make a visit to Mount Kilimanjaro at any time. Hiking for example, through Mount Kilimanjaro, is a long journey that needs one to prepare in advance. This is a journey that can take up to 10 days for one to complete. It is known that there are different routes one can pass while hiking through the mountain and each route has its different form of complexity. Some routes require expert hikers due to their difficulty while others don’t call for the need of being an expert hiker. Hiking over the mountain may be at times hard but fun to move across the mountain watching the beautiful scenery that is found over there.

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro

There are a total of seven routes that are used for those that hike through Mount Kilimanjaro. As mentioned earlier, each single route has its own features and its level of complexity. There are some specific routes that cannot be accessed by just anyone but can only be accessed by experts, that is, those who have the skills and are more experienced in passing through such kinds of mountain routes. The commonly used routes in climbing Mount Kilimanjaro are two. These are Machame and Marangu routes. 

The Marangu and Machame routes are the most preferred to move around the mountain because of various reasons. They have the best scenery and are the best scenic, have enough camping structures and facilities and are the shortest among the other routes. Other routes such as Umbwe are not recommended because they require expert skills to climb through.

Is Mount Kilimanjaro Still Active?

Many myths and misconceptions explain the origin of Mount Kilimanjaro. The true origin of this mountain is not yet known but however according to research conducted by scholars and scientists it shows that Mount Kilimanjaro was brought into existence by several volcanic activity and glaciation. This is evident because it has three cones in it, that is, Mawenzi, Shira and Kibo. The largest of all cones is Kibo and it is dormant unlike Shira and Mawenzi that are extinct.

Mount Kilimanjaro is not an active volcano but a dormant volcano. Kibo cone being dormant it is believed that it could experience eruption activity again. However due to the long duration since the last eruption many believe that there are no chances that Mount Kilimanjaro, especially the Kibo cone, could erupt again.