Kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro is Africa's largest volcano and it is probably the most beautiful, the most fascinating volcano the world has to offer. The word Kilimanjaro is derived from Swahili and means the Shining Mountain. The Germans have a long history in Tanzania and in 1849 German missionaries reported seeing this huge, snow-capped mountain. The Royal Geographical Society refused to believe that snow could exist only 200 miles south of the Equator, and finally in the mid nineteenth century they sent an expedition which confirmed Kilimanjaro and its snow capped existence. The mountain successfully climbed for the first time by a European in 1887, Hans Meyer, and a tribute to him can be found at the Marangu gate.

Kilimanjaro is actually made up of three volcanic cones. Firstly and most famously there is Kibo, the highest and youngest cone, with the highest point on the cone named Uhuru [meaning freedom]. Shira which is the oldest cone collapsed and was then filled in by lava flows, creating the stunning Shira Plateau, which makes up the oldest part of the mountain. Mawenzi summit is a steep rocky peak surrounded by cliffs