Home » Tanzania » KILIMANJARO, TANZANIA

In every inspiring natural creation there is a realism that speaks to you. In every moment on a mountain you find it more and more...

KILIMANJARO, TANZANIA

Dave
2004-02-22 13:14:18

Displayed times (last time: )

This is a review of a climb by Dave of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. This article focuses solely on the climb with little other detail about travel in Tanzania or other travel information. Stay tuned for the following upcoming articles about eastern Africa on Dave’s Travel Corner: General information for traveling in Kenya and Tanzania, traveling in The Serengeti, Zanzibar, and information about the peaceful town of Lamu on the Kenyan coast, just south of the Somalia border.
[Mt. Meru seen from from 17,500 feet up the slopes of Kilimanjaro]

Mt. Kilimanjaro sits just north of the Equator in Eastern sub-Saharan Africa. It rests on the Tanzania-Kenyan border and stands 19,340 feet tall (5895 meters). It is the world’s largest freestanding volcano and one of the world’s seven summits (the tallest mountain on each of the 7 continents).

When initially researching climbing companies I found ten, of which I would eventually choose one. For the price, the route, the guides, and service Dave chose Mountain Madness. Many of you may remember this company. They were featured in news stories during the spring of 1996. This was one of the companies that was guiding during an ill-fated day when tragedy hit Mount Everest. “Into Thin Air” a book by Jon Krakauer, was based on the incidents that occurred on Everest during May 10, 1996.

Dave chose Mountain Madness because of their slow climb schedule, which left more time for acclimatization. They have a good client to guide ratio. They were climbing the least traveled route. They have a good overall reputation.

There are several routes on Mt. Kilimanjaro. They are the Machame, Umbwe, Mweka, Marangu, and the Shira plateau route. By far the most popular, fastest to the top, and cheapest route is the so-called “coca cola” route. I highly do NOT recommend taking this route. While it is cheap, and you can organize a climb ...