Mountain
Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa, snow caped and world's highest
free standing volcano. It comprises of two dormant volcanoes (Kibo 5,895m
a.m.s.l and Mawenzi 5,149m a.m.s.l) and one extinct volcano (Shira 3,962m
a.m.s.l) respectively. The origin of the word is not well known but it said to
be a combination of the Swahili word Kilima meaning "Mountain" and the KiChagga
word Njaro, loosely translated as "Whiteness" giving the name “White Mountain”.
Its size is
1,712Km2 and was declared as a National Park in 1973, officially opened for
tourism in 1977, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987 and Natural
Wonder of Africa in 2013. Climbing to the top which is far up into the sky it’s
a life time experience that no one can forget.
The
park is endowed with various tourism activities that visitors can do during
their visit. The activities include Mountain Climbing to the Summit (MC),
Paragliding, Nature Walking Safaris (Short Walking Safaris (SWS)), Long Walking
Safaris (LWS), Mawenzi Technical Climbing (MTC), Picnicking, Filming,
Non-Summit Bound Climbers, Crater Camping and Mountain Cycling (MB).