At 5,895m Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa. Attempting to climb this gentle giant was ludicrous until a hundred years ago although even now, it’s still pure lunacy. A common misconception is that Kilimanjaro consists of 1 peak when in reality it’s a 2-peak mountain. Kibo is the taller volcano peak that has been immortalized by every African picture book out there. Mawenzi is the virtually unknown second peak of Kilimanjaro. Due to its jagged form, climbing Mawenzi is not as easy as Kibo (and not as photogenic).
Day 1: Nairobi to Marangu
Mount Kilimanjaro is also the tallest freestanding mountain in the World. What this means is that Kilimanjaro isn’t part of a mountain range. It stands alone. This is quite evident on the drive from Nairobi to Marangu. Mount Kilimanjaro sprouts out like a pimple on the face of the Earth. Marangu is a tiny little town popular only because of its proximity to the big mountain. Enjoy your last warm shower here. Showers and bathrooms are luxuries that the mountain does not offer.
Day 2: Rongai Gate (1950m) to First Cave (2600m)
After registering at the Marangu gate, a 3-hour range rover ride gets you to the Rongai trail. Wave goodbye to civilization as you pass all the tiny Tanzanian villages. Rongai gate marks the head of the trail. Don’t let the gentle slopes and beautiful forests fool you. Day 1 is just a warm up for the real climb. Volcanic ash covers the entire path and after a few minutes of carefully trotting through the ash, you give up and realize that it’s actually a lot of fun walking through a foot of ash. As you head towards camp 1, the pine forests give way to smaller trees.
Day 3: First Cave (2600m) to Kikelewa Cave (3600m)
The morning of day 3 greets you with an amazing view of Kibo and Mawenzi. They both seem quite a fair distance away. Day 3 doesn’t seem to go anywhere and is a rough welcome to the mountain. The day wears on and each ridge gives way to yet another ridge much to everyone’s frustration. Finally, the second campsite shows up on the horizon. The final challenge of the day is crossing a stream to get to camp. You realize that this really is a tall mountain. Sleep at the end of day 3 is a relief.
Day 4: Kikelewa Cave (3600m) to Tarn Hut (4330m)
Day 4 marks another day of trekking up what is now beginning to seem like an unending mountain. The trees around have disappeared now and shrubs along the path are beginning to dwindle. One foot up this hill is one step closer to the summit and this is the stage where travelling with a fun group of people definitely helps. Tarn hut lies in the shadow of Mawenzi and camp is right next to a beautiful little lake.
Day 5: Acclimatization at Tarn Hut
Humans are only capable of dealing with altitudes below 3000m. Any further and breathing, sleeping and eating becomes a struggle. Acclimatization is crucial to any summit attempt and climbing higher and sleeping at a lower level seems to help. That’s exactly what day 5 is all about – a peaceful baggage less hike to the foothills of Mawenzi and a descent back to camp to spend the night at Tarn Hut again.
Day 6: Tarn Hut (4330m) to Kibo Hut (4700m)
A U-turn at tarn hut ensures that the group finally heads towards Kibo. The region between Mawenzi and Kibo is a barren, flat region that has been compared to a lunar desert. ‘The saddle’ as this is known as is a never ending path that begins and ends in clouds. After a never ending crawl through this desert, a small hill appears through the clouds and an excruciatingly long scramble up this tiny hill gets you to Kibo hut – base camp.
Day 7: Summit Attempt – Uhuru Peak (5895m)
Summit night begins at 11:30pm on day 6. This is it. The most challenging day of the entire trip. Months and months of preparation all boil down to this day. Talk about performance anxiety. Without blowing this out of proportion, summiting Kilimanjaro can be a matter of life and death. Due to the inability of our bodies to deal with high altitudes, acute mountain illness can cause fluid to build up in the lungs or brain and may eventually result in death. The only treatment for this disease is to descend. And fast.
Mountain sickness aside, 8 hours of grueling climbing in the numbing cold gets you to Gillman’s point (5681m). At this level, the air’s pretty thin and breathing is difficult enough without have to trudge along the rim of the crater to get to Uhuru peak. On the other hand, the sunrise at the top of the mountain more than makes up for all the hardships over the last week. It was worth it. And given the chance, I’d do it again.
The glacier at the top of the mountain is surprising large when standing next to it. Hearing it creak is truly an awe-inspiring experience. Due to global warming, Africa’s only glacier atop Kilimanjaro is melting at an alarming rate. In the next 10 years, it will cease to exist. Before you rush to book the cheapest ticket to Nairobi, here are a few things to consider before climbing a big mountain.
Day 8: Descend to Marangu Gate (1980m)
Climbing up the mountain is just half the job. A majority of mountain mishaps occur on the way down, because people have the tendency of letting their guard down once the mountain has been summited. Fortunately for me, other than a few blisters and an intense craving for warm weather, I survived the descent and have lived to tell the story…
“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.
It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up.
It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle.
When the sun comes up, you’d better be running!”
1. Masai Mara
The crème de la crème of safaris, the Masai Mara offers what is commonly (and incorrectly) know as the annual wildebeest migration. This migration is far from an annual occurrence and is in fact the continuous movement of thousands of wildebeest back and forth across the Kenyan and Tanzanian plains in search of the proverbial greener pasture. Around August the wildebeest get to the Masai Mara River and if you’re lucky, you witness a blood fest. Hungry starving crocodiles lie in wait and the lions not to be outdone silently stalk the herds of wildebeest, preying on its weakest members. Most safaris pale in comparison to this mega event.
2. Amboseli National Park
This is the only safari that comes even close to competing with the Masai Mara for postcard space. With Kilimanjaro in the background and tons of elephants, giraffes and lions in the park, pictures don’t get more iconic than this. Standing at almost 6000m above sea level, Kilimanjaro is the tallest freestanding mountain in the World and the tallest mountain in Africa. As can be expected, tall mountains don’t like to be spotted unless the weather Gods say so. Patience (something I lack) is the key to this Kodak moment.
3. Hells Gate
The only bicycle safari in East Africa. There’s no feeling as liberating as hopping on your bicycle and riding out on a safari. Despite the morbid name, Hells gate is (relatively) safe with no predatory animals around. Warthogs, zebra, giraffe and the odd wildebeest are scattered around the park. A gorge at the center offers a scenic trek through volcanic springs. Steam coming out of the geysers contributed to this park’s unconventional name.
4. Ngorongoro Crater
The Ngorongoro Crater was formed when a giant volcano, about the size of Kilimanjaro, erupted and collapsed on itself. With plenty of water and vegetation, the crater is a feeding paradise for grazing animals. And where there are grazing animals, there are predators. Hippos, zebra, lions, hyenas – this crater has it all. The only animal missing out on the feeding extravaganza is the giraffe. Bony long rickety legs might be ideal for reaching the high hanging fruit, but not so much with steep slopes. This whole mini-ecosystem hangs in perfect balance and you can’t help but marvel at the circle of life.
5. Lake Nakuru
As Kenya’s premium national park, entrance is priced at a hefty 50$ for non-residents. The park is well maintained and quite small in comparison to the other parks. This means that animals can no longer remain hidden for too long. So this is where you get to spot rhino – definitely the hardest of the big 5 (rhino, elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard) to find. If you’re lucky you’ll see both white and black rhino. While white rhino are relatively unperturbed with human company, black rhino are very aggressive and would topple a vehicle without batting an eye. Fortunately, they prefer to shy away from the spotlight and usually avoid noisy annoying tourists.
6. Aberdare National Park
If you’re looking for a novelty safari, this is the place to be. The Ark is a hotel located in the middle of Aberdare National Park. Shaped as a boat and named after Noah’s legendary exploits, this hotel is located right next to a salt field and watering hole. Animals drop by at various times to drink water or lick salt off the ground. Floodlights and glass walled galleries offer a close up view of exotic animals that drop by for a salt fix. Buzzers in the rooms wake you up in the middle of the night when the more elusive animals (leopard, rhino, etc) show up.
7. Lake Manyara
Lake Manyara is home to the famous tree-climbing lions. The southern Serengeti in Tanzania is the only place in the world where lions climb into the trees. While no one knows for sure why the lions climb into the trees, one theory has it that the lions started climbing into the trees to get away from the nasty tse-tse flies.
8. Lake Bogoria
One of the lakes along the Great Rift Valley, Lake Bogoria is home to one of the World’s largest populations of lesser flamingos. The birds feed on a certain algae that grow in only highly alkaline water. The volcanic Lake Bogoria offers perfect conditions. This National Park also boasts of the highest concentration of geysers in Africa.
9. Tarangire National Park
Huge baobab trees are scattered throughout the park. Rumored to be oldest tree on Earth, this is hard to prove since the tree doesn’t produce rings that allow us to verify its age. The oldest baobab is estimated to be 6000 years old. With the land drying out during the summer months, the Tarangire River is a lifesaver for all the animals. Elephants have colonized huge stretches. A few birds prefer to take a dip and then bask in the sun.
10. Nairobi National Park
Anyone familiar with East Africa would wonder why this was included in my list. Other than lion, giraffe, water buffalo and other regulars, the Nairobi National Park doesn’t match up to the likes of the Masai Mara. However, how many cities have it’s own National Park and safari? None I’m guessing. For a city of 3 million, a National Park in your backyard is a huge achievement. The co-existence of man and animals is a reality here. Other attractions include giraffe feeding, the elephant orphanage and a zoo.
Do you think any other safari should be included in this list? Let me know..