Kilimanjaro Volcano is one of the most famous and popular places on the planet. This place is unique for many reasons: the splendor of the appearance of the mountain, the variegation of climatic zones, snow glaciers. Kilimanjaro is popular not only with tourists. Shooting of famous films took place here, events on the mountain formed the basis of the plots of legendary stories.
You can come to Kilimanjaro through Kenya or Tanzania. This is doubly exciting - the traveler will not only meet with the majestic mountain, but also get acquainted with the culture and life of the indigenous population of these states. For Russians, such a voyage is good because you do not need to get a visa in advance (although there is a consular fee at the border). However, formalities are nothing compared to what a person sees upon arrival.
The magnificent volcano Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro is located in East Africa. More precisely, it is a sleeping volcano, capable, according to some geologists, of awakening. Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa. At the peak point - 5895 meters above sea level. The name "Kilimanjaro" from the Swahili African language can be translated as "a mountain that shines." There is a version that this name is due to the fact that at the top of the volcano there are snow-white glaciers, while solid tropics of characteristic color shades are visible around - typical Africa.
Mount Kilimanjaro is located in the state of Tanzania, but is located close to the border of Kenya. An interesting fact is that there are no other mountains around it, it is not part of any geological system. And therefore the mountain is especially attractive for tourists who come here in many ways in order to admire the majesty of Kilimanjaro, towering against the backdrop of a tropical plain. The writer Ernest Hemingway called the mountain wide as the world, huge, tall and incredibly white under the sun.
How the mountain was formed
Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, is about two million years old. It was formed during volcanic processes: lava flows came out of the earth, it solidified, then new layers appeared from the next eruption. At different periods of activity of the bowels of the earth, peaks formed, making up Kilimanjaro: Kibo (central, youngest in age), Mawenzi (eastern) and Shira (western, oldest). Kibo has a volcanic crater 2.5 km in diameter. In addition, this peak is the only one that is located above the snowy section of the mountain. Kibo looks like an even beautiful cone. This is the highest peak of Kilimanjaro, the height of the mountain at this peak reaches the level indicated above at 5895 m. The slopes of the volcano contain a large number of small volcanic cones (their diameter is within a kilometer). Volcanic gases continue to be released in the Kibo Crater.
Flora and fauna
Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, is interesting for its local climate. When air masses come here from the Indian Ocean, the mountain directs them upward. Clouds form, from which rain or snow falls (the type of precipitation depends on the height of the clouds). Kilimanjaro has several climatic zones, which are inhabited by a variety of species of flora and fauna.
Crops grow on the lower slopes of the volcano. At an altitude of about 2 km they are replaced by tropical forests. After another one and a half kilometers, heather thickets, lichens, and grasses characteristic of alpine zones begin to prevail. Where snow begins, large animals live - buffalos, leopards.
Mastering Kilimanjaro by Man
People began to settle on the legendary volcano only in the XIX century. The fact that there is such a volcano in Africa, about the place where Mount Kilimanjaro is located, was told to the world in 1848 by German pastor Johannes Rebman. In 1881, Count Telka rose to 2500-meter height, a year later - to 4200 meters, and in 1883 - to 5270 meters. In 1889, two researchers from Europe, German Hans Meyer and Austrian Ludwig Purtscheler, were the first to reach Kilimanjaro peak. The summit of Mawenzi, however, has long been unconquered. Only in 1912, European climbers managed to step on it.
Popular climbing routes
Tourists from all over the world dream of visiting Kilimanjaro. The highest mountain in Africa is incredibly attractive both for professional climbers and mountain climbing enthusiasts. There are several popular climbing routes, following which you can climb Kilimanjaro. Each of them is called the same as the settlement located at the very beginning of the journey. One of the most popular routes starts in the village of Marangu. According to some climbers and tourists, it is easy to master even for beginners. However, according to travelers, there is also the opposite effect - a very large number of people can be on the route at the same time. The route starting in the village of Masham is considered by many to be the most beautiful. But it is not suitable for everyone, but only for those who have no problems with acclimatization to the mountain climate.
The most difficult route begins in the village of Umbwe. It is only suitable for professional mountain climbers. If the tourist is fond of mountain biking, then he can try the route starting in the village of Shira. For lovers of admiring the beauties of nature, a path with a start in the village of Rongai is suitable. The route that passes through the area where people are very rare, where nature is revealed in its full splendor, begins in the village of Loytokitok.
Kilimanjaro at the cinema
Kilimanjaro volcano, where the incredible range of flora and fauna is located, which is filled with stunning natural beauties, could not go unnoticed by filmmakers. For many filmmakers, especially Hollywood, Mount Kilimanjaro, whose photo is recognizable even without signatures and explanations, is a place that is almost more popular than, for example, the Statue of Liberty in New York or the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
You can recall the films created by overseas producers in which alien spacecraft fly over the mountain. You can recall how Lara Croft was looking for Pandora's box in the mountain. A fact known to so many - near Kilimanjaro lived a pride led by the Lion King himself.
Kilimanjaro in literature
The greatness of Kilimanjaro was captivated and the minds of famous writers. The most famous literary work related to the volcano is the story “Kilimanjaro's Snow” written by Ernest Hemingway. It was first published in Esquire magazine in 1936. The plot of the story is based on the journey of the writer Harry Smith in Africa. The writer went on a safari. There Harry failed - he was injured in the leg and contracted gangrene. He and his wife Ellen live in a tent at the foot of Kilimanjaro. Harry often recalls his life, about the war. He is trying to find answers to philosophical questions - why he lived, what good he did. Gangrene infection is incurable, and Harry Smith passes away. Based on the story, a movie of the same name was shot.
Climbing features
Despite the fact that the highest mountain Kilimanjaro could not be subdued by people in the 19th-20th centuries for a long time, today, perhaps, anyone who does not experience breathing problems in the mountains and atmospheric pressure drops can climb it. Climbing Kilimanjaro, as some tourists say, on some routes may take only a few hours. For example, the athlete Kilian Jorne Burgada from Catalonia conquered the top of the volcano in 5 hours 23 minutes.
Of course, chasing such results to an untrained person is not within the power, but it is quite possible to keep within a day. Climbers and amateur tourists, regardless of the chosen route, will see a unique picture: the successive change of the order of seven different climatic zones - equatorial, then subequatorial, followed by tropical and subtropical, after - moderate and, finally, subpolar, and even polar.
Kilimanjaro Glaciers
Mount Kilimanjaro is interesting in that it is one of the few places in Africa where there is snow even in summer. At the top of the volcano are huge snow-white massifs. Basically it’s not even snow, but glaciers. Geologists have a version that the ice cover of the volcano may soon disappear. Researchers recorded that at the beginning of the twentieth century, the area of glaciers began to decline. In one of the scientific works, it was estimated that from 1912 to 2007 the reduction scale was 85% - from 12 square kilometers to 2. According to the study, not only the area but also the thickness of the glaciers decreased. One of the reasons for this state of affairs is environmental pollution and, as a result, global warming. Environmentalists fear that as soon as the glaciers melt, several mountain rivers will stop receiving natural nutrition at once, which could jeopardize the ecosystem in the mountain area. There is another version that says that the glaciers are still stable. It is based on the words of local residents who do not observe visible changes in the snow-white covers of the volcano. At the same time, the stability of glaciers, according to some researchers, could be facilitated by the early planting of trees near Kilimanjaro. Due to this, the impact of global warming has declined. In addition, the trees planted absorb water from the clouds that surround the mountain and thus nourish the biosphere below.
Interesting Facts
- The highest point of Kilimanjaro (the height of the mountain, as already noted, is 5895 meters) is the peak of Ukhta. This figure is a record for the mountains of Africa and the fourth in the world.
- The last eruption of Kilimanjaro volcano was 100 thousand years ago.
- The mountain is located right on the border of two states - Kenya and Tanzania. But those tourists who want to climb Kilimanjaro must drive up to the mountain from Tanzania, according to an agreement between the countries.
- The first historical references to Kilimanjaro date back to the 2nd century A.D. e.
- Cash proceeds from the organization of tourist trips for foreign tourists to Kilimanjaro is one of the conditions for the stability of the Tanzanian economy. There is evidence that about 40 thousand people visit Kilimanjaro annually. On average, each tourist leaves in the country more than $ 1 thousand.
