There are several routes including Marangu, the easiest to climb and therefore the more popular, Machame, Shira, Umbwe and Rongai are other routes. You can hike Mount Kilimanjaro without climbing gear and it has three cones; Kibo, 5,895 m (dormant), Mawenzi, 5,149 m (extinct) and Shira, 3,962 m (extinct)
During day hikes, some of the amazing attractions you will come across include;
Lake Chala, a beautiful filled caldera that sits on the far eastern edge of the park and forms part of the border with Kenya.
Marangu falls, a gorgeous waterfall with a rich cultural history not far off the Marangu route.
Ndoro waterfalls, another gorgeous waterfall on the western slope of Kilimanjaro where you can swim in its chilly waters.
Mount Kilimanjaro national park has five concentric climate and ecological bands. They are, from lowest to highest:
- Agricultural band (800 m to 1,800 m)
- Afro-montane rainforest band (1,800 m to 2,800 m)
- Afro-alpine moorland band (2,800 m to 4,000 m)
- Alpine desert band (4,000 m to 5,000 m)
- Arctic summit (above 5,000 m)
Various animals can be found in the park including warthogs, hippos, impalas, dik-diks, zebras, elephants, black rhinos, buffalos and giraffes, elands and gazelles, Cheetahs, lions and leopards, jackals, hyenas, monkeys, baboons, mongooses, mountain reedbucks, klipspringers, red and grey duikers, Abbot’s duikers, aardvarks, tree hyraxes, bush babies, servals, 3-horned chameleon among others. The park also has quite a number of bird species such as; vultures, buzzards, ravens, hornbills, turacos, shrikes, cuckoos, flycatchers, barbets, woodpeckers, bee-eaters, sunbirds among others.
