Mountain Hiking

Mount Kilimanjaro

Mount Kilimanjaro stands on featureless part of the East African plateau, on the Tanzanian side of the Kenya border near Moshi, side by side with the smaller Mount Meru. These mountains are extinct volcanoes, with Kilimanjaro actually being the agglomeration of three distinct volcanoes, Kibo (5896m/ 19,340 ft), Mwenzi (5,149 / 16,896 ft) and Shira (3,962m / 13,000 ft). whose violent creation is geologically associated with the creation of the Great Rift Valley, 100km to the West.

Kilimanjaro National Park comprises all of the mountain above the tree line and six forest corridors that stretch through the forest belt. Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, hiking Kilimanjaro, trekking Kilimanjaro, (famous as Uhuru Peak) south of the equator and the base of about 40-60 kilometers. Other peaks include the Mawenzi, 5,149 meters which is also dormant and the Shira 3,962 meters an extinct volcano. The lowest days to spend on climbing this snow-capped peak are five days using common route of Marangu. Other different routes include the Machame route, Umbwe route, Shira route, Mweka route and Rongai route with minimum of two porters per person and a guide.

All the routes up to Uhuru peak have the main gates for payments and registration with the headquaters at Marangu village. Only Marangu trail has huts for accommodation that is (Mandara Hut, Horombo Hut and Kibo Hut) others are tents. In additional for the alpines who will make to the top they will be awarded a Kilimanjaro certificate. Summit Travel remind all the tourist wants to climb the mountain to consult their doctors before attempting this high altitude.

Mount Meru

Standing at 4566 m, Mount Meru is located in Arusha city about 23 km on Arusha-Moshi main road within the Arusha National park. It’s also the second highest Mountain in Tanzania after the Mt. Kilimanjaro which has 5896 m

Most alpines climb this mountain for acclimatization purposes before their Kilimanjaro bid. It takes three days to climb Mount Meru, but one extra day for acclimatization is recommended before climbing.

During climbing Mount Meru, a group of armed rangers accompany climbers as they pass through the Arusha National Park. Arusha National Park is one of the popular walking safaris parks in Tanzania. The beautiful flora and fauna can be viewed on the way top. Animals like buffalos, klipslingers antelopes, zebras, giraffes, warthogs, leopards, and waterbucks, hyenas, including black and white colobus, vervets and blue monkeys are among other common animals in the park. Several species of birds (more than 400 species) inhabit Ngurdoto Crater and Momela Lakes. Birds include pink & black lesser flamingos, Turaco, kingfishers, sun birds, crows and the bustard. Arusha National Park is also inhabited by a variety of snakes and reptiles rarely seen in the wild plains, black & green, mamba, Egyptian cobras, rattle snakes, rhino horn chameleons, varieties of land and sea turtles and hippopotamus.

Mount Ol’Doinyo Lengai

It’s sacred to the Maasai; they still perform ceremonial ritual offerings in the mountains “kitchen” to “NGAI” God, in the Maasai vernacular.

Rising at an altitude of 2886 ALT-m (GPS) above the Soda Ash Lake, NATRON – (60mts wide, 1-1.5mts deep), with temperatures rising to over 50°C, that heats up the soda ash making it the most conductively favorable nesting fields, for over 4 million little flamingo chicks hatched annually, scattering around the rest of the E. African soda lakes. That heat and soda ash dust makes this place to be the hashiest living environment on Earth thus guarantees no predators close to the eggs or newly hatched chicks.

The Lengai is located along the East African Rift Valley wall escarpment north-east of the NGORONGORO highlands. The mountain of God is the most unique active volcano in the world mainly because it erupts Natrocarbonatite lava; (a much cooler liquid and non sticky black/grayish crude oil like lava) with temperatures of over 500°C, unlike the other volcanoes which produces basaltic lava with temperatures rising above 1,100°C.

The less violent active volcano has been witnessed by many volcano enthusiasts ever since the early seventy’s and has become a great attraction of late. While the lava flow appears like a white water flowing streams and brownish mud they form into solidified lava crystals that reflect sharp sparks when hit by rays.

The low gas content lava glows to extreme red-orange pool during the dark within the crater rim and around the solidified peaks of volcanic lava cones creating a spectacular display.

There is a beautiful camping base for climbers and hikers. Munge River water falls provides the most desired power shower after the tedious climb.