This is a personal account of my second attempt of reaching Uhuru Peak, Africa's Highest Point which is on top of the Kilimanjaro mountain at 5895m (33 feet) above see level. Sign Guestbook View Guestbook

Volcano in Tanzania, the highest mountain in Africa, 5,895 m/19,340 ft. It is situated between Lake Victoria and the coast. It culminates in two peaks, Kibo (5,895 m/19,340 ft) and Mawenzi (5,149 m/16,893 ft), both craters of extinct volcanoes. The first recorded ascent was by the German geographer Hans Meyer and the Austrian mountaineer Ludwig Purtscheller in 1889.

Physical features

The crater of Kibo is 1,981 m/6,500 ft in diameter and 198 m/650 ft deep. Moshi, to the south, is he nearest settlement. The lower slopes are densely settled and intensively cultivated. Bananas and coffee are grown on the eastern and southern slopes. From 1,800 m/5,905 ft to 3,000 m/9,842 ft is the forest belt, some 8-11 km/5-7 mi wide; grasslands extend about 900 m/ 2,953 ft above that, and then there are snowbanks. The Kenya border skirts the mountain on the northern side, which receives less rain, has poorer forest, and little settlement.