Mountain Kilimanjaro the highest mountain in Tanzania and Africa as well. Mountain Kilimanjaro is also one of the highest volcanoes in the world towering at an altitude of about 5895 meters. This mountain is a popular climbing destination for tourists on mountain climbing safaris in Tanzania and is part of Mountain Kilimanjaro National park. Mountain Kilimanjaro was recognized as Africa’s leading tourist attraction 2016 by World Travel Awards. Each year, over 20,000 people on safaris Tanzania attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Tanzania mountain hiking safaris normally take five to nine days depending on the number of hours per day spent on climbing.

Facts about Kilimanjaro Mountain in Tanzania

The Kilimanjaro mountain is made up of three summits; Kibo with a height of 5895 meters, Mawenzi is about 5,148 meters, and Shira at about 3,962 meters. Kibo is the highest peak and is a dormant volcano that has a possibility of erupting again. The last major eruption at Kibo peak took place over 300,000 years ago.

Mountain Kilimanjaro Tanzania is the highest point in Africa and the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. This mountain has a height of about 19340ft. It is also one of the seven highest summits (the highest mountains) in each of the seven continents. A mountain Kilimanjaro climb is the most amazing activity you can ever give yourself on a Tanzania safari.

Climbers can use five alternative routes to reach the Kilimanjaro’s peak. They are Machame, Lemosho, Marangu, Rongai, and Mweka. The most scenic routes are Machame and Lemosho routes. Marangu is the easiest route to follow until a climber reaches final ascent to the rim of Kilimanjaro’s crater.

A German geologist Hans Meyer, Ludwig Purtscheller, and a local named Lauwo were the first people ever to have reached the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro in October of 1889. People have also noted that it is possible that the mountain had already been conquered earlier by locals, but was never documented.

The oldest person to have reached the mountain Kilimanjaro’s summit is Martin Kafer at 85, followed by his wife, Esther at 84. These were Canadian-Swiss couple that reached the Mountain’s summit in October 2012.

There are some who say the oldest person to have summited Mt Kilimanjaro was Frenchman Valtee Daniel. He took on his Tanzania mountain hiking safari at 87 years of age. However, his climb was not independently verified and didn’t have sufficient documentation to be verified for example Logbook notes, photographs, and film).

In 2003, South African Bernard Goosen climbed the mountain twice in a wheelchair. His first summit was in 2003 and took nine days while his second, which was four years later, took six days. He used a modified wheelchair to make the climb.

A Spanish mountain runner, Kilian Jornet, made the fastest ascent up the mountain in September 2010, at just 22 years of age. He reached the top of the Mountain in a startling 5 hours, 23 minutes and 50 seconds.

The youngest person to have climbed Mt Kilimanjaro is currently Keats Boyd from Los Angeles, who reached the summit in January 2008 at the age of 7. The most amazing thing is that Boyd somehow managed to dodge the minimum age rule for young climbers, which is 10 years old. The other child is Montanna Kenny who climbed the summit in honor of her late dad. She thought when she climbs the mountain, she will get closer to her dad who passed on at when she was just weeks away to her 3rd birthday.