| Kilimanjaro(The
summit of Africa) is one of the world's most accessible high summits,
a beacon for visitors from around the world. Most climbers reach
the crater rim with little more than a walking stick, proper clothing
and determination. And those who reach Uhuru Point, the actual
summit, or Gillman's Point on the lip of the crater, will have
earned their climbing certificates.
And their memories.
But there is so much more to Kili
than her summit. The ascent of the slopes is a virtual climatic
world tour, from the tropics to the Arctic.
Even before you cross the national park boundary (at the 2,700m
contour), the cultivated footslopes give way to lush montane forest,
inhabited by elusive elephant, leopard, buffalo, the endangered
Abbot's duiker, and other small antelope and primates. Higher
still lies the moorland zone, where a cover of giant heather is
studded with otherworldly giant lobelias.
Above 4,000m, a surreal alpine
desert supports little life other than a few hardy mosses and
lichen. Then, finally, the last vestigial vegetation gives way
to a winter wonderland of ice and snow – and the magnificent beauty
of the roof of the continent.
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Height
from the sea level: 4,568mt.
Location: Northern Tanzania, within Arusha National Park.
Overshadowed
by it’s giant brother but still shows maximum respect when
you are on its top by giving great view of his 'brother' Kilimanjaro.
Meru is the
second highest mountain in Tanzania and the fifth highest in Africa;
offer attraction of it’s own, including game-filled lower
slopes, chattering forests of tropical birds and monkeys a spectacular
crater and throughout views of those famous snows across the steppe.
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