Some of the Best World Treks – Part 5

This time I came to Africa not with the aim of sightseeing, but to climb the highest mountain in Africa, the mighty Kilimanjaro. It’s a destination for many travelers. Unfortunately, at least half of them decide to conquer the mountain without proper equipment and prior preparations. But our team was fit to bite into this 5,895-meter-high volcano, located in the far north of Tanzania’s border with Kenya.

Tanzania itself is a country full of surprises. It even has several islands, the most famous of which are Zanzibar and Pemba. The mainland Tanzania offers a tour of the second deepest lake in the world, Lake Tanganyika. Along the shores of this lake is a national park where you can see wild chimpanzees. The country in the north offers a variety of safaris so you can get to know African animals better. Different tribes also live in this part of the country. But the country is best known to most for the mighty Mount Kilimanjaro.

Our plane from Slovenia first flew towards Istanbul, and then we continued towards Tanzania's Kilimanjaro Airport, where a small tourist van was waiting for us. We loaded all our mountaineering equipment on it, drove about an hour away to the foothills of Kilimanjaro and settled comfortably for the first two nights in a pleasant African hotel.

The first day we had an African nature tour, where we saw a banana tree, walked between small African houses and were instructed in the evening on how to climb the mountain, what to pack in one of our huge backpacks, as well as what we would eat on the way and so on.

But first, let’s list some facts about Kilimanjaro. Kilimanjaro is the highest freestanding mountain in the world, as it’s not part of any mountain range. It’s also unique in its location, as it’s located near the equator. The mountain consists of three different volcanic cones: Kibo (5,895 meters), Shira (3,962 meters) and Mawenzi (5,149 meters). The summit of Kiba is called Uhuru and that was our goal. While Mawenzi and Shira are extinguished volcanos, Kibo is just asleep and could erupt again.

With 100 km in length and 60 km in width, Mount Kilimanjaro has a unique climate and five different altitudinal vegetation zones. Weather conditions on the mountain vary with altitude, ranging from the tropical climate at the foot to the arctic conditions at the top. The hills at the foot have a year-round summer, with average temperatures ranging between 25 and 30 degrees throughout the year. In contrast, temperatures at the top are much lower and range between –10 and –20 degrees. The mountain area has two rainy periods: the monsoon period between March and May and the short rainy period from mid-October to late December. The foot of the mountain receives up to 2,000 mm of rainfall per year, which we also felt on our second day of the hike, but more about that later.

The next day we drove under the foot of the mountain, to the entry point. Anyone who wants to climb this mighty mountain must register, pay $900 for the entrance fee, and choose a guide because, without a guide, entry to the national park isn’t allowed. Guides accompany us not only to cook and carry heavy luggage, but also to monitor our health. At such altitudes, even the best athletes can experience altitude sickness problems, which is why an experienced guide is important.

On the first day of our six-hour trek, the ascent being easy this time, the path led us through a beautiful rainforest, which was also full of monkeys. That day we walked in low hiking boots, still dressed in shorts and short sleeves and the sun was shining all day. The trek took us to 2,200 meters above sea level and to our first accommodation. The hike towards the mighty volcano took place throughout a well-trodden path. Since the volcano is visited by a large group of travelers every year, I was surprised by how clean the path was.

The ascent to Kilimanjaro offers a fascinating journey through many climatic and vegetation zones with different habitats of unique flora and fauna. At an altitude of between 800 and 1,800 meters, a large amount of rain falls. Here they grow mainly coffee and bananas, as well as corn, beans, and other crops. There are no wild animals in the agricultural area, but you can observe lowland forests, shrubs, and many species of flowers. At 1,800 meters, the mountain forest begins, which is the most fertile area of Kilimanjaro. Animals, such as monkeys, elephants, wild boars, squirrels, antelopes and even leopards, found their home in the rich vegetation. The higher you get, the less chances there are of you seeing any animals, and at the top of the mountain there’s only snow and ice.

The first night, we slept in a large wooden hut where we had bedrooms on the first floor, and downstairs there were long tables and benches prepared, where we ate our first dinner. Breakfast was waiting for us there the next morning, which was when we started the hike together with the morning sun, but unfortunately it soon got cloudy, and we continued to walk in the rain. Equipped with long raincoats, we had to walk uphill, and the path became increasingly muddy and slippery. Also, a fall every now and then wasn’t uncommon.

When it stopped raining, we were able to put down our raincoats, which dried quickly, and just climbed up to our second hut at 3,700 meters above sea level. There, we already had slight breathing problems on the ascent, otherwise everything else went simply fine. Great food waited us for dinner. I was really surprised since there was sliced avocado next to the potatoes. The fruit, which I already adore anyway, has become a staple of every Kilimanjaro dinner. But when the pancakes arrived for dessert, we were especially happy. Let me also mention that these chefs are amazing, as they cook on the mountain in small tents and also bring all the equipment to the mountain and then back down again.

This cottage, unlike the previous one, was reserved just for us. Most hikers sleep in tents, but they can be uncomfortable on such difficult ascents. We were lucky tha our main guide booked a large cottage. We slept in the upper rooms again, and in the lower part there was a large kitchen where we could sit for a while after dinner, play cards and have fun one way or another. In the meantime, us girls withdrew a bit and tried somehow to wash ourselves with various refreshing handkerchiefs, which we had taken with us, as we already knew before the hike that there would be no possibility of showering on the mountain.

The next day was our third day of hiking. An acclimatization day towards Zebra Rocks followed. These are rocky masses that are half-painted white. The slow acclimatization hike came with light rain, but we were used to the rain by then. Fully equipped with raincoats and our guide with a large purple colored umbrella, we took photos along the rocks despite the rain. That day was easy.

The next day, however, was for me the most difficult day of that hike. From a height of 3,700 meters, we slowly began to climb higher. In the second part of that day's route, it was necessary to walk a longer, almost horizontal distance. As we climbed slowly, and thus gained altitude, the ascent wasn’t even felt that way. The guide started to push us, urging us to step a little faster. But that was exactly the problem, because at our stop somewhere at 4,100 meters I could feel the signs of altitude sickness. I couldn’t get a word out of my mouth. A minor nausea swept over me as well, so I left my snack (which was an old hard roasted chicken with a piece of toast, and a few snacks) for a little later. Somehow, I regained my strength after an hour, and the signs of altitude sickness diminished, and I was able to continue my way to our last hut on the ascent, a hut at an altitude of 4,720 meters. Dinner soon followed, which was always soup first, then baked potatoes and, of course, the avocado.

In the evening, we received instructions on how to prepare for the most important day of the trek. We got up at midnight, got dressed, ate something small and, at midnight, with the lights on our heads, started to climb up a very, very steep path. The difficult ascent began. We were walking along a serpentine ascending path for about two hours. There was no cold in the lower part of the trail yet, but after two hours of walking we reached Gilman's Point, where the view opened up in all directions, the cold became unbearable and the wind just wild. Two gloves and extra wind pads weren’t enough for me. I had to add hand warmers to my lower gloves. I had already added foot warmers to my socks in the hut below as well.

At an altitude of 5,685 meters, where Gilman’s Point is located, it’s always cold. Gilman’s Point is also kind of a turning point on the way, from where quite a few climbers turn and head back towards the valley. We were stubborn and encouraged each other to get to the top. And it soon became clear why so many people turned back down. Walking along the edge to the top required caution, as we were walking on icy snow. The hair, at least the ones looking out from our hats, became pure white, as did our eyebrows. We could laugh at each other because we looked funny, but we had to muster the strength to jump to the top. The view from the ridge was becoming more and more magnificent, and in the distance we saw a sign marking the top of the highest free-standing mountain in the world, and we were already standing on the roof of Africa, on the high Uhuru Peak with its 5,895 meters.

Those of us who dared to take off the gloves, took some photos that will accompany us for the rest of our lives. The beautiful Kilimanjaro Glacier was close to us and it was just nice to see it so mighty. The sun started to shine, and we could see the mighty Africa below us. Let me also mention that the ascent in February happened right at the time of the full moon, which was our companion during the nights.

We weren’t at the top for very long, as we had to go back down the way we came, first to Gilman’s Point. From there on, we were no longer afraid of any injuries on the way down, as the serpentine path was just a lot of fun then, especially as the sun was shining and we were looking forward to our lunch because of our great success. We arrived back at the hut at 4,720 meters, had a light snack, packed our bags and trekked the same day back to the hut at 3,700 meters.

After a champions’ dinner, a well-deserved and long sleep until late in the morning followed. We had our last breakfast on the mountain, said thank you to all our great guides and chefs, and then started departing towards the valley, back to the starting point of our trek, where we waited for our bus to take us back to the hotel among the banana trees and other exotic plants.

We conquered Kilimanjaro on the oldest designed route called Coca-Cola or Marangu. This is the most comfortable way up to the mountain, as it’s the only place where it’s possible to spend the night in a mountain hut, and I’m incredibly happy that I managed to undertake this venture without major complications. After all, I stood on top of Uhuru, at an altitude of 5,895 meters!