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AFRICA KILIMANJARO DESTINATIONS


TOP TIPS


BOOK WITH A GOOD OPERATOR Exodus has a 79% summit success rate on the Rongai route, and


uses top-notch equipment,


food, porters, and guides.


CHOOSE THE RIGHT ROUTE


Other popular routes include Lemosho,


Marangu and Machame. Some get busy, so encourage clients to do their research.


GO AT THE RIGHT TIME The main trekking seasons are January-


March and June-October.


ENCOURAGE PROPER TRAINING Kilimanjaro doesn’t require technical


climbing, but the altitude is


rated extreme. Suggest The Altitude Centre for


exercise classes and resting sessions at simulated altitude.


altitude centre.com 14 March 2019travelweekly.co.uk67


about 5am, the faintest shred of violet begins to appear in the sky, gradually turning into strips of dark, burning orange and deep, inky blue. An hour later, we finally reach


Gilman’s Point (the first signposted section, set on the crater rim at 5,681 metres) and it’s an incredible scene. Below us, lilac clouds float around in a soft, wavy ocean, and in the distance, fields of ice sprawl out like frosting on a cake, all lit up in a reddish glare. But from here it’s still a decent


stretch to the final peak, Uhuru – and it’s the hardest part of all. For two long hours I stumble along the crater rim, bitter wind slapping me in the face, altitude making me feel about as fit as a 90-year-old. Then I finally glimpse that iconic sign, and my eyes fill with tears. When I arrive, it’s like being drunk, altitude and joy mixed up in a confused and surreal daze that’s the culmination of several months of training, and several years of dreaming. “Welcome to the roof of Africa,” says our guide, Makeke. “The top of the world.” And when I look around, I see exactly what he means.


Reaching the summit is like being drunk – a surreal daze that’s the culmination of months of training and years of dreaming


 WILD WANDERS While summit night is, for many, the most memorable – and challenging – part of any Kilimanjaro trek, it’s far from being the only one. Routes last from five to eight days; I chose the Rongai, a less-trodden, gradually sloped option that approaches the mountain from the north side and covers 42 miles over six days. In those six days, you cross every type of terrain imaginable. First, shaded woodland and lush green farmland, where black-and-white colobus monkeys swish their fluffy tails and colourful birds perch in the trees. Then, rainbow-coloured moorland filled with thick, bushy heather, sprouting up to waist height in strokes of green, orange and purple.


Next, sparse ‘Alpine’ desert scattered with jagged boulders and pineapple- like groundsel plants (unique to east Africa), where you’re literally in the clouds, surrounded by jets of mist. Then finally, the lunar desert – an


endless expanse of yellow-grey dust and gravel, barren and empty but for a few tiny rocks scattered here and there, and the occasional raven swooping down in front of you in a flash of inky black. It feels inhospitable, deserted and so


totally cut off from everything it’s hard to believe you’re even on Earth. The one constant throughout is Mawenzi, the cloud-capped peak that dominates the skyline every step of the way, right up until that final night.


 ‘POLE POLE’ Those days were long and testing in terms of stamina, ranging from three to seven hours of walking (and a challenging 15 on summit day). Though the inclines were gradual and the pace relatively gentle – guides constantly reminded us to take it ‘pole pole’ (‘slow slow’), and there was no technical climbing involved – clients do need to be in good shape.


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