Kilimanjaro

The main reason for choosing Tanzania out of all interesting places in the African continent was Kilimanjaro. Kilimanjaro had been in my mind as a must climb since I was a kid when we learned that it was a place on the equator where there was snow. The glaciers are melting today due to global warming and we decided to make the trip before it's too late.

Arriving at Kilimanjaro International Airport

We flew Singapore airlines from Singapore to Dubai and then Qatar Airways Dubai - Doha - Dar Es Salaam - Kilimanjaro. Kilimanjaro Airport is close to the cities Arusha and Moshi. We spent the night at Machame village with a local family where we got to know about local culture, food and a bit of history as well. The next day morning starting out at Machame camp we climbed for 4 days to reach the Uhuru Peak. On our way we stayed at Shira, Barranco, Karanga and Barafu camps. Most camps had sufficient space for our tents and for us to take a walk around.

At the Machame gate, all ready to go :-)

 

The way down was much faster, we took the route to Mweka camp and stayed one night there. The next day we reached the town of Moshi. 

 

The climb was rather easy for the most part. There's no requirement of any professional climbing training etc. It's just a walk. But what you need to watch out is altitude sickness. It is important to eat well and drink plenty of water. Our head guide Mussa was very concerned to keep a close watch on any symptoms among us of this.

Me and Mussa our head guide

 

Climbing is great when it's done with a group of friends. In my group were my university friends Gayendra, Dilmini, Gayendra's cousin Sonali and Dilmini's brother Shamintha. We also had a very nice crew supporting us including Head guide Mussa, Assistant Guides Rashidi and others like Bruno with whom we still are in touch. Tanzanians are nice friendly people. Kilimanjaro was definitely a memorable experience and I would recommend to anyone to attempt the climb.



The team at Uhuru Peak!