Mount Kilimanjaro is located in Tanzania, a country in East Africa. The mountain is one of the seven summits (the highest peaks on each of the seven continents), and rises 5,895 meters, or 19,340 feet, above sea level. It is the tallest freestanding mountain (not part of a mountain range) in the world.

Kilimanjaro, by its name, is a metaphor for the compelling beauty of East Africa. When you see it, you understand why, not only is this the highest peak on the African continent; it is also the tallest free-standing mountain in the world with 5,895 meters (19,336 feet).

Kilimanjaro 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 for their memories.

Before you cross the national park boundary (at the 2,700m contour), the cultivated foot slopes give way to lush montane forests, inhabited by elusive elephants, leopards, 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 lichens. 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.