Mount Kilimanjaro is the crown of Tanzania. Rising abruptly from the open plains, capped by snow and frequently fringed by clouds, it is one of Africa's classic images. At 19,344 feet, it is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest walk able summit in the world. The diameter of its base is an incredible 40 kilometers.

Kilimanjaro is a dormant, but not extinct volcano. Worrying thunder can sometimes be heard and gases emerge from the fumaroles in the crater. Although just three degrees south of the Equator, the peaks of both Kibo and Mawenzi have permanent caps of snow and ice.

During their time on the mountain, climbers pass from a tropical to arctic environment in just a few days. The various trails first pass through lush rainforests before reaching heather and open moorland where giant lobelia and huge, cactus-like groundsel grow.

Above this moorland is the almost lunar landscape of an alpine desert which stretches between the two peaks of Kibo, the flat-topped dome at the centre, and Mawenzi, a group of jagged points and pinnacles on the eastern side.

Inhospitable as this ‘moonscape' may seem, animals such as herds of eland thrive there. The highest point on Kibo, and indeed the whole of Kilimanjaro, is Uhuru Peak, with its spectacular hanging glaciers and stupendous views of the African plains some 20,000 feet below.

Also on Kibo is the slightly lower peak of Gillman's Point. These are the goals for most trekkers. The peaks of Mawenzi are for mountaineers only.