Editing Mount Kilimanjaro

{{Short description|Mountain in Tanzania, highest in Africa}}
{{hatnote group|{{Redirect|Kilimanjaro}}{{redirect-distinguish|Mawenzi|Mawenzi (administrative ward)}}}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox mountain
| fetchwikidata = ALL
| photo = Kilimanjaro from Amboseli.jpg
| photo_caption = Kilimanjaro from [[Amboseli National Park]], Kenya
| name = Mount Kilimanjaro
| map = Tanzania#Africa#World <!-- |relief=1 -->
| map_caption = Kilimanjaro's location in Tanzania
| location = [[Kilimanjaro Region]], [[Tanzania]]
| label_position = right
| elevation_ref = <ref name="XPATS International"/>
| prominence_ref = <br /><small>Ranked 4th</small>
| listing = [[Ultra-prominent peak|Ultra]]
| range = The [[Eastern Rift mountains]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|03|04|33|S|37|21|12|E|type:mountain_region:TZ-09_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline}}
| topo = Kilimanjaro map and guide by Wielochowski<ref name=map>{{cite map | publisher=EWP | title=Kilimanjaro Map and tourist Guide | url=http://maps.ewpnet.com/kilimap.asp | edition=4th | year=2009 | cartography=EWP | scale=1:75,000 with 1:20,000 and 1:30,000 insets | series=EWP Map Guides | isbn=0-906227-66-6  | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717212549/http://maps.ewpnet.com/kilimap.asp | archive-date=17 July 2015 }}</ref>
| coordinates_ref = 
| type = [[Stratovolcano]]
| age = 4 million years
| last_eruption = Between 150,000 and 200,000 years ago
| first_ascent = 6 October 1889 by [[Hans Meyer (geologist)|Hans Meyer]] and [[Ludwig Purtscheller]]
| range_coordinates = 
}}

'''Mount Kilimanjaro''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|k|ɪ|l|ɪ|m|ə|n|ˈ|dʒ|ɑː|r|oʊ}})<ref>{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Kilimanjaro,+Mount |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716000000/http://www.lexico.com/definition/Kilimanjaro,+Mount |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-07-16 |title=Kilimanjaro, Mount |dictionary=[[Lexico|Oxford Dictionaries]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}} {{Cite web |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/Kilimanjaro-Mount |title=Kilimanjaro, Mount |publisher=Lexico |access-date=25 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709041225/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/Kilimanjaro-Mount |archive-date=9 July 2015  }}</ref> is a [[Volcano#Dormant|dormant volcano]] in [[Tanzania]]. It is the [[African mountains|highest mountain in Africa]] and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world, at {{cvt|5,895|m}} above sea level and {{cvt|4900|m}} above its plateau base. It is also the [[List of volcanoes by elevation|highest volcano]] in the [[Eastern Hemisphere]] and the [[List of peaks by prominence|fourth most topographically prominent]] peak on [[Earth]].

Kilimanjaro's southern and eastern slopes served as the home of the [[Chagga states|Chagga Kingdoms]] until their abolition in 1963 by [[Julius Nyerere]]. The origin and meaning of the name Kilimanjaro is unknown, but may mean "mountain of greatness" or "unclimbable". Although described in [[Classical antiquity|classical]] sources, German missionary [[Johannes Rebmann]] is credited as the first European to report the mountain's existence, in 1848. After several European attempts, [[Hans Meyer (geographer)|Hans Meyer]] reached Kilimanjaro's highest summit in 1889.

The mountain was incorporated into [[Kilimanjaro National Park]] in 1973. As one of the [[Seven Summits]], Kilimanjaro is a major hiking and climbing destination. There are [[Mount Kilimanjaro climbing routes|seven established routes]] to Uhuru Peak, the mountain's highest point. Although not as technically challenging as similar mountains, the prominence of Kilimanjaro poses a serious risk of [[altitude sickness]].

One of [[Eastern Rift mountains|several mountains]] arising from the [[East African Rift]], Kilimanjaro was formed from volcanic activity over 2 million years ago.<ref>{{citation needed|reason=states 4 million in infobox|date=January 2025}}</ref> Its slopes host [[montane forests]] and [[cloud forests]]. Multiple species are [[endemic]] to Mount Kilimanjaro, including the [[giant groundsel]] ''[[Dendrosenecio kilimanjari]]''. The mountain possesses a large [[ice cap]] and the largest glaciers in Africa, including [[Credner Glacier]], [[Furtwängler Glacier]], and the [[Rebmann Glacier]]. This ice cap is rapidly shrinking, with over 80% lost in the 20th century. The cap is projected to disappear entirely by the mid-21st century.

==Toponymy==
The origin and meaning of the name Kilimanjaro is disputed. Although the [[Chagga people]] of the [[Kilimanjaro Region]] have no name for the  mountain, they call its two peaks ''Kipoo'' and ''Kimawenze''. The peaks' names—usually rendered Kibo and Mawenzi—mean "spotted" in reference to Kibo's snow and "broken top" due to Mawenzi's jagged peak. "Kilimanjaro" may originate from the Chagga calling the mountain unclimbable—''kilemanjaare'' or ''kilemajyaro''—and explorers misinterpreting this as its name. This [[Chaga languages|Kichagga language]] etymology relies on ''kileme'', "that which defeats", or ''kilelema'', "that which has become difficult or impossible". The ''-jaro'' could be derived from ''njaare'', a bird, or ''jyaro'', a [[Caravan (travellers)|caravan]].{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1965|p=65}}

Early Western etymologies used a compound [[Swahili language|Swahili]] origin, with ''kilima'' translated as "mountain".{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1965|p=65}} In 1860, [[Johann Ludwig Krapf]] wrote that the [[Swahili people|Swahilis]] used the name Kilimanjaro and that it meant either "mountain of greatness" or "mountain of caravans", with a  translation of ''njaro'' as greatness or ''jaro'' as "caravans".{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1965|p=65}}{{Sfn|Krapf|Ravenstein|1860|p=255}} In 1885, Scottish explorer [[Joseph Thomson (explorer)|Joseph Thomson]] reported "white mountain" as an alternative, with ''njaro'' denoting whiteness.{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1965|p=65}}{{Sfn|Thomson|1887}} This Swahili etymological approach is criticized as ''kilima'' is a [[diminutive]] of ''mlima'' (mountain) and actually means "hill". However, ''mlima'' may have been misreported as ''kilima'' via conflation with the two peaks' names, ''Kipoo'' and ''Kimawenze''.{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1965|p=65}}

Krapf mentions an 1849 visit with a [[Kamba people|Wakamba]] chief that called the mountain ''Kima jajeu'', meaning "mountain of whiteness".{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1965|p=65}}{{Sfn|Krapf|Ravenstein|1860|p=544}} Another explanation is that ''jyaro'' may refer to a god or a deity that guarded the mountain from trespassers.{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1965|p=65}}

In the 1880s, the mountain became part of [[German East Africa]] and was called ''Kilima-Ndscharo'' in German.<ref>Briggs, Philip (1996). ''Guide to Tanzania'', 2nd edition. Bradt Guides.</ref> In 1889, [[Hans Meyer (geologist)|Hans Meyer]] reached the highest summit on Kibo, which he named ''Kaiser-Wilhelm-Spitze'' for [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Kaiser Wilhelm]].<ref>{{cite conference |url=http://icaci.org/files/documents/ICC_proceedings/ICC2003/Papers/110.pdf |title=German Contributions to the Cartography of South West and East Africa from Mid-19th Century to World War I |publisher=University of Technology Darmstadt |access-date=16 July 2015 |author=Demhardt, I. J. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717033853/http://icaci.org/files/documents/ICC_proceedings/ICC2003/Papers/110.pdf |archive-date=17 July 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Following the [[Zanzibar Revolution]] and the formation of [[Tanzania]] in 1964, the summit was renamed Uhuru Peak: "Freedom Peak" in Swahili.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1965_files/AJ%201965%20320-330%20Dangar%20Alpine%20Notes.pdf |title=Dangar Alpine Notes |author=Dangar, D. F. O. |journal=The Alpine Journal |year=1965 |volume=70 |issue=310–311 |page=328 |access-date=2012-11-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203032358/http://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1965_files/AJ%201965%20320-330%20Dangar%20Alpine%20Notes.pdf |archive-date=2013-12-03 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.2307/1788958 |jstor=1788958 |title=Further Notes on the Kibo Inner Crater and Glaciers of Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya |journal=The Geographical Journal |volume=106 |issue=5/6 |pages=210–216 |last1=Spink |first1=P. C. |year=1945 |bibcode=1945GeogJ.106..210S }}</ref>

{{wide image|File:The Kibo and Mawenzi Cones of Mt. Kilimanjaro.jpg|1000px|dir=rtl|Kilimanjaro's main peaks are Kibo (left) and Mawenzi (right), as named by the [[Chagga]]. They respectively mean "spotted" and "broken top".}}

== Geology and geography ==
{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | total_width = 300
 | direction  = vertical
 | image1 = Kilimanjaro 3D - version 1.gif
 | alt1 = 
 | image2 = Kilimanjaro Mawenzi.jpg
 | alt2 = 
 | footer = The two highest volcanic cones: Kibo (top) and Mawenzi (bottom)
}}

Kilimanjaro is a large dormant [[stratovolcano]] composed of three distinct volcanic cones: Kibo, the highest; Mawenzi at {{convert|5149|m|ft|abbr=on}};<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sharaf |first1=Yasir |title=Mount Kilimanjaro Volcanic Cones: Shira, Kibo And Mawenzi Peaks |url=https://xpatsinternational.com/mount-kilimanjaro-volcanic-cones-shira-kibo-and-mawenzi-peaks/ |website=XPATS International |access-date=25 September 2021 |ref=None |language=en |date=24 March 2016 |archive-date=5 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105075701/https://xpatsinternational.com/mount-kilimanjaro-volcanic-cones-shira-kibo-and-mawenzi-peaks/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and Shira, the lowest at {{convert|4005|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Kaser">{{cite journal |doi=10.1029/2006GL027084 |bibcode=2006GeoRL..3316502C |title=Kilimanjaro Glaciers: Recent areal extent from satellite data and new interpretation of observed 20th-century retreat rates |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |volume=33 |issue=16 |pages=L16502 |last1=Cullen |first1=Nicolas J. |last2=Mölg |first2=Thomas |last3=Kaser |first3=Georg |last4=Hussein |first4=Khalid |last5=Steffen |first5=Konrad |last6=Hardy |first6=Douglas R. |year=2006 |s2cid=14421037 }}</ref> Mawenzi and Shira are [[Volcano#Extinct|extinct]], while Kibo is [[Volcano#Dormant|dormant]] and could erupt again.<ref name="NonnottePhilippe">{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2007.12.042 |bibcode=2008JVGR..173...99N |title=New K Ar age determinations of Kilimanjaro volcano in the North Tanzanian diverging rift, East Africa |journal=Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research |volume=173 |issue=1 |page=99 |last1=Nonnotte |first1=Philippe |last2=Guillou |first2=Hervé |last3=Le Gall |first3=Bernard |last4=Benoit |first4=Mathieu |last5=Cotten |first5=Joseph |last6=Scaillet |first6=Stéphane |year=2008 |s2cid=18476938 |url=https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00304458/file/Nonnotte_et_al.J.Volc.Geoth.Res-08.pdf |access-date=2019-01-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115023222/https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00304458/file/Nonnotte_et_al.J.Volc.Geoth.Res-08.pdf |archive-date=2019-01-15 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Uhuru Peak is the highest summit on Kibo's crater rim. The [[Tanzania National Parks Authority]], a Tanzanian government agency,<ref name="XPATS International">{{cite web |last1=Sharaf |first1=Yasir |title=8 Common Mistakes I Wish I Knew Before Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro As A Beginner {{!}} How To Climb Mount Kilimanjaro? |url=https://xpatsinternational.com/climbing-mount-kilimanjaro-for-beginners |website=XPATS International |access-date=6 August 2022 |date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=25 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240625133100/https://xpatsinternational.com/climbing-mount-kilimanjaro-for-beginners/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization]]<ref name="UNESCO">{{cite web | url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/403 | title=Kilimanjaro National Park | publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre | work=World Heritage List | access-date=16 July 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419001216/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/403 | archive-date=19 April 2012 | url-status=live }}</ref> lists the height of Uhuru Peak as {{convert|5895|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}, based on a [[Ordnance Survey|British survey]] in 1952.<ref name="Digital">{{cite web | url=http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1142/paper12.pdf | title=The New Digital Orthometric Elevation Model of Kilimanjaro | publisher=CEUR Workshop Proceedings | access-date=16 July 2015 | author=Pascal Sirguey, Nicolas J. Cullen and Jorge Filipe Dos Santos | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084432/http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1142/paper12.pdf | archive-date=4 March 2016 | url-status=live }}</ref> The height has since been measured as {{convert|5,892|m|ft|abbr=on}} in 1999, {{convert|5902|m|ft|abbr=on}} in 2008, and {{convert|5,899|m|ft|abbr=on}} in 2014.<ref name="Digital"/>

A map of the Kibo cone on Mount Kilimanjaro was published by the British government's [[Directorate of Overseas Surveys]] (DOS) in 1964 based on aerial photography conducted in 1962 as the "Subset of Kilimanjaro, East Africa (Tanganyika) Series Y742, Sheet 56/2, D.O.S. 422 1964, Edition 1, Scale 1:50,000".<ref>{{cite conference | url=http://www.fig.net/resources/proceedings/fig_proceedings/fig2014/papers/ts08b/TS08B_sirguey_cullen_6959.pdf | title=A Century of Photogrammetry on Kilimanjaro | access-date=16 July 2015 | author1=Pascal SRIGUEY | author2=Nicolas J. CULLEN | name-list-style=amp | book-title=Engaging the Challenges – Enhancing the Relevance | year=2014 | conference=FIG Congress 2014 | location=Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721085511/http://www.fig.net/resources/proceedings/fig_proceedings/fig2014/papers/ts08b/TS08B_sirguey_cullen_6959.pdf | archive-date=21 July 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> Tourist mapping was first published by the [[Ordnance Survey]] in England in 1989 based on the original DOS mapping at a scale of 1:100,000, with {{convert|100|ft|m|abbr=on}} contour intervals, as DOS 522.<ref name="Stewart2012">{{cite book | author=Alex Stewart | title=Kilimanjaro: A Complete Trekker's Guide: Preparations, practicalities and trekking routes to the 'Roof of Africa' | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=28N6F2wBSM8C&pg=PA33 | date=23 April 2012 | publisher=Cicerone Press Limited | isbn=978-1-84965-622-1 | page=33 | access-date=4 October 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223185114/https://books.google.com/books?id=28N6F2wBSM8C&pg=PA33 | archive-date=23 February 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref> West Col Productions produced a map with tourist information in 1990, at a scale of 1:75,000, with {{convert|100|m|ft|abbr=on}} contour intervals; it included inset maps of Kibo and Mawenzi on 1:20,000 and 1:30,000 scales respectively and with {{convert|50|m|ft|abbr=on}} contour intervals.<ref name="Stewart2012"/> In recent years, numerous other maps have become available, of various qualities.<ref name=map/>

=== Volcanology ===

The volcanic interior of Kilimanjaro is poorly known because there has not been any significant erosion to expose the [[igneous]] strata that comprise the volcano's structure.<ref name="Preliminary">{{cite journal |doi=10.1017/S0016756800066590 |bibcode=1956GeoM...93..218W |title=Preliminary Notes on the Geology of Kilimanjaro |journal=Geological Magazine |volume=93 |issue=3 |pages=218–228 |last1=Wilcockson |first1=W. H. |year=1956 |s2cid=128393681 }}</ref>

Eruptive activity at the Shira center commenced about 2.5 million years ago, with the last important phase occurring about 1.9 million years ago, just before the northern part of the edifice collapsed.<ref name="NonnottePhilippe"/> Shira is topped by a broad [[high plain]] at {{convert|3800|m|ft|abbr=on}}, which may be a filled [[caldera]]. The remnant caldera rim has been degraded deeply by erosion. Before the caldera formed and erosion began, Shira might have been between {{convert|4,900 and 5,200|m|abbr=on}} high. It is mostly composed of basaltic lavas, with some [[Pyroclastic rock|pyroclastics]]. The formation of the caldera was accompanied by lava emanating from [[Fracture (geology)|ring fractures]], but there was no large-scale [[Explosive eruption|explosive activity]]. Two cones formed subsequently, the [[phonolite|phonolitic]] one at the northwest end of the ridge and the [[diabase|doleritic]] Platzkegel in the caldera center.<ref name="NonnottePhilippe"/><ref name="Preliminary"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tranquilkilimanjaro.com/kilimanjaro-geology/ |website=Tranquil Kilimajaro |access-date=25 February 2024 |title=Kilimanjaro Geology |archive-date=25 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240625132954/https://www.tranquilkilimanjaro.com/kilimanjaro-geology/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="JohnBarryDawson">{{cite book | author=John Barry Dawson | title=The Gregory Rift Valley and Neogene-recent Volcanoes of Northern Tanzania | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Om2oMjXK3R4C&pg=PA56 | year=2008 | publisher=Geological Society of London | isbn=978-1-86239-267-0 | page=56 | access-date=2016-10-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223200626/https://books.google.com/books?id=Om2oMjXK3R4C&pg=PA56 | archive-date=2017-02-23 | url-status=live }}</ref>

Both Mawenzi and Kibo began erupting about 1 million years ago.<ref name="NonnottePhilippe"/> They are separated by the Saddle Plateau at {{convert|4400|m|ft|abbr=on}} elevation.<ref name="AnAscentOfKilimanjaro">{{cite journal |doi=10.2307/1780513 |jstor=1780513 |title=An Ascent of Kilimanjaro |journal=The Geographical Journal |volume=61 |issue=1 |pages=1–21 |last1=Gillman |first1=C. |year=1923 |bibcode=1923GeogJ..61....1G }}</ref>{{rp|3}}

The youngest dated rocks at Mawenzi are about 448,000 years old.<ref name="NonnottePhilippe"/> Mawenzi forms a horseshoe-shaped ridge with [[Rock pinnacle|pinnacles]] and ridges opening to the northeast, with a tower-like shape resulting from deep erosion and a [[mafic]] [[dike swarm]]. Several large [[cirque]]s cut into the ring and the largest of these sits on top of the Great Barranco gorge. Also notable are the East and West Barrancos on the northeastern side of the mountain. Most of the eastern side of the mountain has been removed by erosion. Mawenzi has a [[subsidiary peak]], Neumann Tower, {{convert|4425|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name="NonnottePhilippe"/><ref name="Preliminary"/><ref name="JohnBarryDawson"/>

[[File:Kilimanjaro from Amboseli.jpg|thumb|left|Kilimanjaro in March 2012]]

Kibo is the largest cone on the mountain and is more than {{convert|24|km|mi|abbr=on}} wide at the Saddle Plateau altitude. The last activity here, dated to 150,000–200,000 years ago, created the current Kibo summit crater. Kibo still has gas-emitting [[fumarole]]s in its crater.<ref name="NonnottePhilippe"/><ref name="Preliminary"/><ref name="JohnBarryDawson"/> Kibo is capped by an almost symmetrical cone with [[escarpment]]s rising {{convert|180|to|200|m|abbr=on}} on the south side. These escarpments define a {{convert|2.5|km|mile|adj=mid|-wide|abbr=on}} caldera<ref name="Glaciers of Middle East"/> caused by the collapse of the summit.

Within this caldera is the Inner Cone and within the crater of the Inner Cone is the Reusch Crater, which the Tanganyika government in 1954 named after Gustav Otto Richard Reusch, upon his climbing the mountain for the 25th time (out of 65 attempts during his lifetime).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://cvgs.cu-portland.edu/history/biographies/bio.cfm?id=529 | title=Gustav Otto Richard Reusch | publisher=The Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University | work=Biographies | access-date=16 July 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151024111716/http://cvgs.cu-portland.edu/history/biographies/bio.cfm?id=529 | archive-date=24 October 2015  }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author=Richard Leider | title=The Power of Purpose: Find Meaning, Live Longer, Better | url=https://archive.org/details/The_Power_of_Purpose_2nd_9781605095271 | url-access=registration | date=10 May 2010 | publisher=Berrett-Koehler Publishers | isbn=978-1-60509-527-1 | page=[https://archive.org/details/The_Power_of_Purpose_2nd_9781605095271/page/n26 12] | access-date=4 October 2016 }}</ref> The Ash Pit, {{convert|350|m|ft|abbr=on}} deep, lies within the Reusch Crater.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/kilimanjaro | title=Kilimanjaro | publisher=Oregon State University | work=Volcano World | date=25 April 2011 | access-date=16 July 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150718113556/http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/kilimanjaro | archive-date=18 July 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> About 100,000 years ago, part of Kibo's crater rim collapsed, creating the area known as the [[Western Breach]] and the Great Barranco.<ref>{{cite book | author=Alex Stewart | title=Kilimanjaro: A Complete Trekker's Guide: Preparations, practicalities and trekking routes to the 'Roof of Africa' | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=28N6F2wBSM8C&pg=PA97 | date=23 April 2012 | publisher=Cicerone Press Limited | isbn=978-1-84965-622-1 | page=100 | access-date=4 October 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223175534/https://books.google.com/books?id=28N6F2wBSM8C&pg=PA97 | archive-date=23 February 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref>

An almost continuous layer of lava buries most older geological features, except exposed [[Stratum|strata]] within the Great West Notch and the Kibo Barranco. The former exposes intrusions of [[syenite]].<ref name="Preliminary"/> Kibo has five main lava formations:<ref name="NonnottePhilippe"/>

* [[Phonotephrite]]s and [[tephriphonolite]]s of the Lava Tower group, on a [[Dike (geology)|dyke]] cropping out at {{convert|4600|m|ft|abbr=on}}, dated to 482,000 years ago.
* Tephriphonolite to phonolite lavas "characterized by rhomb mega-phenocrysts of sodic feldspars" of the Rhomb Porphyry group, dated to 460,000–360,000 years ago.
* [[Phenocryst|Aphyric]] phonolite lavas, "commonly underlain by basal obsidian horizons", of the Lent group, dated to 359,000–337,000 years ago
* [[Porphyry (geology)|Porphyritic]] tephriphonolite to phonolite lavas of the Caldera Rim group, dated to 274,000–170,000 years ago
* Phonolite lava flows with [[aegirine]] [[phenocryst]]s, of the Inner Crater group, which represents the last volcanic activity on Kibo

Kibo has more than 250 [[parasitic cone]]s on its northwest and southeast flanks that were formed between 150,000 and 200,000 years ago<ref name="NonnottePhilippe"/> and erupted [[picrobasalt]]s, [[trachybasalt]]s, [[ankaramite]]s, and [[basanite]]s.<ref name="NonnottePhilippe"/><ref name="Preliminary"/><ref name="JohnBarryDawson"/> They reach as far as [[Lake Chala]] and [[Taita-Taveta County|Taveta]] in the southeast and the Lengurumani Plain in the northwest. Most of these cones are well preserved, except the Saddle Plateau cones which were heavily affected by glacial action. Despite their mostly small size, lava from the cones has obscured large portions of the mountain. The Saddle Plateau cones are mostly cinder cones with terminal effusion of lava, while the Upper Rombo Zone cones mostly generated lava flows. All Saddle Plateau cones predate the last glaciation.<ref name="Preliminary"/>

According to reports gathered in the 19th century from the [[Maasai people|Maasai]], Lake Chala on Kibo's eastern flank was the site of a village that was destroyed by an eruption.<ref name="ShearsonHyland"/>

=== Glaciers ===
[[File:Kilimanjaro dymamics2.jpg|alt=|thumb|Kilimanjaro's glaciers' retreat in 1912–2018]]

Kibo's ice cap exists because Kilimanjaro is a little-dissected, massive mountain that rises above the [[snow line]]. The cap is divergent and at the edges splits into individual glaciers. The central portion of the ice cap is interrupted by the presence of the Kibo crater.<ref name="AnAscentOfKilimanjaro"/>{{rp|5}} The summit glaciers and ice fields do not display significant horizontal movements because their low thickness precludes major deformation.<ref name="TraceElements"/>

Geological evidence shows five successive glacial episodes during the [[Quaternary]] period, namely First (500,000 [[Before Present|BP]]), Second (greater than 360,000 years ago to 240,000 BP), Third (150,000 to 120,000 BP), Fourth (also known as "Main") (20,000 to 17,000 BP), and Little (16,000 to 14,000 BP). The Third may have been the most extensive, and the Little appears to be statistically indistinguishable from the Fourth.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1002/jqs.1222 |title=Quaternary glaciation in Africa: Key chronologies and climatic implications |journal=Journal of Quaternary Science |volume=23 |issue=6–7 |pages=589–608 |year=2008 |last1=Mark |first1=Bryan G. |last2=Osmaston |first2=Henry A. |bibcode=2008JQS....23..589M |citeseerx=10.1.1.529.4209 |s2cid=130605599 }}</ref>

A continuous ice cap covering approximately {{convert|400|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} down to an elevation of {{convert|3200|m|ft|abbr=on}} covered Kilimanjaro during the [[Last Glacial Maximum]] in the [[Pleistocene]] epoch (the Main glacial episode), extending across the summits of Kibo and Mawenzi.<ref name="Kaser"/><ref name="Glaciers of Middle East"/> Because of the exceptionally prolonged dry conditions during the subsequent [[Younger Dryas]] [[stadial]], the ice fields on Kilimanjaro may have become extinct around 11,500 years BP.<ref name="TraceElements">{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.03.007 |bibcode=2014QSRv...93....1G |title=Deglaciated areas of Kilimanjaro as a source of volcanic trace elements deposited on the ice cap during the late Holocene |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |volume=93 |pages=1–10 |last1=Gabrielli |first1=P. |last2=Hardy |first2=D. R. |last3=Kehrwald |first3=N. |last4=Davis |first4=M. |last5=Cozzi |first5=G. |last6=Turetta |first6=C. |last7=Barbante |first7=C. |last8=Thompson |first8=L. G. |year=2014 }}</ref> [[Ice core]]s taken from Kilimanjaro's Northern Ice Field (NIF) indicates that the glaciers there have a basal age of about 11,700 years,<ref>{{cite journal | last=Thompson | first=Lonnie G | title=Kilimanjaro Ice Core Records: Evidence of Holocene Climate Change in Tropical Africa | journal=Science | volume=298 | issue=5593 | pages=589–593 | url=http://www.geo.umass.edu/climate/doug/pubs/thompson_etal_sci02.pdf | access-date=16 August 2012 | bibcode=2002Sci...298..589T | year=2002 | doi=10.1126/science.1073198 | pmid=12386332 | s2cid=32880316 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205025226/http://www.geo.umass.edu/climate/doug/pubs/thompson_etal_sci02.pdf | archive-date=5 February 2012  }}</ref> although an analysis of ice taken in 2011 from exposed vertical cliffs in the NIF supports an age extending only to 800 years BP.<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2015EGUGA..17.5091U |title=The controversial age of Kilimanjaro's plateau glaciers |journal=EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts |volume=17 |page=5091 |last1=Uglietti |first1=Chiara |last2=Zapf |first2=Alexander |last3=Szidat |first3=Sönke |last4=Salazar |first4=Gary |last5=Hardy |first5=Doug |last6=Schwikowski |first6=Margit |year=2015 }}</ref> [[African humid period|Higher precipitation rates at the beginning]] of the [[Holocene]] epoch (11,500 years BP) allowed the ice cap to reform.<ref name="TraceElements"/> The glaciers survived a widespread drought during a three century period beginning around 4,000 years BP.<ref name="TraceElements"/><ref name="unabated">{{cite journal |doi=10.1073/pnas.0906029106 |pmid=19884500 |pmc=2771743 |bibcode=2009PNAS..10619770T |title=Glacier loss on Kilimanjaro continues unabated |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=106 |issue=47 |pages=19770–5 |last1=Thompson |first1=L. G. |last2=Brecher |first2=H. H. |last3=Mosley-Thompson |first3=E. |last4=Hardy |first4=D. R. |last5=Mark |first5=B. G. |year=2009 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

[[File:Kibo-großer Gletscher(big glacier).jpg|thumb|left|Vertical margin wall of the [[Rebmann Glacier]] in 2005 with [[Mount Meru (Tanzania)|Mount Meru]], which is {{convert|70|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} away, in the background]]

In the late 1880s, the summit of Kibo was completely covered by an ice cap about {{convert|20|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} in extent with outlet glaciers cascading down the western and southern slopes, and except for the inner cone, the entire caldera was buried. Glacier ice also flowed through the Western Breach.<ref name="Kaser"/><ref name="Glaciers of Middle East">{{cite web | last=Young | first=James A. T. | title=Glaciers of the Middle East and Africa | url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/p1386g/africa.pdf | work=U.S. Geological Professional Survey | publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior | pages=G61, G58, G59 G62 | access-date=16 August 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728083729/http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/p1386g/africa.pdf | archive-date=28 July 2012 | url-status=live }}</ref> The slope glaciers retreated rapidly between 1912 and 1953, in response to a sudden shift in climate at the end of the 19th century that made them "drastically out of equilibrium", and more slowly thereafter. Their continuing demise indicates they are still out of equilibrium in response to a constant change in climate over the past century.<ref name="Kaser"/>

In contrast to the persistent slope glaciers, the glaciers on Kilimanjaro's crater plateau have appeared and disappeared repeatedly during the Holocene epoch, with each cycle lasting a few hundred years.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Kaser | first1=Georg | last2=Mölg | first2=Thomas | last3=Cullen | first3=Nicolas J. | last4=Hardy | first4=Douglas R. | last5=Winkler | first5=Michael | title=Is the decline of ice on Kilimanjaro unprecedented in the Holocene? | journal=The Holocene | volume=20 | issue=7 | year=2010 | pages=1079–1091 | issn=0959-6836 | doi=10.1177/0959683610369498| bibcode=2010Holoc..20.1079K |citeseerx = 10.1.1.211.435| s2cid=16945088 }}</ref>{{rp|1088}} It appears that decreasing specific humidity instead of temperature changes has caused the shrinkage of the slope glaciers since the late 19th century. No clear warming trend at the elevation of those glaciers occurred between 1948 and 2005. Although air temperatures at that elevation are always below freezing, solar radiation causes melting on vertical faces. Vertical ice margin walls are a unique characteristic of the summit glaciers and a major place of the shrinkage of the glaciers. They manifest stratifications, [[Ice calving|calving]], and other ice features.<ref name="SinghSingh2011"/> "There is no pathway for the plateau glaciers other than to continuously retreat once their vertical margins are exposed to solar radiation."<ref name="Kaser"/> The Kilimanjaro glaciers have been used for deriving ice core records, including two from the southern icefield. Based on this data, this icefield formed between 1,250 and 1,450 years BP.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B0-44-452747-8/00351-3 |chapter=ICE CORE RECORDS &#124; Africa |title=Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science |pages=1220–1225 |year=2007 |last1=Thompson |first1=L.G. |last2=Davis |first2=M.E. |isbn=978-0-444-52747-9 }}</ref>

[[File:Kilimanjaro sunrise at GillmanPoint(1).jpg|thumb|A vertical glacier margin wall as seen from Gilman's Point on the crater rim at sunrise in 1998]]

Almost 85 percent of the ice cover on Kilimanjaro disappeared between October 1912 and June 2011, with coverage decreasing from {{convert|11.40|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} to <{{convert|1|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2752-5295/ad1fd7 |title=Tropical glacier loss in East Africa: recent areal extents on Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, and in the Rwenzori Range from high-resolution remote sensing data |first1=Anne |last1=Hinzmann |first2=Thomas |last2=Mölg |first3=Matthias |last3=Braun |first4=Nicolas J |last4=Cullen |first5=Douglas R |last5=Hardy |first6=Georg |last6=Kaser |first7=Rainer |last7=Prinz |journal=Environmental Research: Climate |volume=3 |number=1 |date=2024 |doi=10.1088/2752-5295/ad1fd7}}</ref><ref name="Retreat"/>{{rp|423}} Between 1912 and 1953, there was about a 1.1 percent average annual loss of ice coverage.<ref name="unabated"/> The average annual loss for 1953 to 1989 was 1.4 percent, while the loss rate for 1989 to 2007 was 2.5 percent.<ref name="unabated"/> Of the ice cover still present in 2000, almost 40 percent had disappeared by 2011.<ref name="Retreat">{{cite journal | last1=Cullen | first1=N. J. | last2=Sirguey | first2=P. | last3=Mölg | first3=T. | last4=Kaser | first4=G. | last5=Winkler | first5=M. | last6=Fitzsimons | first6=S. J. | title=A century of ice retreat on Kilimanjaro: the mapping reloaded | journal=The Cryosphere | volume=7 | issue=2 | year=2013 | pages=419–431 | issn=1994-0424 | doi=10.5194/tc-7-419-2013| bibcode=2013TCry....7..419C | doi-access=free }}</ref>{{rp|425}} Ice climber Will Gadd noticed differences between his 2014 and 2020 climbs.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Zeinab|first=Noura Abou|date=15 October 2020|title='Big pieces' of Kilimanjaro 'missing' due to climate crisis, says ice climber Will Gadd|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/15/sport/will-gadd-ice-climber-climate-change-spt-intl/index.html|access-date=15 October 2020|website=CNN|archive-date=5 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005154229/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/15/sport/will-gadd-ice-climber-climate-change-spt-intl/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The glaciers are thinning in addition to losing areal coverage,<ref name="unabated"/> and do not have active accumulation zones; retreat occurs on all glacier surfaces. Loss of glacier mass is caused by both melting and [[sublimation (phase transition)|sublimation]].<ref name="TraceElements"/> While the current shrinking and thinning of Kilimanjaro's ice fields appear to be unique within its almost twelve-millennium history, it is contemporaneous with widespread [[Retreat of glaciers since 1850|glacier retreat]] in mid-to-low latitudes across the globe.<ref name="unabated"/> In 2013, it was estimated that, at the current [[Climate change|rate of global warming]], most of the ice on Kilimanjaro will disappear by 2040, and "it is highly unlikely that any ice body will remain after 2060".<ref name="Retreat"/>{{rp|430}}

The Furtwangler Glacier on Kilimanjaro is a remnant of the ice cap that once covered the mountain. This has retreated dramatically over the last century with over 80 percent glacial retreat. The glacier is named after Walter Furtwangler, who along with Ziegfried Koenig, was the fourth to ascend to the summit of Kilimanjaro in 1912.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Nkonge|first=Peninah|date=15 October 2022|title='Hiking Adventures In East Africa's Tallest Mountains|url=https://sunriseafricasafaris.com/hiking-adventures-east-africa/|access-date=15 October 2022|website=Sunrise Africa Tours and Safaris|archive-date=25 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240625133055/https://sunriseafricasafaris.com/hiking-adventures-east-africa/|url-status=live}}</ref>

A complete disappearance of the ice would be of only "negligible importance" to the water budget of the area around the mountain. The forests of Kilimanjaro, far below the ice fields, "are [the] essential water reservoirs for the local and regional populations".<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://lindseynicholson.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Moelg-et-al.-2013.pdf |title=East African glacier loss and climate change: Corrections to the UNEP article ''Africa without ice and snow'' |first1=Georg |last1=Kaser |first2=Thomas |last2=Mölg |first3=Nicolas J. |last3=Cullen |first4=Douglas R. |last4=Hardy |first5=Michael |last5=Winkler |first6=Rainer |last6=Prinz |first7=Lindsey |last7=Nicholson |name-list-style=amp |journal=Environmental Development |volume=6 |pages=1–6 |access-date=2014-10-09 |doi=10.1016/j.envdev.2013.02.001  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015173745/http://lindseynicholson.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Moelg-et-al.-2013.pdf |archive-date=2014-10-15 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Drainage ===
Kilimanjaro is drained by a network of rivers and streams, especially on the wetter and more heavily eroded southern side and primarily above {{convert|1200|m|ft|abbr=on}}. Below that altitude, increased evaporation and human water usage reduce the water flows. The [[Lumi River (East Africa)|Lumi]] and [[Pangani River|Pangani]] rivers drain Kilimanjaro on the eastern and southern sides, respectively.<ref>{{cite book | author=William Dubois Newmark | title=The Conservation of Mount Kilimanjaro | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Is9h1vm90AC&pg=PA22 | year=1991 | publisher=IUCN | isbn=978-2-8317-0070-0 | pages=105–106 | access-date=2016-10-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223215317/https://books.google.com/books?id=0Is9h1vm90AC&pg=PA22 | archive-date=2017-02-23 | url-status=live }}</ref>

===IUGS geological heritage site===
In respect of it being 'the highest [[stratovolcano]] of the East African Rift that maintains a glacier on its summit', the [[International Union of Geological Sciences]] (IUGS) included 'The Pleistocene Kilimanjaro volcano' in its assemblage of 100 'geological heritage sites' around the world in a listing published in October 2022. The organization defines an IUGS Geological Heritage Site as 'a key place with geological elements and/or processes of international scientific relevance, used as a reference, and/or with a substantial contribution to the development of geological sciences through history.'<ref>{{cite web |title=The First 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites |url=https://iugs-geoheritage.org/videos-pdfs/iugs_first_100_book_v2.pdf |website=IUGS International Commission on Geoheritage |publisher=IUGS |access-date=13 November 2022 |archive-date=27 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221027114156/https://iugs-geoheritage.org/videos-pdfs/iugs_first_100_book_v2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Human history ==

===Chagga states===
Kilimanjaro is attested to in numerous stories by the people who live in East Africa. The [[Chagga people|Chagga]], who traditionally lived on the southern and eastern slopes of the mountain in sovereign [[Chagga states]], tell how a man named Tone once provoked a god, Ruwa, to bring famine upon the land. The people became angry at Tone, forcing him to flee. Nobody wanted to protect him but a solitary dweller who had stones that turned miraculously into cattle. The dweller bid that Tone never open the stable of the cattle. When Tone did not heed the warning and the cattle escaped, Tone followed them, but the fleeing cattle threw up hills to run on, including Mawenzi and Kibo. Tone finally collapsed on Kibo, ending the pursuit.<ref name="legend">{{cite web|url=https://secretcompass.com/history-of-kilimanjaro/|title=THE GEOGRAPHY PEOPLE AND MYTHOLOGY OF AFRICA'S HIGHEST PEAK|website=www.secretcompass.com|date=2 January 2018|access-date=6 February 2021|archive-date=5 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105074204/https://secretcompass.com/history-of-kilimanjaro/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Another Chagga legend tells of ivory-filled graves of elephants on the mountain, and of a cow named Rayli that produces miraculous fat from her tail glands. If a man tries to steal such a gland but is too slow in his moves, Rayli will blast a powerful snort and blow the thief down onto the plain.<ref>{{cite book|author=Charles Dundas|title=Kilimanjaro and Its People: A History of Wachagga, their Laws, Customs and Legends, Together with Some|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4S2gRvx5X6sC&pg=PA36|date=12 November 2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-24940-2|pages=84–88|access-date=4 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223211839/https://books.google.com/books?id=4S2gRvx5X6sC&pg=PA36|archive-date=23 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Early records===
The mountain may have been known to non-Africans since [[classical antiquity|antiquity]]. Sailors' reports recorded by [[Ptolemy]] mention a "moon mountain" and a spring lake of the Nile, which may indicate Kilimanjaro, although available historical information does not allow differentiation among others in East Africa like [[Mount Kenya]], the mountains of [[Ethiopia]], the [[Virunga Mountains]], the [[Rwenzori Mountains]], and Kilimanjaro. Before Ptolemy, [[Aeschylus]] and [[Herodotus]] referred to "Egypt nurtured by the snows" and to a spring between two mountains, respectively. One of these mentions two tall mountains in the coastal regions with a valley with traces of fire between them. [[Martín Fernández de Enciso]], a Spanish traveler to [[Mombasa]] who obtained information about the interior from native caravans, said in his ''[[Suma de Geographia|Summa de Geografía]]'' (1519) that west of Mombasa "stands the Ethiopian Mount Olympus, which is exceedingly high, and beyond it are the Mountains of the Moon, in which are the sources of the Nile".<ref name="ShearsonHyland">{{cite journal | url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02993444 | title=Ueber die Gesteine des Kilimandscharo und dessen Umgebung | author=J. Shearson Hyland | journal=Mineralogische und Petrographische Mitteilungen | year=1889 | volume=10 | issue=3 | pages=203–268 | doi=10.1007/BF02993444 | bibcode=1889ZKMP...10..203S | s2cid=130584195 | language=de | via=Springer Link | access-date=2017-09-05 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072157/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02993444 | archive-date=2018-01-23 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=meyer>{{cite journal | author=Hans Meyer | title=Across East African glaciers: an account of the first ascent of Kilimanjaro | journal=Nature | volume=44 | issue=1129 | pages=149–150 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CsMhAAAAMAAJ | year=1891 | bibcode=1891Natur..44..149. | doi=10.1038/044149b0 | hdl=2027/hvd.32044009699778 | s2cid=45006599 | access-date=2016-10-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223234701/https://books.google.com/books?id=CsMhAAAAMAAJ | archive-date=2017-02-23 | url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|1–5}}<ref name="Burns2006">{{cite book | author=Cameron M. Burns | title=Kilimanjaro & East Africa: A Climbing and Trekking Guide | url=https://archive.org/details/kilimanjaroeasta0000burn | url-access=registration | page=[https://archive.org/details/kilimanjaroeasta0000burn/page/114 114] | year=2006 | publisher=The Mountaineers Books | isbn=978-0-89886-604-9 | access-date=2016-10-04 }}</ref>{{rp|114}}

=== European exploration ===
[[File:Der-Kilimandscharo.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A German illustration of Kilimanjaro in 1911]]

The German missionaries [[Johannes Rebmann]] of Mombasa and [[Johann Ludwig Krapf|Johann Krapf]] were the first Europeans known to have attempted to reach the mountain. According to English geographer [[Halford Mackinder]] and English explorer [[Harry Johnston]], Rebmann in 1848 was the first European to report the existence of Kilimanjaro.<ref>{{cite journal | last= Mackinder | first= Halford | author-link= Halford Mackinder | year= 1900 | title= A Journey to the Summit of Mount Kenya, British East Africa | journal= [[The Geographical Journal]] | volume= 15 | issue= 5 | pages= 453–476 | jstor= 1774261 | doi= 10.2307/1774261 | bibcode= 1900GeogJ..15..453M | url= https://zenodo.org/record/1449198 | access-date= 5 July 2019 | archive-date= 25 June 2024 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240625133608/https://zenodo.org/records/1449198 | url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3jdaAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA879 |title="Kilimanjaro", authored by Sir. H. H. Johnston, in ''The Twentieth Century'', published by Nineteenth Century and After, printed by Spottswoode, Ballantine & Co. Ltd., London, June 1916, volume 79, page 879 |access-date=2015-07-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919101108/https://books.google.com/books?id=3jdaAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA879 |archive-date=2015-09-19 |url-status=live |year=1916 }}</ref> Hans Meyer has claimed that Rebmann first arrived in Africa in 1846 and quotes Rebmann's diary entry of 11 May 1848 as saying, {{blockquote|This morning, at 10 o'clock, we obtained a clearer view of the mountains of Jagga, the summit of one of which was covered by what looked like a beautiful white cloud. When I inquired as to the dazzling whiteness, the guide merely called it 'cold' and at once I knew it could be neither more nor less than snow.... Immediately I understood how to interpret the marvelous tales Dr. Krapf and I had heard at the coast, of a vast mountain of gold and silver in the far interior, the approach to which was guarded by evil spirits.<ref name=meyer/>{{rp|6}}}}

In August 1861, the Prussian officer Baron [[Karl Klaus von der Decken]] accompanied by English geologist Richard Thornton<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Geoscientist/Archive/August-2011/Mr-Thornton-I-presume|title=Mr Thornton, I presume?: Everyone has heard of Livingstone, but the name of Richard Thornton, Livingstone's geologist, has been completely forgotten. Richard Boak tells his sad story.|website=www.geolsoc.org.uk|date=August 2011|access-date=6 February 2021|archive-date=24 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224113947/https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Geoscientist/Archive/August-2011/Mr-Thornton-I-presume|url-status=live}}</ref> attempted to climb Kibo but "got no farther than {{convert|8200|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on}} owing to the inclemency of the weather".<ref name=meyer/>{{rp|9}}<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4S2gRvx5X6sC&pg=PA20 | last=Dundas | first=Charles | year=2012 | orig-date=1924 | title=Kilimanjaro and its People: A History of the Wachagga, Their Laws, Customs and Legends, Together with Some Account of the Highest Mountain in Africa | publisher=Routledge | page=20 | access-date=4 November 2014 | isbn=978-1-136-24940-2 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223175440/https://books.google.com/books?id=4S2gRvx5X6sC&pg=PA20 | archive-date=23 February 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref> In December 1862, von der Decken tried a second time together with [[Otto Kersten]], reaching a height of {{convert|14000|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Verdcourt">{{cite web | url=http://www.conchsoc.org/collectors_east_africa/von-der-Decken-CC.php | title=Baron Carl Claus von der Decken – 1833–1865 – Collectors in East Africa – 31. | publisher=Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland | access-date=16 July 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716230316/http://www.conchsoc.org/collectors_east_africa/von-der-Decken-CC.php | archive-date=16 July 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:The National Archives UK - CO 1069-3-175 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|left|From the UK [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|National Archives]]]]

In August 1871, missionary Charles New became the "first European to reach the equatorial snows" on Kilimanjaro at an elevation of slightly more than {{convert|13000|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on}}.<ref name=meyer/>{{rp|11}} In June 1887, the Hungarian Count [[Sámuel Teleki (explorer)|Sámuel Teleki]] and the Austrian Lieutenant [[Ludwig von Höhnel]] made an attempt to climb the mountain. Approaching from the saddle between Mawenzi and Kibo, Höhnel stopped at {{convert|4950|m|ft|abbr=on}}, but Teleki continued until he reached the snow at {{convert|5300|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite book | author=Ludwig Ritter von Höhnel | title=Discovery of Lakes Rudolf and Stefanie: A Narrative of Count Samuel Teleki's Exploring & Hunting Expedition in Eastern Equatorial Africa in 1887 & 1888 | url=https://archive.org/details/discoverylakesr00hhgoog | year=1894 | publisher=Longmans, Green | page=[https://archive.org/details/discoverylakesr00hhgoog/page/n217 195]}}</ref> Later in 1887, the German geology professor Hans Meyer reached the lower edge of the ice cap on Kibo, where he was forced to turn back because he lacked the equipment needed to progress across the ice.<ref name="Stewart">{{cite book | author=Alex Stewart | title=Kilimanjaro: A Complete Trekker's Guide: Preparations, Practicalities and Trekking Routes to the 'Roof of Africa' | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MOVR23e_Nm8C&pg=PA81 | date=9 September 2010 | publisher=Cicerone Press Limited | isbn=978-1-84965-071-7 | access-date=4 October 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224000528/https://books.google.com/books?id=MOVR23e_Nm8C&pg=PA81 | archive-date=24 February 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|81}} The following year, Meyer planned another attempt with [[Oscar Baumann]], a [[cartographer]], but the mission was aborted after the pair were held hostage and ransomed during the [[Abushiri Revolt]].<ref name="Stewart"/>{{rp|82}} In the autumn of 1888, the American naturalist Abbott and the German explorer [[Otto Ehrenfried Ehlers]] approached the summit from the northwest. While Abbott turned back earlier, Ehlers at first claimed to have reached the summit rim, but after severe criticism of the claim, withdrew it.<ref name=meyer/>{{rp|17–19}}

In 1889, Meyer returned to Kilimanjaro with the Austrian mountaineer [[Ludwig Purtscheller]] for a third attempt.<ref name="Stewart"/>{{rp|82}} This attempt was based on the establishment of several campsites with food supplies so that multiple attempts at the top could be made without having to descend too far.<ref name="Stewart"/>{{rp|82}} Meyer and Purtscheller pushed to near the crater rim on 3 October but turned back exhausted from hacking footsteps in the icy slope.<ref name="Stewart"/>{{rp|82}} Three days later, they reached the highest summit, on the southern rim of the crater.<ref name="Stewart"/>{{rp|82}} They were the first to confirm that Kibo has a crater.<ref name="Stewart"/>{{rp|82}} After descending to the saddle between Kibo and Mawenzi, Meyer and Purtscheller attempted to climb the more technically challenging Mawenzi but could only reach the top of Klute Peak, a subsidiary peak, before retreating due to illness.<ref name="Stewart"/>{{rp|84}} On 18 October, they reascended Kibo to enter and study the crater, cresting the rim at Hans Meyers Notch.<ref name="Stewart"/>{{rp|84}} In total, Meyer and Purtscheller spent 16 days above {{convert|15000|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on}} during their expedition.<ref name="Stewart"/>{{rp|84}} They were accompanied in their high camps by Mwini Amani of [[Pangani]], who cooked and supplied the sites with water and firewood.<ref name=meyer/>{{rp|135–186}}

==== First women climbers ====
In 1909, London-born Gertrude Benham attempted to reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. After her porters abandoned the expedition upon discovering the skeletons of previous climbers, Benham continued alone and reached the edge of Kibo Crater, later named Gilman’s Point. Adverse weather conditions, including heavy snow and fog, made navigation difficult, leading her to turn back.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The amazing story of the first woman on Kilimanjaro |url=https://altezzatravel.com/articles/first-woman-on-kilimanjaro |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=Altezza Travel |language=en}}</ref> The first woman to successfully reach the summit of Kilimanjaro was Sheila MacDonald, who completed the ascent on September 30, 1927, at the age of 22.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-09-30 |title=Woman’s ascent of Kilimanjaro: London girl’s triumph – archive |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/30/kilimanjaro-ascent-london-girl-tanzania-1927 |access-date=2025-02-14 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

===Modern===
{{quote box |bgcolor = #C3F4D1 | width = 28em |align = right
| quote = "We will light a candle on top of Mount Kilimanjaro which will shine beyond our borders, giving hope where there is despair, love where there is hate, and dignity where before there was only humiliation."
| source = — [[Julius Nyerere]], first president of [[Tanganyika (1961–1964)|Tanganyika]] and [[Tanzania]]{{Sfn|Bernbaum|2006|p=308}}
| style = padding:1.5em
| fontsize=85%}}
The first ascent of the highest summit of Mawenzi was made on 29 July 1912, by the German climbers [[Eduard Hans Oehler]] and [[Fritz Klute]], who named it Hans Meyer Peak. Oehler and Klute went on to make the third-ever ascent of Kibo, via the [[Drygalski Glacier (Tanzania)|Drygalski Glacier]], and descended via the Western Breach.<ref name="Stewart"/>{{rp|85}} The mountain lent its name to the 1914 [[Battle of Kilimanjaro]] during [[World War I]].

In 1989, the organizing committee of the 100-year celebration of the first ascent decided to award posthumous certificates to the African porter-guides who had accompanied Meyer and Purtscheller.<ref name="Lauwo">{{cite web | url=http://www.tzaffairs.org/1990/01/meyer-and-purtscheller-were-not-alone/ | title=Meyer And Purtscheller Were Not Alone | publisher=Tanzanian Affairs | date=1 January 1990 | access-date=16 July 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717060450/http://www.tzaffairs.org/1990/01/meyer-and-purtscheller-were-not-alone/ | archive-date=17 July 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> One person in pictures or documents of the 1889 expedition was thought to match a living inhabitant of [[Marangu]], Yohani Kinyala Lauwo.<ref name="Lauwo"/> Lauwo did not know his own age,<ref name="Lauwo"/> nor remember Meyer or Purtscheller. He did recall joining a Kilimanjaro expedition involving a Dutch doctor who lived near the mountain, and that he did not wear shoes during the climb.<ref name="Lauwo"/> Lauwo claimed that he had climbed the mountain three times before the beginning of [[World War I]].<ref name="Lauwo"/> The committee concluded that he had been a member of Meyer's team and therefore must have been born around 1871.<ref name="Lauwo"/> Lauwo died on 10 May 1996, 107 years after the first ascent. It is sometimes suggested that he was a co-first-ascendant of Kilimanjaro.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.anotherland.com/africa/hg-0004.htm | title=The Old Man of Mt. Kilimanjaro | publisher=Another Land | work=The Honeyguide: Summer 2000 | access-date=16 July 2015  | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141125114807/http://www.anotherland.com/africa/hg-0004.htm | archive-date=25 November 2014 }}</ref>

==Fauna and flora==
===Animals===
[[File:Elephants at Amboseli national park against Mount Kilimanjaro.jpg|thumb|Elephants at the [[Amboseli National Park]] against Mount Kilimanjaro]]

Large animals are rare on Kilimanjaro and are more frequent in the forests and lower parts of the mountain. [[African bush elephant|Elephants]] and [[African buffalo|Cape buffaloes]] are among the animals that can be potentially hazardous to trekkers. [[Cape bushbuck|Bushbuck]]s, [[chameleon]]s, [[dik-dik]]s, [[common duiker|duikers]], [[mongoose]]s, [[sunbird]]s, and [[Common warthog|warthogs]] have also been reported. [[Zebra]]s, [[leopards]] and [[hyena]]s have been observed sporadically on the Shira plateau.<ref>{{cite book | author=Cameron M. Burns | title=Kilimanjaro & East Africa: A Climbing and Trekking Guide | url=https://archive.org/details/kilimanjaroeasta0000burn | url-access=registration | year=2006 | publisher=The Mountaineers Books | isbn=978-0-89886-604-9 | page=[https://archive.org/details/kilimanjaroeasta0000burn/page/50 50] | access-date=2016-10-04 }}</ref> Specific species associated with the mountain include the [[Kilimanjaro shrew]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ascendtanzania.com/mount-kilimanjaro-climbing | title=Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro | publisher=Ascend Tanzania | work=IUCN Red List of Threatened Species | access-date=26 October 2019 | archive-date=3 January 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103210837/https://ascendtanzania.com/mount-kilimanjaro-climbing | url-status=live }}</ref> and the chameleon ''[[Kinyongia tavetana]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Kinyongia&species=tavetana | title=Kinyongia tavetana (STEINDACHNER, 1891) | publisher=Zoological Museum Hamburg | work=The Reptile Database | access-date=15 August 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919092044/http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Kinyongia&species=tavetana | archive-date=19 September 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Vegetation===

[[File:Forest in Marangu route in Kilimanjaro area 001.JPG|thumb|left|The cloud forest on the Marangu route on the south eastern slope]]

Natural forests cover about {{convert|1000|km2|acre|abbr=on}} on Kilimanjaro.<ref name="PlantEcology">{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/s11258-005-9049-4 |title=Continuum or zonation? Altitudinal gradients in the forest vegetation of Mt. Kilimanjaro |journal=Plant Ecology |volume=184 |pages=27–42 |year=2006 |last1=Hemp |first1=Andreas |issue=1 |bibcode=2006PlEco.184...27H |s2cid=21864541 }}</ref> In the foothill area, [[maize]], beans, [[sunflower]]s and, on the western side, wheat are cultivated. There are remnants of the former [[savanna]] vegetation with ''[[Acacia]]'', ''[[Combretum]]'', ''[[Terminalia (plant)|Terminalia]]'' and ''[[Grewia]]''. Between {{convert|1000|m|ft|abbr=on}} and {{convert|1800|m|ft|abbr=on}}, coffee appears as part of the "[[Chaga people|Chagga]] home gardens" [[agroforestry]]. Native vegetation at this altitude range (''[[Strombosia]]'', ''[[Newtonia (plant)|Newtonia]]'', and ''[[Entandrophragma]]'') is limited to inaccessible valleys and gorges<ref name="MaundiCrater">{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.02.003 |bibcode=2012QSRv...39....1S |title=Vegetation, climate and fire-dynamics in East Africa inferred from the Maundi crater pollen record from Mt Kilimanjaro during the last glacial-interglacial cycle |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |volume=39 |pages=1–13 |last1=Schüler |first1=Lisa |last2=Hemp |first2=Andreas |last3=Zech |first3=Wolfgang |last4=Behling |first4=Hermann |year=2012 }}</ref> and is different from vegetation at higher altitudes. On the southern slope, [[montane forest]]s first contain ''[[Ocotea usambarensis]]'' as well as [[fern]]s and [[epiphyte]]s; farther up in [[cloud forest]]s ''[[Podocarpus latifolius]]'', ''[[Hagenia abyssinica]]'' and ''[[Erica excelsa]]'' grow, as well as fog-dependent mosses. On the drier northern slopes [[olive]], ''[[Croton (plant)|Croton]]''-''[[Calodendrum]]'', ''[[Cassipourea]]'', and ''[[Juniperus]]'' form forests in order of increasing altitude. Between {{convert|3100|m|ft|abbr=on}} and {{convert|3900|m|ft|abbr=on}} lie ''[[Erica (plant)|Erica]]'' bush and heathlands, followed by ''[[Helichrysum]]'', until {{convert|4500|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name="PlantEcology2"/><ref>{{cite book | author1=L. A. Bruijnzeel | author2=F. N. Scatena | author3=L. S. Hamilton | title=Tropical Montane Cloud Forests: Science for Conservation and Management | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N6FkwMnSX8EC&pg=PA134 | date=6 January 2011 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | isbn=978-1-139-49455-7 | page=136 | access-date=4 October 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224001044/https://books.google.com/books?id=N6FkwMnSX8EC&pg=PA134 | archive-date=24 February 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref> [[Neophyte (botany)|Neophytes]] have been observed, including ''[[Poa annua]]''.<ref name="PlantEcology2">{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/s11258-007-9356-z |title=Introduced plants on Kilimanjaro: Tourism and its impact |journal=Plant Ecology |volume=197 |pages=17–29 |year=2008 |last1=Hemp |first1=Andreas |issue=1 |bibcode=2008PlEco.197...17H |s2cid=25001477 }}</ref>

The lower northern and western slopes are dominated by ''[[Acacia]]'' savanna, while most of the wooded grassland of the lower southern and eastern slopes have been destroyed for cultivation.{{Sfn|Grimshaw|Cordeiro|Foley|1995|p=106}}

Records from the Maundi crater at {{convert|2780|m|ft|abbr=on}} indicate that the vegetation of Kilimanjaro has varied over time. Forest vegetation retreated during the Last Glacial Maximum and the ericaceous vegetation belt lowered by {{convert|1500|m|ft|abbr=on}} between 42,000 and 30,000 years ago because of the drier and colder conditions.<ref name="MaundiCrater"/>

The Tussock Grassland is an area on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro that contains many unique species of vegetation, such as the [[water holding cabbage]].{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

== Conservation ==
Since 1973, Mount Kilimanjaro has been designated as a national park, prohibiting human activities within its boundaries to preserve its ecosystem.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tanzania National Parks Authority |title=Kilimanjaro National Park Celebrating the Golden Anniversary in Biodiversity Conservation and Tourism |url=https://www.tanzaniaparks.go.tz/uploads/publications/en-1678818900-KNPMGZNE.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com |website=Tanzania National Parks Authority}}</ref> The government has also implemented a ban on tree harvesting to prevent environmental degradation and protect the park's biodiversity.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ofcansky |first1=Thomas P. |title=Historical dictionary of Tanzania |last2=Yeager |first2=Rodger |date=1997 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-3244-2 |edition=2nd |series=African historical dictionaries |location=Lanham, Md. |pages=30}}</ref>

== Climate ==
{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | total_width = 260
 | direction  = vertical
 | image1 = Kilimanjaro glacier cropped.png
 | image2 = Lascar The long trail through the alpine desert (4464006765).jpg
 | alt2 = A trail runs across the curving side of a dry alpine desert of Mount Kilimanjaro
 | image3 = Shira moorlands on Kilimanjaro.jpg
 | alt3 = Moorland on the Shira summit
 | footer = Mount Kilimanjaro's slopes include arctic (top), dry alpine desert (middle), and [[moorland]] (bottom) climactic zones. 
}}
The climate of Kilimanjaro is influenced by the height of the mountain, which allows the simultaneous influence of the equatorial [[trade wind]]s and the high altitude [[anti-trades]], and by the isolated position of the mountain. Kilimanjaro has [[Mountain breeze and valley breeze|daily upslope and nightly downslope winds]], a regimen stronger on the southern than the northern side of the mountain. The flatter southern flanks are more extended and affect the atmosphere more strongly.<ref name="AnAscentOfKilimanjaro"/>{{rp|3–4}}

Kilimanjaro has two distinct rainy seasons, one from March to May and another around November. The northern slopes receive much less rainfall than the southern ones.<ref name="PlantEcology"/> The lower southern slope receives {{convert|800|to|900|mm|in|abbr=on}} annually, rising to {{convert|1500|to|2000|mm|in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|1500|m|ft|abbr=on}} altitude and peaking "partly over" {{convert|3000|mm|in|abbr=on}} in the forest belt at {{convert|2000|to|2300|m|ft|abbr=on}}. In the alpine zone, annual precipitation decreases to {{convert|200|mm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name="PlantEcology2"/>{{rp|18}}

The average temperature in the summit area is approximately {{convert|-7|C|F|abbr=on}}. Nighttime surface temperatures on the [[Northern Ice Field (Mount Kilimanjaro)|Northern Ice Field]] (NIF) fall on average to {{convert|-9|C|F|abbr=on}}, with an average daytime high of {{convert|-4|C|F|abbr=on}}. During nights of extreme [[radiative cooling|radiational cooling]], the NIF can cool to as low as {{convert|-15|to|-27|C|F|abbr=on}}.<ref name="SinghSingh2011">{{cite book | author1=Vijay P. Singh | author2=Pratap Singh | author3=Umesh K. Haritashya | title=Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mKKtQR4T-1MC&pg=PA673 | date=1 July 2011 | publisher=Springer Science & Business Media | isbn=978-90-481-2641-5 | access-date=4 October 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223173751/https://books.google.com/books?id=mKKtQR4T-1MC&pg=PA673 | archive-date=23 February 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|674}}

Snowfall can occur at any time of year but is mostly associated with northern Tanzania's two rainy seasons.<ref name="SinghSingh2011"/>{{rp|673}} Precipitation in the summit area occurs principally as snow and [[graupel]] of {{convert|250|to|500|mm|in|abbr=on}} per year and ablates within days or years.<ref name="TraceElements"/>

{{Weather box
| location = Machame 10, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (5,803 m) (2012-2015)
| single line = yes
| metric first = yes
| Jan record high C = 5.6
| Feb record high C = 6.2
| Mar record high C = 4.0
| Apr record high C = 3.7
| May record high C = 5.3
| Jun record high C = 6.5
| Jul record high C = 4.5
| Aug record high C = 2.9
| Sep record high C = 4.7
| Oct record high C = 4.8
| Nov record high C = 4.6
| Dec record high C = 5.8
| Jan high C = -0.6
| Feb high C = -1.2
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| Apr high C = -0.4
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| Jun high C = -1.8
| Jul high C = -2.3
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| Jan mean C = -5.7
| Feb mean C = -6.0
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| Apr mean C = -5.4
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| Jun mean C = -6.4
| Jul mean C = -6.4
| Aug mean C = -6.4
| Sep mean C = -6.5
| Oct mean C = -6.1
| Nov mean C = -5.6
| Dec mean C = -5.5
| year mean C = 
| Jan low C = -9.4
| Feb low C = -9.4
| Mar low C = -8.9
| Apr low C = -8.5
| May low C = -8.8
| Jun low C = -9.8
| Jul low C = -9.8
| Aug low C = -9.7
| Sep low C = -9.8
| Oct low C = -9.4
| Nov low C = -8.9
| Dec low C = -8.9
| year low C = 
| Jan record low C = -12.4
| Feb record low C = -11.9
| Mar record low C = -12.3
| Apr record low C = -11.2
| May record low C = -11.2
| Jun record low C = -13.4
| Jul record low C = -13.1
| Aug record low C = -12.3
| Sep record low C = -12.5
| Oct record low C = -11.8
| Nov record low C = -11.2
| Dec record low C = -11.0
|source 1 = CEDA Archive<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/bf8d6babeb904fbbaff7e279f9c0db02/
|title = Temperature data from 23 stations on Kilimanjaro (East Africa) over three years
|publisher = Centre for Environmental Data Analysis
|access-date = May 8, 2025}}
</ref>}}

=== Climatic zones ===

* Bushland / Lower Slope:, {{convert|800|to|1800|m|ft|abbr=on}}
* Rainforest: {{convert|1800|to|2800|m|ft|abbr=on}}
* Heather / Moorland: {{convert|2800|to|4000|m|ft|abbr=on}}
* Alpine Desert: {{convert|4000|to|5000|m|ft|abbr=on}}
* Arctic: {{convert|5000|to|5895|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Information about Mt Kilimanjaro"/>
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== Tourism industry==
{{Main|Mount Kilimanjaro climbing routes}}
[[File:Портеры на Килиманджаро - тяжёлый подъём.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Mountain porters]] on Kilimanjaro]]

[[Kilimanjaro National Park]] generated US$51 million in revenue in 2013,<ref name="MusaHigham2015">{{cite book | editor1=Ghazali Musa | editor2=James Higham | editor3=Anna Thompson-Carr | title=Mountaineering Tourism | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gFnLCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA285 | date=5 June 2015 | publisher=Routledge | isbn=978-1-317-66874-9 | access-date=4 October 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223175223/https://books.google.com/books?id=gFnLCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA285 | archive-date=23 February 2017 | url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|285}} the second-most of any Tanzanian national park.<ref name="Christie">{{cite book | author1=Ian Christie | author2=Eneida Fernandes | author3=Hannah Messerli | author4=Louise Twining-Ward | title=Tourism in Africa: Harnessing Tourism for Growth and Improved Livelihoods | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2nEFBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA257 | year=2014 | publisher=World Bank Publications | isbn=978-1-4648-0197-6 | access-date=2015-07-31 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919102134/https://books.google.com/books?id=2nEFBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA257 | archive-date=2015-09-19 | url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|258}} The Tanzania National Parks Authority reported that the park recorded 57,456 tourists during the 2011–12 budget year, of whom 16,425 hiked the mountain; the park's General Management Plan specifies an annual capacity of 28,470.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tanzaniaparks.com/news/number_of_kili_climbers_not_a_threat.html|title=The official site of the Tanzania National Parks – Latest news|date=16 March 2014|access-date=23 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924113218/http://www.tanzaniaparks.com/news/number_of_kili_climbers_not_a_threat.html|archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref> The mountain hikers generated irregular and seasonal jobs for about 11,000 guides, porters, and cooks in 2007.<ref name="Mitchell">{{cite web|url=http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/4203.pdf|title="Making success work for the poor: Package tourism in Northern Tanzania", Overseas Development Institute, authored by Jonathan Mitchell, Jodie Keane, and Jenny Laidlaw, 9 January 2008, accessed 31 July 2015|website=odi.org|access-date=23 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304191335/http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/4203.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Concerns have been raised about the poor working conditions and inadequate wages of these workers.<ref name="MusaHigham2015"/>{{rp|287–291}}<ref name="Christie"/>{{rp|259}}<ref name="Mitchell"/> 
Due to Kilimanjaro National Park's popularity as a destination, the Tanzanian government has invested in road infrastructure to improve accessibility. In Tanzania, [[Kilimanjaro International Airport]] also serves as an important transportation hub.<ref name="Reno">{{cite web | title=Kilimanjaro airport upgrade to double its capacity | url=https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/Kilimanjaro-airport-upgrade-to-double-its-capacity-/-/2560/2975796/-/tq738cz/-/index.html | first=Adam | date=28 November 2015 | last=Ihucha | newspaper=[[The EastAfrican]] | location=Nairobi | access-date=5 April 2020 | archive-date=17 April 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417200220/https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/Kilimanjaro-airport-upgrade-to-double-its-capacity-/-/2560/2975796/-/tq738cz/-/index.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

There are seven official trekking routes by which to ascend and descend Kilimanjaro: Lemosho, Lemosho Western-Breach, Machame, Marangu, Mweka, Rongai, Shira, and Umbwe.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.mountkilimanjaroguide.com/kilimanjaro-routes.html | title=Mt. Kilimanjaro Routes: The Advantages and Disadvantage of All Mount Kilimanjaro Climbing Routes | publisher=Mount Kilimanjaro Guide | access-date=16 July 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701211019/http://www.mountkilimanjaroguide.com/kilimanjaro-routes.html | archive-date=1 July 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> The Machame route can be completed in six or seven days,<ref name="Machame">{{cite web|url=https://blog.alienadv.com/Kilimanjaro-Routes-complete-guide-2017/|title=Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro on the Machame Route|publisher=Mount Kilimanjaro Guide|access-date=16 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623015302/https://blog.alienadv.com/Kilimanjaro-Routes-complete-guide-2017/|archive-date=23 June 2017|url-status=usurped}}</ref> Lemosho in six to eight, and the Northern Circuit routes in seven or more days.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.climbing-kilimanjaro.com/lemosho-route/|title=Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro on the Lemosho Route|publisher=Climbing Kilimanjaro|access-date=10 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626054404/https://www.climbing-kilimanjaro.com/lemosho-route/|archive-date=26 June 2017}}</ref> The Lemosho Route can also be continued via the Western-Breach, submitting via the western side of the mountain. The Western Breach is more secluded and avoids the 6-hour midnight ascent to the summit (like other routes). The Rongai is the easiest of the camping routes.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.mountkilimanjaroguide.com/kilimanjaro-rongai.html | title=Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro on the Rongai Route | publisher=Mount Kilimanjaro Guide | access-date=16 July 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701205817/http://www.mountkilimanjaroguide.com/kilimanjaro-rongai.html | archive-date=1 July 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> The Marangu is also relatively easy, if frequently busy; accommodation is in shared huts.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.kilimanjaroroutes.com/Marangu%20Route.htm | title=Marangu Route | publisher=Kilimanjaro Routes | access-date=16 July 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150816074802/http://kilimanjaroroutes.com/Marangu%20Route.htm | archive-date=16 August 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> The Lemosho Western-Breach Route commences on the western side of Kilimanjaro at Lemosho and continues to the summit via the Western-Breach Route.<ref name="Information about Mt Kilimanjaro">{{Cite web|url=https://ascendtanzania.com/mount-kilimanjaro-climbing|title=Information about Mt Kilimanjaro|website=Kiliwarrior Expeditions – Climb Kilimanjaro and become a Kiliwarrior!|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103210837/https://ascendtanzania.com/mount-kilimanjaro-climbing|archive-date=2019-01-03|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kiliwarriorexpeditions.com/|title=Kiliwarrior Expeditions – Climb Kilimanjaro and become a Kiliwarrior!|website=Kiliwarrior Expeditions – Climb Kilimanjaro and become a Kiliwarrior!|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103210855/https://www.kiliwarriorexpeditions.com/|archive-date=2019-01-03|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{wide image|File:Moshi panorama edit1.jpg|1000px|dir=ltr|Kilimanjaro as seen from the tourist hub of [[Moshi, Tanzania|Moshi]] in the [[Kilimanjaro Region]]}}

=== Mawenzi technical climbing ===
Technical climbing routes are available on the Mawenzi cone of Mount Kilimanjaro.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mawenzi Peak — A Volcano in the Kilimanjaro Massif |url=https://altezzatravel.com/articles/mawenzi-mountain |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=Altezza Travel |language=en}}</ref> Unlike the traditional routes to Uhuru Peak on Kibo, which are open to the general public, climbing Mawenzi requires a special permit from the Tanzania National Parks Authority. These permits are issued exclusively to experienced climbers with appropriate equipment. Climbing on Mawenzi is limited to a maximum of two climbers at a time and is restricted to daytime hours.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Tanzania National Parks Authority |title=Mawenzi technical climbing guidelines |access-date=January 8, 2025 |url=https://www.tanzaniaparks.go.tz/uploads/publications/sw-1568756915-Guidelines%20for%20Mawenzi%20Climbing.pdf}}</ref>

=== Climbing records ===
[[File:Mount Kilimanjaro Climbing Routes and Huts photomap-fr.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Climbing routes]]

The oldest person to climb Mount Kilimanjaro is [[Anne Lorimor]], aged 89 years and 37 days, who reached Uhuru Peak at 3:14&nbsp;p.m. local time on 18 July 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=Oldest person to climb Mount Kilimanjaro |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/593911-oldest-person-to-climb-mount-kilimanjaro |website=guinnessworldrecords.com |access-date=3 December 2019 |archive-date=5 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005155339/https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/593911-oldest-person-to-climb-mount-kilimanjaro |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Anne Lorimor breaks record twice on Mount Kilimanjaro|url=https://www.ultimatekilimanjaro.com/blog/89-year-old-conquers-kilimanjaro-for-the-second-time-becoming-the-oldest-person-to-summit|website=ultimatekilimanjaro.com|date=26 July 2019|access-date=12 December 2021|archive-date=5 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005155332/https://www.ultimatekilimanjaro.com/89-year-old-conquers-kilimanjaro-for-the-second-time-becoming-the-oldest-person-to-summit/|url-status=live}}</ref> The oldest man to summit is American [[Fred Dishelhorst]], who reached the top on 19 July 2017 at the age of 88 years old.<ref>{{cite web |title=Oldest man climbs Kilimanjaro |url=https://peakplanet.com/peak-planet-guides-oldest-person-climb-kilimanjaro/ |website=peakplanet.com |date=23 July 2017 |access-date=12 December 2021 |archive-date=5 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005155319/https://peakplanet.com/peak-planet-guides-oldest-person-climb-kilimanjaro/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The second oldest man to summit the mountain is the American Robert Wheeler, who was 85 years and 201 days when he summited on 2 October 2014.<ref name="records" /> Maxwell J. Ojerholm of Massachusetts, USA, reached Uhuru Peak, the true summit, unassisted, at the age of ten years, on July 4, 2009, taking the difficult Machame Route. Colin M. Barker of Missouri, USA, later completed the same route at the age of ten on December 22, 2020. [[Theodore Margaroli]] from London, age 10, reached the summit unassisted by the Western Breach, the hardest but most scenic route, in 2019.<ref name="records" /><ref>{{cite web|title= Youngest person to climb Mount Kilimanjaro via the Western Breach route|url=http://www.ventique.co.uk/kilimanjaro.jpg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005155242/http://www.ventique.co.uk/kilimanjaro.jpg |archive-date=5 October 2024 }}</ref> Despite an age limit of 10 years for a climbing permit, Keats Boyd from Los Angeles reached the summit on 21 January 2008 at the age of 7.<ref name="records" /> This record was equaled by Montannah Kenney from Texas in March 2018 and again in July 2018 by Coaltan Tanner from New Mexico.<ref name="records" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Girl Who Wanted to 'Be Closer to Her Dad' Becomes Youngest Female to Hike Mount Kilimanjaro|url=https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/girl-who-wanted-to-be-closer-to-her-dad-becomes-youngest-female-to-hike-mount-kilimanjaro/|website=Good News Network|access-date=11 April 2018|date=10 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412001128/https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/girl-who-wanted-to-be-closer-to-her-dad-becomes-youngest-female-to-hike-mount-kilimanjaro/|archive-date=12 April 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kilimanjaroparktanzania.com/blog/the-youngest-person-to-climb-mount-kilimanjaro/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005160042/https://www.kilimanjaroparktanzania.com/blog/the-youngest-person-to-climb-mount-kilimanjaro/|url-status=dead|title=The youngest Person to Climb Mount Kilimanjaro &#124; Seven Brave Children|date=19 October 2022|archivedate=5 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-boy-becomes-youngest-ever-to-summit-mt-kilimanjaro/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202155748/https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-boy-becomes-youngest-ever-to-summit-mt-kilimanjaro/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 December 2022|title=Albuquerque boy becomes youngest ever to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro|date=1 November 2018}}</ref>
The fastest ascent and the fastest round trip have been recorded by the Swiss-Ecuadorian mountain guide [[Karl Egloff]]. On 13 August 2014, after guiding a party to the summit the previous days, he ran from Umbwe Gate to the top in 4 hours and 56 minutes and returned to the Mweka Gate at {{convert|1630|m|ft|abbr=on}} in a total time of 6 hours, 42 minutes and 24 seconds.<ref name="fkt">[https://fastestknowntime.com/route/kilimanjaro-tanzania Route: Kilimanjaro] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209124202/https://fastestknowntime.com/route/kilimanjaro-tanzania |date=9 December 2018 }} at fastest known time.com</ref><ref>Matt Hart, [http://www.outsideonline.com/1931036/where-world-did-karl-egloff-come Where in the World Did Karl Egloff Come From?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401151742/http://www.outsideonline.com/1931036/where-world-did-karl-egloff-come |date=1 April 2015 }}, [[Outside (magazine)|Outside]] 5, Mar 2015</ref> Previous records, using the same route, were held by Spanish mountain runner [[Kílian Jornet Burgada|Kílian Jornet]] (ascent in 5:23:50, round trip 7:14 on 29 September 2010) and by Tanzanian guide Simon Mtuy (an unsupported round trip in 9:21 on 22 February 2006).<ref>[https://www.climbkilimanjaroguide.com/kilimanjaro-fastect-ascent/ Swiss Sets New Kilimanjaro Fastest Ascent And Descent Record] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719115109/https://www.climbkilimanjaroguide.com/kilimanjaro-fastect-ascent/ |date=19 July 2018 }} at climbkilimanjaroguide.com</ref><ref name="records">{{cite web | url=http://www.climbkilimanjaroguide.com/kilimanjaro-facts/#kilimanjaro-records | title=Amazing Kilimanjaro Records | publisher=Climb Kilimanjaro Guide | work=Mount Kilimanjaro Facts | access-date=16 July 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717020932/http://www.climbkilimanjaroguide.com/kilimanjaro-facts/#kilimanjaro-records | archive-date=17 July 2015  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.climbmountkilimanjaro.com/about-the-mountain/record-climbs/ | title=Kilimanjaro records | publisher=Climb Mount Kilimanjaro Ltd | work=Background information on Kilimanjaro | access-date=16 July 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716204451/http://www.climbmountkilimanjaro.com/about-the-mountain/record-climbs/ | archive-date=16 July 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref>

The female round trip record is held by [[Fernanda Maciel]] from Brazil in a time of 10 hours and 6 minutes.<ref name=fkt/> Her ascent time of 7:08 was broken on 23 February 2018 by the Danish ultramarathon runner Kristina Schou Madsen with a time of 6:52:54 from Mweka Gate.<ref name=fkt/><ref>Sean McCoy, [https://gearjunkie.com/kristina-madsen-fkt-fastest-kilimanjaro Woman Sets Speed Record Up Kilimanjaro] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209124917/https://gearjunkie.com/kristina-madsen-fkt-fastest-kilimanjaro |date=9 December 2018 }} at gearjunkie.com</ref>

Several climbs by disabled people have drawn attention. Wheelchair user Bernard Goosen from South Africa scaled Kilimanjaro in six days in 2007. In 2012, [[Kyle Maynard]] who has no forearms or lower legs, crawled unassisted to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.<ref name=records/>

On February 9, 2015, Red Bull athlete Valerii Rozov performed the first [[Wingsuit flying|wing-suit]] BASE jump from the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. He flew approximately 3 kilometres before landing on the southern slope.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trip Report: the First BASE Jump from Kilimanjaro |url=https://altezzatravel.com/articles/basejumping-kilimanjaro |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=Altezza Travel |language=en}}</ref>

In 2020, a team featuring two double above-knee amputees, [[Hari Budha Magar]] and Justin Oliver Davis, summited Kilimanjaro. It took them six days to cover the {{convert|56|km|adj=on|abbr=on}} distance to the summit.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Two double amputees, Hari and Justin, successfully climb Mt Kilimanjaro|url=https://www.southasiatime.com/2020/01/11/two-double-amputees-hari-and-justin-successfully-climb-mt-kilimanjaro/|access-date=2021-10-25|website=www.southasiatime.com|archive-date=25 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240625133956/https://www.southasiatime.com/2020/01/11/two-double-amputees-hari-and-justin-successfully-climb-mt-kilimanjaro/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Safety ===
The climb is not technically as challenging as the [[Himalayas]] or [[Andes]], but the high elevation, low temperature, and occasional high winds can make Kilimanjaro a difficult trek. Acclimatization is required, and even experienced and physically fit trekkers may suffer some degree of [[altitude sickness]].<ref name=Acclimatization>{{Cite report | vauthors=Muza, SR, Fulco, CS, Cymerman, A | title=Altitude Acclimatization Guide | journal=US Army Research Inst. Of Environmental Medicine Thermal and Mountain Medicine Division Technical Report | issue=USARIEM-TN-04-05 | year=2004 | url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/xmlui/handle/123456789/7616 | access-date=2015-07-16 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160214202657/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/xmlui/handle/123456789/7616 | archive-date=2016-02-14 | url-status=usurped }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.expeditionkilimanjaro.com/preparation.php | title=Prepare yourself for the Kilimanjaro climb | first=R. |last=Stoppelenburg | access-date=2009-02-27 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319002451/http://www.expeditionkilimanjaro.com/preparation.php | archive-date=19 March 2009  }}</ref> A study of people attempting to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro in July and August 2005 found that 61.3 percent succeeded and 77 percent experienced acute mountain sickness (AMS).<ref name="DaviesKalson2009">{{cite journal | url=http://www.nickkalson.com/Papers/Kili_WEM.pdf | last1=Davies | first1=Andrew J. | last2=Kalson | first2=Nicholas S. | last3=Stokes | first3=Suzy | last4=Earl | first4=Mark D. | last5=Whitehead | first5=Adam G. | last6=Frost | first6=Hannah | last7=Tyrell-Marsh | first7=Ian | last8=Naylor | first8=Jon | title=Determinants of Summiting Success and Acute Mountain Sickness on Mt Kilimanjaro (5895 m) | journal=Wilderness & Environmental Medicine | volume=20 | issue=4 | pages=311–7 | year=2009 | issn=1080-6032 | doi=10.1580/1080-6032-020.004.0311 | pmid=20030437 | s2cid=13322264 | access-date=2015-07-28 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208062905/http://www.nickkalson.com/Papers/Kili_WEM.pdf | archive-date=2015-12-08 | url-status=live }}</ref> A retrospective study of 917 persons who attempted to reach the summit via the Lemosho or Machame routes found that 70.4 percent experienced AMS, defined in this study to be headache, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, or loss of appetite.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.3357/ASEM.4037.2014 |pmid=25329946 |title=A Retrospective Study of Acute Mountain Sickness on Mt. Kilimanjaro Using Trekking Company Data |journal=Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine |volume=85 |issue=11 |pages=1125–1129 |year=2014 |last1=Eigenberger |first1=Paul |last2=Faino |first2=Anna |last3=Maltzahn |first3=Joanne |last4=Lisk |first4=Christina |last5=Frank |first5=Eddie |last6=Frank |first6=Amy |last7=Loomis |first7=Zoe |last8=Schroeder |first8=Thies |last9=Strand |first9=Matthew |last10=Irwin |first10=David }}</ref>

Kilimanjaro's summit is well above the altitude at which life-threatening [[high altitude pulmonary edema]] (HAPE) or [[high altitude cerebral edema]] (HACE), the most severe forms of AMS, can occur.<ref name=MedicalProblems>{{Cite report | vauthors=Cymerman, A, Rock, PB | title=Medical Problems in High Mountain Environments. A Handbook for Medical Officers | publisher=US Army Research Inst. of Environmental Medicine Thermal and Mountain Medicine Division Technical Report | volume=USARIEM-TN94-2 | url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/xmlui/handle/123456789/7976 | access-date=5 March 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207062927/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/xmlui/handle/123456789/7976 | archive-date=2012-02-07 | url-status=usurped }}</ref> These health risks are increased substantially by excessively fast climbing schedules motivated by high daily national park fees, busy holiday travel schedules, and the lack of permanent shelter on most routes.<ref>{{cite journal | url=http://www.nickkalson.com/Papers/Kili_WEM.pdf | title=Determinants of Summiting Success and Acute Mountain Sickness on Mt Kilimanjaro (5895 m) | first1=Andrew J. |last1=Davies | first2=Nicholas S. |last2=Kalson | first3=Suzy |last3=Stokes | first4=Mark D. |last4=Earl | first5=Adam G. |last5=Whitehead | first6=Hannah |last6=Frost | first7=Ian |last7=Tyrell-Marsh | first8=Jon |last8=Naylor | journal=Wilderness and Environmental Medicine | year=2009 | volume=20 | issue=4 | pages=311–317 | doi=10.1580/1080-6032-020.004.0311 | pmid=20030437 | s2cid=13322264 | access-date=2015-07-28 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208062905/http://www.nickkalson.com/Papers/Kili_WEM.pdf | archive-date=2015-12-08 | url-status=live }}</ref> The six-day Machame route, which involves one day of "climbing high" to Lava Tower ({{convert|15190|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on}} and "sleeping low" at Barranco Camp ({{convert|13044|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on}}), may delay the onset of AMS but does not ultimately prevent its occurrence.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Twice-Daily Assessment of Trekkers on Kilimanjaro's Machame Route to Evaluate the Incidence and Time-Course of Acute Mountain Sickness | first=Joel |last=Meyer | journal=High Altitude Medicine & Biology | year=2012 | volume=13 | issue=4 | pages=281–284 | doi=10.1089/ham.2012.1024|pmid = 23270446}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-12-17|title=Machame Route|url=https://kopatours.com/kilimanjaro/machame-route|website=Kopa Tours|access-date=9 April 2021|archive-date=25 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240625134011/https://kopatours.com/kilimanjaro/machame-route|url-status=live}}</ref>

Falls on steep portions of the mountain and rock slides have killed trekkers. For this reason, the route via the [[Arrow Glacier]] was closed for several years, reopening in December 2007. Now again it officially closed as of January 20, 2024. Due to strong El Niño, the Western Breach has washed down the mountain.&nbsp;This huge runoff has carved new ravines on the slopes and seems to be dislodging the sediment that cements the rock together, disrupting the rock stability.&nbsp; At the route's base, rain water has opened new drainages and there is an active, flowing river through the Arrow Glacier Camp where there has been no water at all for decades.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Western Breach Route |url=https://www.climbing-kilimanjaro.com/western-breach-route/ |access-date=26 October 2019 |website=Western Breach Route Kilimanjaro |publisher=Climbing Kilimanjaro |archive-date=25 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240625134059/https://www.climbing-kilimanjaro.com/western-breach-route/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://goafrica.about.com/od/tanzania/ig/Climbing-Mount-Kilimanjaro/Barranco-Route--Kilimanjaro.htm | title=Lava Tower en route to Barranco Camp | access-date=23 March 2011 | work=Africa Travel | publisher=About.com | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927172254/http://goafrica.about.com/od/tanzania/ig/Climbing-Mount-Kilimanjaro/Barranco-Route--Kilimanjaro.htm | archive-date=27 September 2011 | url-status=live }}</ref> The improper disposal of human waste on the mountain environment has created a health hazard, necessitating the boiling of all water.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Apollo | first1 = M | year = 2017 | title = The good, the bad and the ugly–three approaches to the management of human waste in a high-mountain environment | journal = International Journal of Environmental Studies | volume = 74 | issue = 1| pages = 129–158 | doi=10.1080/00207233.2016.1227225| bibcode = 2017IJEnS..74..129A | s2cid = 113843846 }}</ref>

According to the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi, 25 people died from January 1996 to October 2003 while climbing the mountain. Seventeen were female and eight were male, ranging in age from 29 to 74. Fourteen died from advanced high altitude illness, including one with [[HACE]], five with [[HAPE]], and six with both HACE and HAPE. The remaining eleven deaths resulted from "trauma (3), [[myocardial infarction]] (4), [[pneumonia]] (2), cardio-pulmonary failure of other underlying cause (1), and acute [[appendicitis]] (1). The overall mortality rate was 13.6 per 100,000 climbers."<ref>{{cite journal | url=http://wodocs.com/docum/1474-international_society_for_mountain_medicine-viwcmm_abstracts-32.html | title=Deaths Due to High Altitude Illness Among Tourists Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro |author=Markus Hauser |author2=Andreas Mueller |author3=Britta Swai |author4=Sendui Ole Nguyaine | journal=Proceedings of the 2004 South African Travel Medicine Society | year=2004 | access-date=2015-11-08 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117025449/http://wodocs.com/docum/1474-international_society_for_mountain_medicine-viwcmm_abstracts-32.html | archive-date=2015-11-17 | url-status=live }}</ref>

==In literature and film==
{{quote box |bgcolor = #B5E9EA | width = 28em |align = right
| quote = Kilimanjaro is a snow-covered mountain 19,710 feet high, and is said to be the highest mountain in Africa. Its western summit is called the Masai 'Ngaje Ngai', the House of God. Close to the western summit there is a dried and frozen carcas of a leopard. No one has explained what the leopard was seeking at that altitude.
| source = — [[Ernest Hemingway]]'s "riddle" preceding his 1936 short story ''[[The Snows of Kilimanjaro (short story)|The Snows of Kilimanjaro]]''{{Sfn|Stephens|1960|p=85}}
| style = padding:1.5em
| fontsize=85%
}}
Journalist [[Tom Bissell]] noted that Kilimanjaro is "perhaps the world's most literary mountain".<ref name="bissell">{{cite news|last=Bissell|first=Tom|date=28 October 2007|title=Up the Mountain Slowly, Very Slowly|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/sports/playmagazine/28kilimanjaro.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=25 June 2024|archive-date=5 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005155903/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/sports/playmagazine/28kilimanjaro.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The mountain is prominently featured in [[Ernest Hemingway]]'s 1936 short story ''[[The Snows of Kilimanjaro (short story)|The Snows of Kilimanjaro]]'', which was adapted into a [[The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952 film)|1952 film]] starring [[Gregory Peck]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Crowther|first=Bosley|date=19 September 1952|title=The Screen in Review; 'Snow of Kiliminjaro,' Based on Hemingway's Story, Is New Feature at Rivoli|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/09/19/archives/the-screen-in-review-snow-of-kiliminjaro-based-on-hemingways-story.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=25 June 2024|archive-date=5 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005155751/https://www.nytimes.com/1952/09/19/archives/the-screen-in-review-snow-of-kiliminjaro-based-on-hemingways-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Dave Eggers]] wrote about his ascent in the short story ''Up the Mountain Coming Down Slowly''.<ref name="bissell"/>  The ascent of Kilimanjaro is depicted in [[Andrei Gusev]]'s 2020 novel ''Once in Malindi'' (in the 17th chapter).<ref>[http://mliterature.narod.ru/Old_Novelist.htm  Review of ''"Once in Malindi"''] on  the site of public fund "Union of writers of Moscow", 2021 {{in lang|ru}}</ref><ref>[https://proza.ru/2020/08/15/2 ''"Once in Malindi"''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016190338/https://proza.ru/2020/08/15/2 |date=2020-10-16 }} — on  Proza.ru, 2020 {{in lang|ru}}</ref><ref>''[[Andrei Gusev|Андрей Гусев]]'' [http://Gusev.webs.com/Malindi_Andy.htm “Однажды в Малинди”], 2020. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104180724/https://gusev.webs.com/Malindi_Andy.htm |date=2020-11-04 }}</ref>  Writer [[Douglas Adams]] climbed the mountain in a rubber rhinoceros suit to raise money for [[Black rhinoceros|African rhino]] conservation efforts.<ref name="bissell"/><ref>{{cite news|date=24 September 2014|title=Up Kilimanjaro with the Adams Family|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/dorset/content/articles/2005/08/24/adams_rhino_feature.shtml|work=BBC|access-date=25 June 2024|archive-date=25 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240625134025/https://www.bbc.co.uk/dorset/content/articles/2005/08/24/adams_rhino_feature.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>

Kilimanjaro was featured in [[Toto (band)|Toto]]'s 1982 song "[[Africa (Toto song)|Africa]]".<ref>{{cite news|last=Hann|first=Michael|date=13 June 2018|title=The strange appeal of Toto's Africa – and why it's cover-proof|url=https://ig.ft.com/life-of-a-song/africa.html|work=Financial Times|access-date=12 October 2024|archive-date=7 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207045332/https://ig.ft.com/life-of-a-song/africa.html|url-status=live}}</ref> An IMAX film documenting an ascent—''Kilimanjaro: To The Roof Of Africa''—was released in 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imax.com/movie/kilimanjaro-roof-africa|title=Kilimanjaro: To The Roof Of Africa|website=IMAX|date=20 April 2023 |access-date=25 June 2024|archive-date=25 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240625134401/https://www.imax.com/movie/kilimanjaro-roof-africa|url-status=live}}</ref> Kilimanjaro is also prominently featured in [[The Lion King (franchise)|the ''Lion King'' franchise]].

== References ==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Works cited===
====Academic articles====
{{Refbegin|30em}}
*{{cite web | url = http://www.ntz.com.ua | title = The Meaning of Kilimanjaro | last = Hutchinson | first = J. A. | year = 1965 | work = Department of Language and Linguistics | publisher = University College | location = Dar Es Salaam | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071006111206/http://www.ntz.info/gen/b00769.html | archive-date = 2007-10-06 | url-status = live }}
*{{cite journal|last1=Stephens|first1=Robert O.|date=March 1960|title=Hemingway's Riddle of Kilimanjaro: Idea and Image|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2922805|journal=American Literature|volume=32|issue=1|pages=84–87|jstor=2922805}}
*{{cite journal|last1=Bernbaum|first1=Edwin|date=November 2006|title=Sacred Mountains: Themes and Teachings|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4540647|journal=Mountain Research and Development|publisher=International Mountain Society|volume=26|issue=4|pages=304–309|doi=10.1659/0276-4741(2006)26[304:SMTAT]2.0.CO;2|jstor=4540647|access-date=23 October 2024|archive-date=15 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815132948/https://www.jstor.org/stable/4540647|url-status=live}}
*{{cite journal|last1=Grimshaw|first1=J. M.|last2=Cordeiro|first2=N.J.|last3=Foley|first3=C.A.H|date=July 1995|title=The Mammals of Kilimanjaro|journal=Journal of East African Natural History|volume=84|issue=2|pages=105–139|doi=10.2982/0012-8317(1995)84[105:TMOK]2.0.CO;2 }}
*{{cite journal|last1=Davies|first1=Andrew J.|last2=Kalson|first2=Nicholas S.|last3=Stokes|first3=Suzy|last4=Earl|first4=Mark D.|last5=Whitehead|first5=Adam G.|last6=Frost|first6=Hannah|last7=Tyrell-Marsh|first7=Ian|last8=Naylor|first8=Jon|date=2009|title=Determinants of Summiting Success and Acute Mountain Sickness on Mt Kilimanjaro (5895 m)|journal=Wilderness & Environmental Medicine|volume=20|issue=4|pages=311–317|doi=10.1580/1080-6032-020.004.0311|pmid=20030437 }}
{{Refend}}

====Books====
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book|last1=Krapf|first1=Johann Ludwig|last2=Ravenstein|first2=Ernest George|title=Travels, Researches, and Missionary Labours, During an Eighteen Years' Residence in Eastern Africa: Together with Journeys to Jagga, Usambara, Ukambani, Shoa, Abessinia and Khartum, and a Coasting Voyage from Nombaz to Cape Delgado |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z78NAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA255 |year=1860 |publisher=Trübner and Company, Paternoster Row|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216033256/https://books.google.com/books?id=z78NAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA255 |archive-date=16 February 2017|url-status=live }}
*{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9PETAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA116 |title=''Through Masai land: a journey of exploration among the snowclad volcanic mountains and strange tribes of eastern equatorial Africa'', authored by Johann Ludwig Krapf and Ernest George Ravenstein, Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, London, 1887 |access-date=2016-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223170259/https://books.google.com/books?id=9PETAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA116 |archive-date=2017-02-23 |url-status=live |last1=Thomson |first1=Joseph |year=1887 }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links | commons= Category:Kilimanjaro |wikt=no | q=no| b=no | n=no |s=no | v=no | species=no |d=Q7296 | display=Mount Kilimanjaro |voy=Mount Kilimanjaro }}

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* {{cite gvp|name=Kilimanjaro|vn=222150|access-date=2021-06-24}}
* [http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=3054 NASA Earth Explorer page]
* [http://www.kilimanjaro.cc/glacial-recession.htm Glacial Recession on Kilimanjaro (pictures of southern icefields)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110215100701/http://www.kilimanjaro.cc/glacial-recession.htm |date=15 February 2011 }}
* [http://www.kilicam.com Mount Kilimanjaro live webcam]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141107022451/http://www.ewpnet.com/kilimanjaro/flora/index.htm Kilimanjaro flora picture gallery]
* [http://collections.lib.uwm.edu/cdm/search/collection/agsafrica/searchterm/Kilimanjaro%20%28mountain%29/field/all/mode/exact/conn/and/cosuppress/ Aerial photographs of Mount Kilimanjaro, 1937–38]
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{{Seven Summits}}
{{Volcanic Seven Summits}}
{{Seven Third Summits|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}{{Highest points of Africa}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilimanjaro, Mount}}
[[Category:Mount Kilimanjaro| ]]
[[Category:Mountains of Tanzania|Kilimanjaro]]
[[Category:Five-thousanders of Africa|Kilimanjaro]]
[[Category:Geography of Kilimanjaro Region]]
[[Category:Highest points of countries|Kilimanjaro]]
[[Category:Moshi, Tanzania]]
[[Category:Seven Summits]]
[[Category:Stratovolcanoes of Tanzania|Kilimanjaro]]
[[Category:Volcanic Seven Summits|Kilimanjaro]]
[[Category:Volcanoes of the Great Rift Valley]]
[[Category:Important Bird Areas of Tanzania]]
[[Category:Pleistocene stratovolcanoes]]
[[Category:First 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites]]
[[Category:Dormant volcanoes]]