TOP FLIGHT English summary Number 9–10 /125/ September–October 2020
112
KILIMANJARO
NATIONAL
PARK
THE ROOF
OF AFRICA
The highest mountain on the
continent and the tallest
free-standing mountain in the
world is entirely located within
the territory of this national
park which altitudes vary from
1,700 to 5,895 m and which became
a UNESCO World Heritage
Site in 1987. A considerable part
of its territory is the forest adjacent
to the mountain.
People come here primarily
to admire the mountain, which
is a dormant stratovolcano,
or to climb it. Despite its solidity
and conical shape, Kilimanjaro
has three peaks: the highest
one is Kibo (5,895 m), snowy
all year round; Mawenzi (5,148
m) with small glaciers; and the
oldest one of the three peaks
is Shira (3,962 m), plateau-like,
a place of migration for large
mammals. When ascending the
volcano, you can observe the alternation
of different climatic
zones: mountain forest gives
way to moorland, then alpine
desert and, at the very top, the
arctic zone. The rainy season
in the Kilimanjaro area lasts
from March to May and takes
place in November as well.
The national park is rich in exotic
fauna: here you can come
across blue monkeys, black
and white colobus, galagos,
tree hyraxes, and in the interfluve
of Namwai and
Tarakia — elephants.