Kilimanjaro - an African Dream!

Kilimanjaro - the first sighting

The first time I saw Kilimanjaro was from my airplane window when I traveled from Nairobi in Kenya to Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania, and it was the most stunning view from 30,000 ft that I can recall. I saw it and I knew that I had to be climb it, not to conquer its summit, but to humbly submit to its beauty.

My dream Peak (image ref Pixabay - a free image resource)

So when I was invited by Active Holiday Company to participate in their blogging contest, I immediately knew what I would write about.  I have been visiting Africa for a while now and have been completely enchanted by its natural beauty, but Kilimanjaro still remains an enigma to me.

Kilimanjaro trek

So what does it take to climb Kilimanjaro? Well there are different ways of doing it - you can go to Tanzania and look for an operator who can take you there, or you can reach out to someone closer home in India and let them plan it out for you.

And that's where Active Holidays come into picture. Check out their Kilimanjaro trek overview and you will know what I am taking about. Its a guided trek and costs about Rs 1,35,000. It might sound a bit pricey, but I am completely convinced its worth it!

The itinerary itself looks damn exciting, with little rest and loads of trekking everyday - exactly what an avid trekker loves. The trek to the summit actually happens in the night and you can say good morning to the world from the rooftop of Africa :) The idea is not just unimaginably romantic, its also very practical. The image below taken early in the morning will likely take your breath away...

It takes almost four days to trek up, but you can make the return journey in about two days. Its not supposed to be an easy trek and some level of prior experience and fitness would certainly help. If you successfully make it to the top, you will be at a height of 19,300 ft :)

And this is how the world looks like from top! (Image ref Pixabay - a free image resource)

Practical Information:

Number of days for trek: 8 days
Cost:  USD 1670 (INR 103540)
Difficulty level: Difficult
Minimum age: 13 years
Visa: Visa on arrival facility is available for Indians
Currency: Tanzanian Shillings (1 USD = 1400 Tz shillings)

Videos to inspire:

Here is a video I found particularly inspiring and well shot :)



And here is another one...you will surely understand why this trek is such a dream for me...

About Active Holidays

For those of you who got super excited reading the post above, let me share a little about the organization as well. The Active Holiday Company is an adventure travel specialist offering self-guided and small group tours based on hiking, cycling, marathon races, trekking, expeditions, wildlife safaris etc. to destinations across the world.

I was myself quite impressed with the design of their portal where you can actually look for a trek which completely suits you with very interesting filters like 'Level of Difficulty' and 'Activity Type'. For all the fence sitters who have been thinking about doing their first trek, check out their website and make the pick that best suits you! Simple :)

And Finally a snapshot of the post on my Facebook page.

Post by The Wanderer.