Introduction to Kilimanjaro National Park

You can visit Mount Kilimanjaro without climbing. Though there is little opportunity to do smaller hikes on Kili without going full-summit, it’s still possible.

There are also two nearby towns like Moshi, where you can explore while adoring the views of Kilimanjaro. On top of that, there’s fantastic food, beautiful scenery, and plenty of cultural experiences.

Kilimanjaro National Park houses many fascinating, beautiful, unique animals. The wildlife found at the park includes elephants, Cape buffaloes, giraffes, black rhinos, leopards, and servals.

In addition, the park also has hyenas, several baboon species, monkeys, aardvarks, antelopes, and many others. However, you can’t spot the Big Five here.

So, if you want to see the famous Big Five and other big games, we recommend you visit other major parks in Tanzania, like Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Tarangire.

Read More: What animals will I see while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro? Kilimanjaro wildlife

Kilimanjaro National Park houses the world-famous Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest mountain and the world’s tallest free-standing mountain. Thousands of climbers visit here to climb the mountain to challenge their limits.

Mount Kilimanjaro is a non-technical climb with an elevation of 19,341 feet, or 5,895 meters, at Uhuru Peak. The climb isn’t as tricky as Mount Everest, but it doesn’t mean it would be too easy.

To reach the peak, you will have to overcome challenges, including altitude sickness.

Read More: What is altitude sickness and how to prevent it on Kilimanjaro?

There are three major international airports in Tanzania, and you can reach Kilimanjaro through them. These are Zanzibar (ZNZ), Dar es Salaam (DAR), and Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO).

The latter sits only 42 kilometers from the town of Moshi and 50 kilometers from Arusha. You may also consider flights to Nairobi, Kenya, which is only about a 5-hour shuttle bus ride to Arusha or an hour’s flight to Kilimanjaro International Airport.

In general, it takes five to nine days to reach the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro and descend to the ending point. It’s also noteworthy that if you want a higher chance of a successful summit, spending more days on the mountain to have your body acclimated to the altitude would be better.

Read More: How long does it take to climb Kilimanjaro

Packing the right things is very important when you climb Kilimanjaro. It would help if you had strong supportive, and waterproof hiking boots, trekking poles, light and wool jackets, and many more.

Read More: What to pack for climbing Kilimanjaro: Complete packing

Porters collect the drinking water on Kilimanjaro from mountain streams during your trek. The collected water will be treated with iodine purification tablets to avoid an upset stomach.