Mountain Kilimanjaro National Park
Mountain Kilimanjaro National Park is located in Tanzania. Situated 190 miles into the southern hemisphere in the Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania. It covers an area of 1,688 square kilometers and is bordered by the city of Moshi. Located subsequent to the northern border to Kenya, Mountain Kilimanjaro is included among the 7 Natural Wonders of Africa and was gazzeted as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The national park encompasses Africa’s tallest mountain. Famously known as the mountain of light, Mountain Kilimanjaro with it’s highest park at 5895 metres which is the highest point in the entire Africa. The park has five distinct zones including the artic zone which is filled with snow raging between the attitudes above 5000m
Gazzeted as a National Park in 1973. During the colonial times when Tanzania was still known as Tanganyika, the Germans who were the colonial masters designated Mountain Kilimanjaro and the adjacent tree cover as a game reserve. Until 1973, when it was classified as a national park by the Tanzania Parks Authority (TANAPA).
ANIMALS IN THE PARK
Mountain Kilimanjaro National Park is home to many fascinating wildlife animals which makes it a perfect destination to at tourist interested in wildlife safaris. The park is a habitat to the African big five .
ELEPHANTS, Scientifically known as the Loxodonta Africana, the fully grown elephant can weigh 6000-7000kgs with a height of about 3 meters. The male elephants like to live in solitary while the females are usually found in groups led by a matriarch surrounded by younger females and the offspring. the matriarch-led groups also called herds can consist of up to 110n individual female elephants consisting of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunties. Elephants have their habitant in savannah grasslands and sub-Sahara vegetation. Elephants communicate across large distances with very low frequencies human ears cant hear. In times of danger, the mother elephant protects its calves by surrounding them. Elephants are usually calm and gentle until they are disturbed, despite is huge size elephants can outrun humans
LEOPARDS ,Also referred to as the panther Pardus, the leopards are the greatest climbers among the big five animals. They spend the better half of their day in hiding and very hard to spend during day, the nocturnal carnivores creep out of hiding in the evening and night to look for prey which they consume from the treetops to avoid distraction from the lions and hyenas. Leopards usually stay in a particular place for a long period of time. Their skin complexion enables them to comfy lounge within woody and caves which are their common habitats. The ability to run at speed of about 56kph, the strength to jump over 3 meters in high coupled with-it sharp eyesight since it is from the cat family enables them to get prey easily. The leopards are also great swimmers.
BLACK RHINOCEROS, The rhino comes second in terms of size after the elephants it is the second-largest mammal. Since they are herbivores, rhinos stay in grasslands wandering in groups called a crashes. Their reproduction is slow, females give birth to single calves or sometimes twins but it would take 2-5 years for the same female to get pregnant. Their gestation period can last 18 months, the bone calf is fed by its mother for about 3 years. Rhinos are can be observed knocking objects due to their poor eyesight. Despite their bad eyesight, rhinos have a great sense of hearing and smell. They weigh between 1800 t0 2500kgs the female can run at a speed of 56kph once it senses that the calf has been attacked.
CAPE BUFFALOS, this is always wondering in solitary, these animals are very dangerous. They are very dangerous because they are threatened they charge with astonishing speed. When approached the bulls make stand before they attack. The buffalos make use of the rainy season to mate and give birth, their gestation period is of 11.5 months. The newborn is always in hiding for the first 5 weeks being looked after by the mother.
AFRICAN LION, Botanically known the panther Leo is the lion is, fiercest of all animals in the jungle. These are the social animals from the cat a family and in groups of up to to 15. Often referred to as the king of the jungle because they are the strongest animals from the wilderness. lions have cultural significance because they represent royalty, bravery, and strength. Lions are social animals while they mingle with the other animals they only prey on them for food. The male lion can be distinguished from the female by the thick mane and also physical size because the females look smaller physically compared to the male, the male lions weigh about 120kg.
The other animals in the park include giraffes,servals , hyenas , baboons , monkeys, antelopes , aardvarks, mongooses , honey badgers, tree hyraxes and bush babies . The has plenty of animals that any tourist shouldn’t miss on their voyage to world’s second largest continent . The animals are grouped into daylighters and nocturnals. Majority of the animals feed and play during the day, the best time to see these is during the sunny afternoons as the heat forces them to gallivant around the park . The nocturnals hurt in the night and have adaptations to that , it could be risky for late night game rides safaris so the best time to catch a glance of these is during the very early morning.
BIRDS IN THE PARK
East Africa is a birds sanctuary because of plenty of flying species are found in this region. Mountain Kilimanjaro National Park is no exception as it is a home to a variety of bird species that rock its air .
These are some of the prominent bird species you will see while at the park.
TURACOS, there are three different types you will catch a glance at while in Kilimanjaro National Park which include the Hartlaub’s Turaco, Schalow ‘sTuraco and Violet Crested Turaco. These are social birds in nature and will be seen flocking in groups of dozens . They feed mainly on fruit and plant matter. The Hartlaub was named after German physician Gustav Hartlaub. Schalow was named after a German banker Hermann Schalow.
AFRICAN PITTA, nicknamed the “holy grail” this particular species is hard to observe . Catching a glance of it is rare even if it has blossoming bright colors. Their throat is a pale salmon pink, and their flanks, breast, and neck are mustard yellow. Bits of black, turquoise and royal blue tip their deep green wings while crimson red decorates their underbelly and tail.
CINNAMON CHESTED BEE EATER, this dwells around the forest fringes, wooded hillsides, clearings, and gardens. It’s a predator of a sort because it feeds on other flying objects like honeybees, moths, butterflies dragonflies and beetles.
NARINA TROGON, named after the mistress of French Francois Le Vaillant. Narnia comes from the Khoi Khoi word for flower. The sexes are dimorphic, with males exhibiting more dramatic coloring than the soft brown and dull red females. When attempting to attract mates or defend territory, males produce a low repeated hoot.
HORNBILLS, you will also be able to glance at these special bird species. Hornbills are omnivorous birds, feeding on fruits, insects, small birds, rodents, small reptiles, and centipedes. They usually live in pairs but have been known to roost in flocks of hundreds of individuals as well.
KINGFISHERS, grouped into the Malachite Kingfisher and African pygmy Kingfisher . these are enchanting birds with blue or green colors. These secretive, unobtrusive birds nest in burrows dug by both sexes in sandy soil banks or into a ground termite nest. Both parents care for the young.
The other bird species in the park include various types of cuckoos,chats , barbets,wood peckers , starlings, sunbirds ,shrikes and flycatchers.
The other major attraction in the park is the Mountain Kilimanjaro. The mountain had three famous volcanic cones namely “Mawenzi”, “Kibo” and “Shira”. Mountain Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and one of its summits turns out to be the highest freestanding mountain in the entire world. The mountain reaches 5,895 meters high at the the Uhuru peak. Mount Kilimanjaro additionally the most hiked . With several distinct routes to the top. The presence of this epic mountain adds more flare to the park.
ACTIVITIES
TREKKING AND HIKING MOUNTAIN KILIMANJARO
This is one of the main activities activities carried out in Mountain Kilimanjaro National Park. Hiking this mountain is very adventurous because many animals can be seen on their way up. Hiking Mountain Kilimanjaro can take you approximately 5-9 days depending on the route. Their are over five routes to the top. This activity is usually carried out in groups because it involves camping . As the saying goes ,”the higher you go, the cooler it becomes “ the mountain top is largely covered with snow and the temperatures keep dropping as the hiking gets higher so it’s advisable to carry cardigans.
WILDLIFE SAFARIS
The park is gifted with all the African big five animals and other various animal species. Some of the animals in the park have been mentioned above can be observed through the scheduled game drive safaris. Tourists guided by rangers and guides get to glimpse at the animals in the park through these wildlife safaris. The tourist can get to view some notable physical features like the Chala crater lake and Shira Plateau.
COMMUNITY WALKS AND NATURE WALKS
The nature walks are guided under heavly armed personnel because it gets you closer to the animals in the park. It’s very adventurous because the tourists get closer feel of nature.
Community walks on the other hand is to get more acquitted with the environment around Kilimanjaro national park including the very interesting masai people. These have a very interesting lifestyle and social organization that any tourist should visit.
The Park can be accessed both on road and air. Road would provide a more thrilling experience. One can get to Kilimanjaro National Park driving from Arusha through Moshi Town which is roughly a two hour drive. From Moshi, it is a 50 minute drive. It is is open to visitors in the entire year even when it’s advisable to visit during the dry season which runs between June to October.
ACCOMODATION
There are plenty of top notch accommodation places in and around Mountain Kilimanjaro National Park, the accommodation spots depend entirely on the tourist’s budget raging from campsites, midrange and luxury. The venues include Kaliwa lodge, Shu’mata camp, Kambi Ya Tembo camp, Fortune Mountain Resort, Ndarakwai camp, Snowcap Cottages, Kilimanjaro Mountain Resort, Babylon lodge, Aishi Machame hotel, Mount Kilimanjaro View lodge, Kibo Slopes Cottages, Kilimanjaro Halisi Retreat, Salinero Millie lodge, Kilinopark hotel, Kilemakyaro Mountain lodge, Kilimanjaro White House hotel among others.