History of Mount Kilimanjaro
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Kilimanjaro guides enjoy telling the history of this incredible mountain. Indeed, the ancient face of Mount Kilimanjaro gazes down at the valley below it, as if casting a watchful eye over the array of creatures living at its foot. Formed over 500 000 years ago, the first recorded account of this Roof of Africa occurred in the second century AD, when Ptolemy of Alexandria spoke in his writings of a 'great snowy mountain'.
Around the 12th century AD, Arabic and Chinese writers again made mention of the impressive landmark in their recordings. Hundreds of years later the first European account of Kilimanjaro took place when a missionary by the name of Johann Rebmann set out on an expedition in search of the mountain. His account of the peaks of Mawenzi and Kibo were published in the Church Missionary Intelligencer in 1849 and described among other things 'the beautiful white cloud abreast the summit of one of the many mountains of Chagga'.
It was not until 1862 that Rebmann's personal sighting of Kilimanjaro was accepted by the ever sceptical geographers of the time. By 1880 a number of attempts had been made to summit the mountain, none of which were even vaguely successful. Finally, in October 1889 Dr Hans Meyer and his climbing partner Ludwig Purtscheller became the first Europeans ever to conquer Kilimanjaro, ending the race to summit Africa's Great White Mountain.
A number of legends are told about the Shining Mountain or Kilima Njaro as it is called in Swahili. At one point in history it was maintained that the mountain was given by Queen Victoria to her grandson King Wilhelm. This story turned out to be nothing more than a rumour however, inspired by the curve created in the Tanganyikan border in order to allow German East Africa to keep control of the port of Dar es Salaam.
The Chaga people who reside at the foot of the mountain speak of spirits who guard a collection of silver and gems at its centre, rendering ill and frozen any individual who dares to venture onto its slopes. As you descend up the mountain towards its peak, you may come across a number of stone collections assembled in strange patterns, the origin of which remains unknown even to your native guides.
It appears that although dormant, the Shining Mountain is nevertheless still very much alive, the crags in its face holding secrets first whispered long before the birth of the world as we know it today. Looking up towards the blanket of clouds swirling around its summit, one cannot help but be reminded of the words of the famous American naturalist, John Muir. indeed, going to the mountains really is going home!
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The Kilimanjaro Experience
Kilimanjaro Climbing Preparation 
