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 In 1848 when British explorer John Rebman
announced that he had sighted a vast mountain capped with snow lying on the Equator, the Royal Geographical Society in
London greeted the news with ridicule. Nonetheless, majestic and mysterious snow-capped Kilimanjaro does stand a mere
3 degrees south of the Equator. Today it remains a prime attraction for trekkers and climbers from all over
the globe. It's the highest mountain in Africa and one of the largest free standing mountains in the world.
Equatorial to arctic conditions are present on
Kilimanjaro. The range begins with the warm, dry plains with average temperatures of 85°, ascends through a wide
belt of wet, tropical forest, through zones with generally decreasing temperatures and rainfall, to the summit where there
is permanent ice and below freezing temperatures.
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