Difficulty: Hard Time Required: 7 -10 Days Here’s How:

1. Find a good tour operator. You can only climb Kilimanjaro with an organized trek and along established routes, so you have to go with an operator. The operators vary from excellent to downright negligent so be selective and try not to be too cheap (see tip below for costs).
2. Book in advance. This will enable you to go in high season, which is January-March and September-October. High Season is a good time to go simply because the weather conditions are safest for climbing.
3. Get fit. Break in your hiking boots and walk the dog; climb stairs; hike some hills with a pack on — walking is the best way to prepare yourself for the long hike up Kilimanjaro. You need to build up stamina. It’s a good idea to get a basic medical check-up before you go. You don’t want to be dealing with an ingrown toenail or worse at 18,000 feet. Travel insurance that includes medical is also a must.
4. Pack well. Pack light but make sure you have everything you need to deal with altitude and variation in temperatures. Don’t worry about carrying it yourself since a porter will take up to 30lbs (15kg) of your personal gear in a duffel bag. You can rent some equipment and clothing locally but you may end up with teeny sleeping bags and a fraying pink jacket.
5. Choose your route. Make sure your hike is at least 6-7 days for maximum success. Any shorter and you will not be properly acclimatized. Routes vary in degree of difficulty, traffic and scenic beauty. The least difficult routes are Marangu and Rongai; the more difficult routes are Machame, Shira and Limosho. The longer routes may have more difficult hiking but you’ll be more acclimatized and your chances of reaching the summit are therefore higher. The longer western routes also allow you to start your summit day at a more reasonable hour.For details see Machame Route Descriptions.
6. Dealing with altitude. Pace yourself; you will hear the Swahili phrase “pole pole” – slowly slowly, heed it well. Drink lots of water about 4-5 liters a day is recommended. Luckily the mountain streams after the first day are good to drink and naturally cooled. Walk high and sleep low. Take a walk to a higher elevation during the day and come back down to sleep. Consult a doctor before you go and get some medication to prevent altitude sickness. Also make sure your guides are carrying the proper medical equipment such as oxygen, radios and a recompression bag to deal with altitude sickness if it arises.
7. Reaching the summit. The hardest part of the trek. Pace yourself, be determined, and you will reach the Uhuru peak. The final ascent is usually timed so you can watch the sunrise over the crater and distant plains. Enjoy the view take a few photos and get back down before you get too affected by the high altitude. Take a well earned nap.
8. Book yourself in to the Arusha Coffee Lodge and have a celebratory drink.

Tips:

1. Leave your passport, credit cards and traveller checks at a hotel, you won’t need them on the mountain. Do take copies of your important papers with you in case of an emergency. Also take enough money with you to tip your porters, guides and cooks. Ask your tour operator what the typical tip amounts should be beforehand.
2. Digital camera equipment doesn’t always perform well under very low temperatures. The batteries can’t deal with the cold weather so make sure you wrap them in your sleeping bag or put them in your jacket pocket. Also, check the specs before you go and take extra batteries with you. You probably won’t want to climb up to the summit again to get that snapshot.
3. Familiarize yourself with the symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), usually headaches, nausea and disorientation. If you feel any of these symptoms descend!

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Machame Route is the “Whiskey” route. It is the second most popular and one of the most scenic routes on the mountain. All climbers sleep in tents (tents are included) and meals are served in a dinner tent or on a blanket outside.

It is done over 6 days, so acclimatization is easier, and the success rate is fairly high. It is for physically fit people with some hiking experience. Descent is down the Mweka trail staying at the Mweka or Millenium camp the final night on the mountain.

See full itinerary and order FREE brochure.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/destinations-articles/how-to-climb-kilimanjaro-1830234.html

About the Author

Albina is the Founder of Abruzzo Passion Walking Holidays

Africa is the perfect setting for a romantic honeymoon with its atmospheric and remote locations you can combine a luxury safari in the pristine African wilderness with a relaxing beach holiday on the beautiful golden beaches and crystal clear waters of the tropical islands of the Indian Ocean, where you can bask in the glorious sun.

Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia are perfect destinations from which to explore Africa’s magnificent scenery and wildlife.

Botswana

Be poled along the sparkling waterways in the Okavango Delta, Botswana in a mekoro or enjoy an open topped game drive in a Landrover with a private guide. Botswana also has interesting deserts where you can walk with the San Bushmen or explore the region on a desert adapted quad bike.

High season is from July to October and accommodation is scarce so it is advisable to book well in advance to avoid disappointment. The shoulder season is from May to June and is also considered to be a very busy season.

November to April is the least popular time to visit Botswana as the rains force the animals to disperse over wider areas rather than congregating at the waterholes and many of the camps are inaccessible due to the rains that make the roads difficult to drive on.

Kenya

Visit Kenya with its Rift Valley Lakes that stretch from the Middle East down through Africa as far as Mozambique. Kenya is a year round destination for both exceptional game viewing and spectacular scenery. Without a doubt the greatest annual attraction is the annual wildebeest migration between the Serengeti in Tanzania and the Masai Mara in Kenya. This spectacular wildlife event takes place between June and September. It is a sight to behold and a balloon safari is the perfect way to experience this magnificent annual wildlife event.

High season is from January to March when it is most comfortable for travelling during these warm and dry months. The wildlife is generally found around the seasonal water holes during these months, so game viewing is perfect. The Rift Valley Lakes also offer great bird viewing during this time.

The rainy seasons are from April to June and October to December. A positive point during these times is that the lower numbers of tourists, so the travelling experience is more exclusive and the rains do not hinder game viewing.

Kenya combines well with a beach holiday in Zanzibar; with its crystal clear, aquamarine waters it is a diver’s paradise.

Namibia

Namibia offers exceptional wildlife and scenery all year round from the apricot coloured sand dunes of the interior to the haunting beauty of the Skeleton Coast with its skeletal ship wrecks. Namibia is best done as a mobile safari with an expert guide or as a fly-in safari. Must do activities include romantic balloon safaris followed by a champagne breakfast or quad biking in the dunes.

Namibia’s high season is from July to October and it is essential to book your safari well in advance to ensure you have the best choice of accommodation. The shoulder season is from May to June and is also a busy time at the national parks and reserves. Christmas and New Year as well as April are high season for local safari enthusiasts.

Namibia combines perfectly with a beach break in the vibrant and eclectic city Cape Town.

South Africa

South Africa is also a great year round honeymoon destination with a diversity of wildlife, culture and beach activities. An elephant back safari in the Kruger National Park, wine tasting and world class cuisine in the Winelands, relaxing on the white sandy beaches of cosmopolitan Cape Town or a sunset for two on top of Table Mountain with far reaching views of the beautiful Cape peninsula. South Africa offers excellent value for money and a luxury honeymoon is very attainable.

South Africa is a large country with varying regional climates, therefore each region is best suited for travel at specific times of the year.

The northern parts of South Africa (Kruger, Gauteng, Limpopo) are best during the winter months from May to September with wildlife and game viewing at its best. There is little rainfall in winter and the temperatures are very mild (maximum 20-23ºC).

The southern parts (Cape Town, Garden Route, Eastern Cape) are best during the summer months from October to March when the temperature can reach 28-30ºC or higher offering beautiful sunny days. The Atlantic Ocean brings relief in the form of a cool breeze along the coast and the rainfall is low.

A ‘must-see’ for those who enjoy spectacular scenery, the floral extravaganza in Namaqualand in the Western and Northern Cape Provinces from mid August to mid September when the desert-like terrain is transformed into a carpet of flowers or ‘fynbos’ as it is known locally.

Zambia

Zambia is perfect for honeymooners looking for remote camps offering traditional or walking safaris. The camps are intimate and secluded offering guests the right amount of privacy for a romantic honeymoon.

Zambia combines well with a beach break in Mozambique with its sparsely populated, pristine white sandy beaches and aquamarine waters hosting a kaleidoscope of marine life. Mauritius would be another romantic choice to compliment a perfect Zambian safari.

The best time to travel to Zambia for game viewing is September to October when the game gathers around the perennial water holes or rivers. If you travel between June and August, you are also bound to have some good game sightings.

Due to the abundance of water after the rainy season, wildlife is scaterred. This time is known as teh Emerald Season because vegetation is lush and green but obscures game viewing. However, birdwatching is fantastic at this time of year – much better than during the dry season.

The best time to visit Victoria Falls is in April and May after the rainy season – the Falls are truly spectacular at this time, although the spray may obscure your view. At the end of the dry season, October to December, the water levels are low and you can see the magnificent rock formations, or sit in a rock pool and peer over the edge.

Tanzania

Tanzania’s highlights are undoubtedly

the famous Serengeti and the snow-capped Mt. Kilimanjaro and a honeymoon can be perfectly rounded off with a relaxing beach break on the idyllic islands of Zanzibar. This country has a diverse range of national parks and reserves offering habitats ranging from forests to deserts, all connected with regular air and road transfer services.

Tanzania offers excellent game viewing all year round. The migration between the Serengeti and the Masai Mara is a spectacular sight and a highlight when visiting Tanzania, but it is important to note that not all animals migrate and are year-round residents. The Great Migration takes place from April to June and October to December.

There are two rainy seasons in East Africa, the first known as the long rainy season is from April through to June and the shorter season from late November through to December. A positive point during these times is the lower numbers of tourists, so the travelling experience is more exclusive and the rains do not hinder game viewing. The dry seasons are generally better for game viewing when the game concentrates around the water sources.

Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands promise the perfect romantic honeymoon getaway where you will experience some intimate moments in some very special and unforgettable places.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/african-honeymoon-591027.html

Jane Harmsen is a luxury safari specialist for south africa.

In terms of African wildlife Safari, Tanzania is without doubt east Africa’s leading attraction.

Together with Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia Islands, it offers a combination hard to come by.

Tanzania is one of the few countries with a very large portion of the land dedicated to wildlife. Over a quarter of Tanzania is made up of National Parks, game reserves, and controlled areas. In the North, the remarkable Serengeti plains support over three million animals; further east is Ngorongoro Crater, a magnificent caldera which reveals on its floor an amphitheatre of natural wonders, teeming with animals of different types; nearby, Lake Manyara at the foot of the Rift Valley is a bird watchers paradise. Tanzania has 53,000 sq. km. of inland water. Lake Tanganyika is Africa’s deepest and longest fresh water lake. In the north-west, Lake Victoria, the second largest on earth, lies in a huge shallow depression.

Whether you as a potential African Safari seeker appreciates these facts, is another matter all together. It certainly depends on how much information you have come across about Tanzania as a holiday destination.

It is hard to introduce Tanzania without getting distracted by the might Kilimanjaro. At 5,895 m, there is mighty Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, which rises majestically out of the dusty bush of the northern Maasai Steppe. Its densely forested sides give way to the blue glaciers and unbelievably white snow of its rounded peak.

A visit to Tanzania will almost certainly lead to interaction with some of the more prominent places in Tanzania. Just a short introduction to some of the places your safari is likely to take you to.

Arusha town

Set almost on the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, Arusha was once a small trading post. If you are looking at doing a safari into the northern part of Tanzania, Arusha town is likely to be your starting point after you land at Kilimanjaro International Airport. Arusha town’s other significance, is due to its geographical position in the centre of Africa, it is said to be mid way between the Cape and Cairo. The Arusha National Park, just outside the city is a string of lovely lakes with a miniature volcanic crater hidden in a forest of mahogany and olive on the slopes of Mount Meru.

Mount Kilimanjaro

This is the highest free-standing mountain in Africa. It is also a national park which extends from mountain rain forest to scrub and alpine moorland and finally snow and ice fields at the summit. For the adventures, reliable tour operators will be organize scenic climbs to the roof of Africa.

The Ngorongoro Crater

Certainly one of Africa’s true wonders of the natural world and an extraordinary place of haunting beauty, with its grand majestic mountain ring and lake, Ngorongoro, an active volcano some 8 million years ago, covers an area of 264 sq. km and is the largest intact caldera in the world.

Approaching Ngorongoro Crater is a unique experience. The road winds upwards through a beautiful area of tropical rainforest and meadows carpeted with wild flowers. Its enduring charm stems from its overwhelming physical beauty and the abundance of wildlife permanently resident on the crater floor.

Lake Manyara

Set around a shallow alkaline lake, surrounded by ancient baobabs, ground water forest of fig and mahogany and open grasslands, this park lies at the foot of a dramatic escarpment, offering a rich diversity of scenery and wildlife.

Considered as one of Tanzania’s most attractive game sanctuaries, it is home to the famous tree- climbing lions. Birdlife is prolific, and a very high density of elephant population coexists with buffalo, zebra, wildebeest and other big game.

Olduvai Gorge

Between the Ngorongoro Conservation area and the Serengeti National Park lies Olduvai Gorge. This remote spot has become famous as the archaeological site where, in 1959, Dr Mary Leakey discovered Australopithecus Boisei, a hominid said to have lived almost 1.5 million years ago.

A museum overlooking the gorge displays many of their finds, such as prehistoric elephant, enormous ostrich and giant horned sheep, explaining the significance of the geology, fossils and artifacts.

The Serengeti National Park

With 14,500 sq kms. the Serengeti plain is undoubtedly the most famous wildlife sanctuary in the world, unequalled for its natural beauty and the greatest concentration of plains game anywhere. It lies between the shores of Lake Victoria in the east and the Maasai Mara to the North West.

Serengeti is renowned for its black-maned lion and other predators including wild dog, spotted hyena, jackal, cheetah and leopard. The wealth of birdlife is of a special interest including colorful rollers, bee-eaters, kingfishers and sunbirds and a large number of birds of prey.

During the months of May and June, Lake Ndutu at the foot of the Ngorongoro highlands, is the starting point for one of the great natural wonders of nature – the famous annual migration. Nearly 2 million wildebeests and a quarter of a million zebra move in winding columns several miles in length towards the Maasai Mara. An African Safari scheduled to coincide with this event is one that you are not likely to forget.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/northern-tanzania-safari-your-best-bet-yet-on-an-african-wildlife-safari-vacation-541658.html

About the Author:

Solomon Okila Editor African Voyages Tours and Safaris. Reliable consultants on Africa Travel including Tanzania”>http://www.africanvoyages.com/tours/Tanzania-Overland-Safari.html’>Tanzania Travel and other African destinations

Lodge Safaris in Tanzania – I will try to avoid the travel clichés of ‘unique’, ‘off the beaten track’ and ‘renowned for…’ These tired expressions are used over and over again for almost every destination in Africa! The lodge safari in Tanzania is by far the best way to see this lovely country. Tanzania has so much to offer, including many parks that have few visitors and high concentrations of game animals. Some National Parks boast just one lodge in a million hectares. Your Lodge safari in Tanzania can truly offer a taste of what the early explorers experienced.

When choosing your lodge safari, do so with care. Many visitors want to see the great migration and the Serengeti. Some lodges are in fact hotels and although very nice; they do not contribute to that ‘out of Africa’ experience. What is called for is a camp experience and the private camp is ideal for a special experience. When you look to plan your trip try not to go for the ‘lodge safari’ but the private camp safari. Your choice of lodge or camp is a very important part of the whole safari picture.

These camps are usually made up of a small number of tents. Not the two man tent with no standing room and sleeping on the hard and sometimes damp ground, nor is there the cooking over a stove and eating grass and sand with your tinned food. No, these private camps have tents that have large comfortable beds, a bathroom en suite and some even boast a butler service. The cuisine is of the highest quality and you dine from bone china and drink champagne [or beer] from crystal glasses.

If you want to listen at night to the song of the African bush with the occasional distant [or sometimes close] roar of a lion; if you want to open your tent in a morning to be greeted by Impala and Zebra grazing so close to your tent that you could almost touch them, then choose one of the tented camps. If you want to be in a remote part of the park but close to the animals; if you want to stand in the open plains of the Serengeti and not be joined by a caravan of twenty other safari vehicles, then the private camp is your option above the mere mass-market tourist lodge.

There are several such camps scattered throughout the Serengeti. Your choice of camp will depend on what time of year you visit Tanzania. A good camp is Kusini Camp in the Southern Serengeti. It is small, luxurious, and in the ideal spot from the end of December until March, as the great migration is in this area at this time. However, the rest of the year this camp is a little isolated and animals may be harder to see.

A problem with planning a safari round the migration is that the migration follows the rains and the rains are notoriously unpredictable. Your camp may end up being in the wrong area of the Serengeti. At times of little rain the migration can remain in the Northern Serengeti at a time of year when normally the animals have crossed into Kenya. Many safari expeditions in a season of little rain may find themselves in the wrong country!

This is a headache for safari operators, as a disappointed client is not good for business. However, this can be solved with a ‘mobile camp’ and this is not only the best option but also by far, the most expensive option.

To get around the high costs of the mobile camp there is a new breed of camp emerging, a semi-permanent camp. This is a tented camp that moves perhaps three or four times per year. It will follow the migration, ensuring that whilst the migration is in the Serengeti, the camp will also be in the mist of the animals. One such camp I have heard good reports about is EMC [Exclusive Mobile Camp - Serengeti]. It is friendly, knowledgeable, embraces fair trade tourism and best of all, the camp is very good value for money. They have a web site and an office in Arusha which will give out details of the migration and the position of their camp. This is great, both for tour operators and for people wanting to plan a safari.

This is where the internet can help in a positive way, to help you plan a safari that will truly be a holiday of a life time. There is no need to hope your travel agent will do a good job in planning your vacation. Take some of the responsibility your self and plan your safari; check out your destination and accommodation. If your travel agent or tour operator is not cooperative or flexible, ask around and go to someone who is willing to earn their commission.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/luxury-lodge-safaris-in-tanzania-191141.html

About the Author:
Bethel Adventure cares about responsible tourism; we use tourism to improve lives. http://www.betheladventure.co.uk – We believe responsible tourism should give back to the communities that tourism relies upon. see http://www.thejumapage.co.uk for information on Tanzania