Make no mistake, this mountain is huge. Not only is Kilimanjaro Africa's highest mountain, but as the sign at its summit states, it is also the world's largest free-standing mountain (not part of any range; 25 x 50 miles in area), and one of the planet's largest volcanoes.

Kilimanjaro is composed of three volcanoes. Kibo (5895 meters / 19,340 ft), Mawenzi (5149 meters/ 16,188 ft) and Shira (3962 meters / 12,995 ft). (Mawenzi and Shira are extinct. Kibo remains geologically dormant.) It rises 4800 meters above a rolling plain that averages 1000 meters above sea level. After reaching a height thought to be 5900 meters during its last major eruption 360,000 years ago, Kibo has been eroded by glaciers, rivers and landslides to its present height. It is believed that Kilimanjaro, like its northern neighbor Mt. Kenya, is losing glaciers due to global warming, though increased heat from volcanism is also an additional possible culprit on Kili. Typical photos of Kilimanjaro only depict Kibo, which lies in between Shira and Mawenzi.

Inside Kibo’s inner crater (AKA the Reusch Crater, named after one of the first scientists to investigate Kili) one can find active fumaroles (volcanic steam vents) and sulfur deposits. The Reusch Crater is essentially a large cone inside the main/outer crater. It is rare for any climbers to visit there. Those climbers who camp in the main/outer crater after ascending the Western Breach are the ones usually given the option to check out the Reusch Crater. Most of them often decline due to exhaustion. Photos taken inside the Reusch Crater by trekkers appear to be few and far between. I have seen a few on the web and in books: the landscape is quite alien. The dominant landform inside Reusch Crater is the Ash Pit, a 200-plus foot hole with loose rock slopes. Once it reached deep inside the earth, spewing lava and, yes, ash. The fumaroles themselves are mainly clustered outside the Ash Pit along the inside north wall of the Reusch Crater.

Uhuru Point (erroneously named Uhuru Peak for no particularly good reason--it is not a separate mountain) is the true summit of Kilimanjaro at 19,340ft/5895m. It is located on the highest spot on the remains of Kibo's crater rim, south of the Reusch Crater. Prior to Tanzania’s independence in the mid-1900s, Uhuru ("freedom" in Swahili) was known as Kaiser Wilhelm Spitze (Kaiser Wilhelm’s Peak). That name was applied to it in 1889 by the German geographer Hans Meyer, first man known to reach the summit of Kili (accompanied by a fellow German climber, Ludwig Purtcheller, and 12-15 local Chagga porters and a chieftain or two. Meyer's Chagga guide, Kinyala Lauwo, lived to see the centennial celebration of the climb in 1989, dying at the age 125 in 1996!

Gilman’s Point (18,635ft/5,680m) and Stella Point (19,000ft/5,793m) are "pre-summit" spots. They lie lower down the crater rim from Uhuru to the east/northeast in a counter-clockwise direction. Gillman’s is part of the Marangu (AKA "Coca-Cola") Route. Stella is part of the Machame (AKA "Whiskey") Route though Marangu climbers pass it en route to Uhuru from Gilman’s. It is usually from these "pre-summits" that climbers watch the spectacular sunrise over East Africa. Many climbers make the admittedly difficult trip to these two points, primarily Gillman’s, only to descend immediately due to exhaustion, altitude sickness, and/or the cold, without continuing on to Uhuru. They later claim, erroneously, that they summitted Kili. This is largely a fabrication likely spawned by guide companies in order to generate larger tips and make the trip seem easier than it is. Kilimanjaro National Park provides 2 certificates for climbers—a gold certificate for those who reach Uhuru and a green certificate for those who only achieve Gillman’s or Stella Points. While reaching either of the pre-summit points is a noteworthy achievement, there is only one true summit:Uhuru Point.

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