10 Features you will see on a Mt. Kilimanjaro Scenic Flight...

If the thought of climbing Kilimanjaro does not appeal to you, but its still unticked on your bucket list, with our trade partner, let us help take you up-close to one of the seven wonders of the natural world and one of Africa’s most iconic features... seeing Mt. Kilimanjaro from the air is a dream come true for most adventurers when visiting Tanzania.  Join us on a 1-hour awe-inspiring aerial tour where you can experience the “Roof of Africa” from high above the clouds and gorgeous panoramic landscapes rarely seen from the sky.

Features along your Mt Kilimanjaro Scenic Flight include:

1. Mount Meru. 
2. Arusha National Park. 
3. Momella Lakes. 
4. Ngurdoto Crater. 
5. West Kilimanjaro. 
6. Mount Kilimanjaro National Park.
7. Shira Plateau. 
8. Glaciers of Kilimanjaro.
9. Mawenzi Peak. 
10. Kibo Peak.

Discover features on your Kilimanjaro scenic flight...

1. Mount Meru

Mount Meru is an active (but currently dormant) volcano located north of Arusha in Tanzania. Located only 70 km from Mount Kilimanjaro, Mt. Meru also has a second peak, called Little Meru standing at 3801 metres tall. At 4562 metres, Mt. Meru is Tanzania’s second highest mountain, the fourth highest in Africa.

Powerful volcanic eruptions thousands of years ago destroyed much of the eastern side of Mt. Meru resulting in its distinctive horseshoe rim, creating one of the tallest cliffs in Africa, at a towering 1500 meters. The ash cone still shows remains of the last volcanic activity from 1879.

2. Arusha National Park

It is the home to the fourth highest mountain in Africa – Mount Meru (4,566 m). Guests visiting the park will experience exhilarating landscapes ranging from the Meru Crater in the west, the Ngurdoto Crater in the south-east to the grasslands and the alkaline Momella lakes in the north-east, and the green highland forests that blanket its lower slopes.

Arusha National Park is home to a wide variety of animals including the acrobatic black and white colobus monkey, herds of buffalo and warthog, flamingos, resident and migrant waterfowl, shaggy waterbucks, giraffes, zebra herds and dik-dik.

At sunrise and sunset, the stunning snow-covered peaks of Mt. Kilimanjaro, only 50 km away, might shine through the clouds, treating us to the majestic snow-capped peaks of Kilimanjaro, only 50km (30 miles) away.

3. Momella Lakes

The largest of several alkaline lakes that are located inside Arusha national park of northern Tanzania. It serves as a tourist hotspot, with several animals to see including both greater and lesser flamingos, hippos and several other bird species.

They have a maximum and minimum depth of 31 m and 10 m respectively.

4. Ngurdoto Crater

Located in Arusha National Park, Ngurdoto crater is a volcanic crater shaped like a basin with steep walls covered with a dense rainforest and swampy crater floors. It is 3km wide and 400m deep, and is a smaller version of the famous Ngorongoro crater.

5. West Kilimanjaro

Located south of Kenya’s famous Amboseli National Park, West Kilimanjaro in northern Tanzania i is surrounded by East Africa’s natural beauty with Mt. Kilimanjaro’s majestic peaks to the east and Arusha National Park and Mt. Meru to the southwest

Home to the semi-nomadic Maasai people, a traditional tribe known to co-exist with a variety of wildlife, including lions, zebra, cheetah, impala, and eland. The West Kilimanjaro area is made up of wide open savannahs, mineral-rich flat plains, acacia woodlands and flat grasslands, including small mountains that range in height from 1000m to 2000m.

6. Mt Kilimanjaro National Park

Kilimanjaro National Park is home to the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world. Mount Kilimanjaro is made up of three volcanoes, Shira in the west (4,269 m) Mawenzi in the east (5,280 m) and the youngest volcano Kibo (5,895m).

The vegetation on the mountain is also very varied and some 2,500 species of plants are found here. The lower regions of the park are dominated by lush green montane forests with almost 140 species of trees. A bit higher up, distinctive giant lobelias grace the moorland zone. Above 4,000 m one finds the moonlike desert, where not much grows and the land is full of rocks and dust. Closer to the summit you will see beautiful sights of glaciers and a deep crater.

Out of the approximately 140 mammal species that live in the park, 87 of them are forest species. Animals that roam here include elephants, leopards, buffaloes, varies antelopes including the rare and endangered abbot duiker as well as primates such as the colobus and the mitis monkey.

7. Shira Plateau

Shira plateau is one among the three giant, dormant stratovolcanoes of Mount Kilimanjaro. The other two are named Kibo and Mawenzi.

Shira plateau stretches out for around 13km to the west of Kibo, at an elevation of 3962 meters. Placed on the slopes of Kilimanjaro.

The Shira Plateau shows the remains of an ancient caldera, a volcanic crater that expired around half a million (500,000) years ago. Today, it stands as a World Heritage Site. It was then filled by the lava and debris from the later Kibo eruption.

8. Glaciers of Kilimanjaro

Glaciers on Mt Kilimanjaro are a key geographic feature. When approaching to Uhuru peak the incredible glaciers surrounded it, this particular glacier sits just south of Uhuru Peak and is enormous in size.

It is very likely that at one stage the whole mountain summit was covered by an ice cap. According to scientists, this ice cap was probably more than 100 meters deep. Since 1912 Mt Kilimanjaro has lost 82% of its ice cap and since 1962 it has lost 55% of its remaining glaciers.

Mt Kilimanjaro glaciers have however been receding due to climate change. Evidence of glacier retreat can be seen as one ascends to Barafu Camp.

9. Mawenzi Peak

Mawenzi is the second-highest peak on Kilimanjaro (5149m) and Kilimanjaro’s Kibo summit the first (5895m).

Mawenzi peak is actually a horseshoe shape, with only the northern side of the crater having been eroded away. Its sides too steep to hold glaciers, there is no permanent snow on Mawenzi, and the gradients are enough to dissuade all but the bravest and most technically accomplished climbers.

Mawenzi’s highest point is Hans Meyer Peak at 5149m but so shattered is this summit, and so riven with gullies and fractures, that there are a number of other distinctive peaks including Purtscheller Peak (5120m) and South Peak (4958m). There are also two deep gorges, the Great Barranco and Lesser Barranco, scarring its north-eastern face.

10. Kibo Peak

The Kibo summit is the best-preserved crater on the mountain; its southern lip is slightly higher than the rest of the rim, and the highest point on this southern tip is known as Uhuru Peak. At 5895m, this is the highest point in Africa and the goal of just about every Kilimanjaro trekker. Kibo is also the only one of the three summits which are permanently covered in snow.

Kibo is also the one peak that really does look like a volcanic crater; indeed, there are not one but three concentric craters on Kibo.

Within the inner Reusch Crater (1.3km in diameter) one can still see signs of volcanic activity, including fumaroles, the smell of sulphur and a third crater, the Ash Pit, 130m deep by 140m wide.

The outer, Kibo Crater (1.9 by 2.7km), is not a perfect, unbroken ring. There are gaps in the summit where the walls have been breached by lava flows.

Perhaps the most important feature of Kibo, however, is that its slopes are gentle. This feature means, of course, that trekkers, as well as mountaineers, are able to reach the summit. Check out Kibo scattered in early morning clouds from Duncan Madden’s  Forbes article. 

By the end of the scenic flight, you would have soared above northern Tanzanian’s spectacular features... 

Let your dream take flight... Speak to us to book your seat with our trade partner to experience Tanzania in a unique and awesome way... contact us on info@newworldsafaris.com

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