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The African continent is wild animals, ancient tribes, incredible nature and very high mountains. The latter are good because on their slopes you can meet rare animals, and natives, and much more that will amaze any European.
If you choose where exactly to go, then you should pay attention to the highest mountains in Africa, because some of them are located very close to each other.
10 Ras Dezhen, 4533 m
True Dejen – the highest mountain in Ethiopia, as well as the highest mountain in the Horn of Africa and the tenth highest mountain on the continent (it is also known as True Dashan).
Every visitor has the chance to see also endangered animals: rare species of goats and the Ethiopian wolf, the latter being one of the rarest “wild tusks” in the world.
Despite all the good things that can be said about this area (some of the scenery is at an incredible level of beauty), it is worth noting that the policy of the Simien Mountains National Park is focused on generating as much income as possible from foreign visitors, without concern for customer service and the preservation of the environment. environment. This is sad, because in a couple of decades, with this approach, the fauna will not be so diverse.
9. Meru, 4546 m
Measure (not to be confused with the mountain in India of the same name) is a stratovolcano in Tanzania, which has a rather “explosive” history. It has had four eruptions, the last of which occurred in 1910. Lava eruptions from Meru range from thin streams to thick visceral domes. The main cone of the volcano has a caldera 3,5 km in diameter.
8. Luigi di Savoia, 4627 m
Luigi di Savoia is part of the Rwenzori mountain range in Uganda. Its highest peak, Sella Peak, is the fourth highest peak in Uganda at 4627 m above sea level.
The mountain is part of the Rwenzori National Park. The first ascent was made in 1906 by the Italian naval officer, the Duke of Abruzzi, Luigi Amedeo di Savoia, after whom the summit was named. He himself named the mountain after the African explorer Joseph Thomson, but at the request of the Royal Geographical Society, the mountain had to be associated with the name of the duke.
The Rwenzori Mountains are a small but impressive mountain range in central Africa, located on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a height of up to 5 m. The highest peaks are constantly covered with snow, and they, along with Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, are the only similar in Africa.
7. Jessie, 4715 m
Mountain Jesse – one of the six mountains of the Rwenzori range. Like Mount Emin, it is located north of the triangle formed by Mount Stanley, Speke, and Baker. Emin and Hessi lie on both sides of a long narrow valley running from north to south. Its double peaks are Yolanda and Bottego.
For tourists there are huts and good trails from Zaire and Uganda. From Mutsori in Zaire, locals can be hired as guides or porters: for many, this is the only source of income.
6. Emin, 4798 m
Twin tops Emin – Umberto and Kraepelin. The mountain rises to a rocky ridge from north to south with a higher peak in the southern part. All the ridges on this mountain are very narrow and rocky. You can also find guides and porters in Mutsori.
The mountains are located very close, so if you didn’t come for one day, then there is an opportunity to at least walk along the slopes of several, or even climb to the peaks.
5. Baker, 4844 m
Like all the peaks in Rwenzori, the mountain Baker has many jagged peaks along the ridge. The tallest is Edward. Mount Baker’s ridge line was first reached in January 1906 by the Austrian climber Ruber Grauer, accompanied by two British missionaries.
In February of that year, and again in April, the same rocky point was reached by an English expedition that included Alexander Wollaston, Alfred Wosnam, and Michael Carruthers. The highest point of Mount Baker was finally conquered in June by an expedition led by the Duke of Abruzzi.
During his expedition in June 1891, Franz Stülmann saw the peak and named it “Semper” or “Ngemvimbi”. The Abruzzi renamed the mountain after Samuel Baker, a 19th-century British explorer who, in 1864, became the first European to reach Lake Albert, northeast of Rwenzori, and who was reported to have seen “large mountain ranges” in the distance.
4. Speke, 4890 m
Climbing the mountain Speke up to Vittorio Emanuele Peak (4,890 meters) without good alpine preparation is not an easy walk, even if you climb in good weather conditions. In particular, there are a couple of places where maximum attention is required: for example, not far from the Bujuku hut (the starting point in the route) there is a rocky slope 20 meters long, slightly stepped, which is blocked from above by tree roots. You have to climb the roots of the tree and try not to fall, as this can be fraught with serious injuries.
3. Stanley, 5109 m
With a height of 5109 m, it is the highest mountain in the Congo and Uganda and the third highest mountain on the continent after Kenya and Kilimanjaro. The peaks are high enough to support the glacier, which was named after explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley.
It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is part of the Rwenzori Mountains National Park. The peak was first climbed in 1906 by the Duke of Abruzzi and his fellow climbers and was named Margherita after the Queen of Italy.
Stanley – a mountain that should be conquered carefully, since it is not easy to descend from it with altitude sickness or any kind of injury. Help may be in a few days, and medical care is not there.
2. Kenya, 5199 m
Kenya is the highest mountain in the country of the same name, and in all of Africa it is second only to Kilimanjaro. Batian (5199 meters) and Nelion (5188 meters) are its highest peaks. Kenya is a stratovolcano created approximately 3 million years after the opening of the East African Rift.
Before the glaciation, the mountain had a height of 7000 m. The summit was covered with an ice cap for thousands of years, which resulted in very eroded slopes and numerous valleys emanating from the center. There are currently 11 small glaciers that are rapidly shrinking and are likely to disappear forever by 2050 due to global warming.
1. Kilimanjaro, 5895 m
У Kilimanjaro three cones – Kibo, Shira and Mawenzi. The highest is Kibo (5895), and Shira, having collapsed, created a plateau on the western side of the mountain. Mawenzi is a rocky peak with a height of 5149 meters.
Shira and Mawenzi are extinct volcanoes, while Kibo is a dormant volcano that can erupt again. The last major eruption was 360 years ago, and the last activity was 000 years ago. Those who visit this “ashtray” will find the smell of sulfur from the lava of the volcano.
The origin of the name Kilimanjaro has not been established. The most popular answer is that the name comes from the Swahili word “the carpet” (forest) and the Chaggian word “nyaro” (white). Another possibility is that Kilimanjaro is the European pronunciation of Ki Chagga, meaning “we couldn’t climb it.”