Numbers of Climbers on Kilimanjaro Reaching a Record High

3 April 2013
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David Noyes reaches the summit of Kilimanjaro in March 2013 to raise money for his charity, Innocent Eyes

Adventures Within Reach, a top Kilimanjaro guide company, has added more group departures to its 2013 climb schedule due to record numbers of people climbing Kilimanjaro.

Mount Kilimanjaro, located three degrees south of the equator in northeastern Tanzania, is the tallest mountain in Africa, and the highest freestanding mountain in the world.

“Climbs during peak season filled up so quickly, and we didn’t want to turn anyone away,” says Robin Paschall, owner of Adventures Within Reach.

Adventures Within Reach guides hundreds of climbers to summit of Kilimanjaro every year on group treks and private treks.  Trekking groups are limited to 8 people maximum.  Private treks can be arranged on any route starting on any day of the year.

Also new this year, they are offering an Interactive Kilimanjaro Route Map so that friends and family can watch as trek progress in real time.  Updates are posted to social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

” Mount Kilimanjaro is our hottest destination” says Paschall.  ”Of the famous ‘Seven Summits,’ this is the easiest to get to and the easiest to climb.  It requires no technical climbing experience, and any moderately fit person can summit the mountain.”

This evident as Adventures Within Reach has had on the mountain an 84-year-old man (Guinness World Record Holder), a group of paraplegics, a woman who summitted barefoot, and a blind man.

Climbing Kilimanjaro is now more popular than ever.  Tanzania National Park statistics show that the number of people climbing the mountain has nearly doubled over the past 10 years.

“We have doubled our group climbs for 2013 to keep up with the increased demand.  People are also booking early for 2014 treks,” says Paschall.

The increase in popularity of climbing Kilimanjaro can be attributed to

  1. Increase in adventure travel around the world
  2. Special events like the Kilimanjaro Marathon in February and the solar eclipse in November
  3. Group Kilimanjaro charity climbs raising money for worthy causes
  4. Publicity for celebrities climbing the mountain
  5. Wanting to see the glaciers on Kilimanjaro before they shrink
Kilimanjaro is typically climbed in 5-8 days, and trek prices with Adventures Within Reach start at $1395/person for a group of 4 people.  Most people combine the trek with a Tanzania safari to famous Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater.  Some people will also include trekking to see the mountain gorillas in Rwanda or relaxing on the beach of Zanzibar Island.

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