The iconic snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro, which rises nearly 20,000 feet into the atmosphere, lies at the heart of Tanzania’s most popular national park. Climbing it or staring at it from your deck chair are about the only two activities on offer.
Africa’s highest peak is also the highest walkable summit on earth if you’re hardcore enough to undertake the challenge. Those who do are rewarded with a mind-boggling ecological transition as you pass from hot savannah through alpine tropics, until finally reaching something more like the moon than the Dark Continent. But hurry, Mount Kilimanjaro’s six legendary glaciers are melting fast thanks to all the pollution we spew into the air each day. In a few years, the only ice on this mountain will be cubes hauled along by porters.