Which mountain is the highest point in Africa, rising in Tanzania?

Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest mountain, rising in Tanzania. Its highest summit, Uhuru Peak on the Kibo cone, reaches 5,895 metres above sea level, making Kilimanjaro the world’s highest free-standing mountain.

Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcanic massif with three main cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. Kibo is the central and highest cone, while Mawenzi and Shira are older volcanic formations. The mountain stands near the border with Kenya, but the entire summit lies in Tanzania.

German geographer Hans Meyer and Austrian mountaineer Ludwig Purtscheller made the first recorded ascent of Kibo in 1889, accompanied by the Tanzanian guide Yohanas Kinyala Lauwo. Kilimanjaro’s glaciers have retreated substantially since the nineteenth century, and the mountain’s ecosystems range from cultivated foothills through rainforest and alpine zones to high volcanic terrain.