The popularity of Mount Kilimanjaro as an international tourist destination generates an estimated of more than US$50 million in revenue annually.
The Tanzania National Park’s Assistant Conservation Commissioner, Angela Nyaki who commands the Kilimanjaro National Park (KINAPA), reveals that there are various ash cones on the mountain, geological features that are yet to be publicized for tourism activities or research.
Mount Kilimanjaro and its environment is also chalking up for more than a century since it was made a conservation entity, starting out as a forest reserve in 1921, during the time when the country was known as Tanganyika under the German colonial Government.
But even before that, Africa’s highest peak and the adjacent forests were already designated to be a game reserve in the early twentieth century by the Germans.
In March 1973, this time in an independent Tanzania, the mountain area above the tree line, some 2,700 metres, was declared a national park. Fourteen years later, in 1987 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared the Kilimanjaro National Park to be a World Heritage Site.
“It has also come to light that there is a very long and deep underground channel cutting through the mountain from the Rongai side,” Conservator Nyaki revealed.
According to Conservator Nyaki, in a few years’ time, Mount Kilimanjaro and its surrounding environs will be enlisted among UNESCO Global Geoparks due to its geologically rich environments, including the recently discovered tunnels and ash cones.
At the moment the popular land feature attracts mostly climbers, but there seem to be more features under the mountain’s belt for people to discover and sample.
Mount Kilimanjaro stands inside the Kilimanjaro National Park, found in the Moshi District of the Kilimanjaro Region.
The Kilimanjaro National Park (KINAPA) which she currently oversees marks 50 years since being gazetted in 1973. The Golden Jubilee Ceremony for Kilimanjaro National Park will be observed on March 16, 2023, in the Moshi District of Kilimanjaro region.
Addressing members of the press recently, the Tanzania National Parks’ Deputy Conservation Commissioner in charge of Conservation and Business Development, Herman Bathiho said the event will be held at the Marangu entry gate to Mount Kilimanjaro, where the KINAPA headquarters are also located.