At 5,895m, Mount Kilimanjaro is the tallest free-standing mountain in the world, so it can truly be regarded as the roof of Africa. “As wide as all the world, great, high and unbelievably white,” was Ernest Hemingway’s description. Now a World Heritage site, its outstanding features are its three major volcanic centres, Shira in the west, Mawenzi in the East and the snowcapped Kibo in the centre. The forests of the surrounding national park are inhabited by elusive elephant, leopard, buffalo, bushbuck, the endangered Abbott’s duiker, and numerous other small antelope, primates and rodents. They are however difficult to see due to the dense vegetation.