Mount Kilimanjaro looms large in my book, Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, a chronicle of my attempt to summit the highest mountain in Africa.

The iconic mountain is a sight to behold. I can think of nothing better to capture the feeling of what it’s like to behold this magnificent peak than to share with you some photos of the mountain and short excerpts from the book. I hope that they will give you a glimpse of the majesty that radiates from Mount Kilimanjaro and put you on the mountain.

“I slithered out of my tent and stumbled into an incredibly majestic view of the Kilimanjaro summit. The clouds parted and the sun appeared, brightening the landscape and warming the air. Kibo Peak rose high in all its glory, as if to say that only those who were worthy could behold her full beauty. Lacey folds of snow lay gently in crevasses made by long-vanished glaciers that raked the mountainside. I was mesmerized by the amazing view and gazed at it for what seemed like an eternity. At that moment, there was nowhere else on Earth I wanted to be.”

“Kibo Peak reached for the sky yet looked close to the touch, and it beckoned me to head for the summit, a temptation that flattered me with a false confidence. I could not have chosen a better relief for my morning stretch. I faced the mountain and stretched in ways that made me look as if I were performing a sacred rite. I bowed and prostrated my body like a supplicant in a traditional ceremony, casting my arms and legs about in an elaborate ritual. The sunlight painted the landscape in surreal colors. The rock was more brilliant and the shadows deeper and more pronounced in the sunlight. I turned around in mid-exercise and beheld the Serengeti unfurling for miles across the plains into Kenya. Some claimed that Mount Kilimanjaro offered the best views in the world. Looking down on the world below, I had to agree.”

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