Kilimanjaro's trademark snowy cap, at 5,895 metres (1,934ft), is now all but gone - 15 years before scientists predicted it would melt through global warming...
resented by tourists, who have complained
Western tour companies have expressed alarm at overcrowding on Mount Kilimanjaro caused by corrupt local officials allowing too many people to climb at any one time.
More than 25,000 tourists climb Kilimanjaro each year, often paying thousands of dollars for the privilege, and each of the three routes up the mountain is supposed to have a set limit of climbers each day.
But the Marangu trail in particular, which has a daily limit of 67 people, often had double that number in this February.
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Western tour operators further allege that the porters' union in Kilimanjaro blames greed by guides, which has seen them pocket up to $50 (Tsh50,000) per person for extra climbers.
They also say that the guides and chief porters are refusing to properly share tips given by tourists and are making them carry excessive heavy loads up the mountain.
Each porter is only meant to carry a 50 kg maximum load up the mountain. But often they are being forced to carry much heavier loads so that guides can hire fewer porters and make more money.
The porters say they are being made to pay up to $5 even to get a job as a porter and are being forced to pay for their own food - which is often only leftover scraps - while working.
They are so angry over the situation that a protest march is being planned on February 28 to highlight their conditions.
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authorities said most graffiti and name inscriptions on Mount Kilimanjaro had been scribbled by climbers who painted unique tags at as many places as possible around the landmark points on the mountain.
