Altitude effects can start anywhere from 4,900 to 6,500 feet. While specifics are forthcoming, it’s likely the cable car would start near the Machame gate (elevation 5,380 feet) and climb roughly 7,000 feet to the Shira Plateau in 20 minutes, according to Nunes. Could Altitude Sickness Pose Issues for Tourists? With Kibo’s views and a relatively flat, open plateau, this area would be the most practical cable-car landing pad. The plan, he said, is that “six pillars strong enough to carry 15 cable cars will be built along the route. Each cable car will carry six people on a 20-minute ride to the Shira Plateau.” One of three volcanic cones, the Shira is located at about 12,000 feet on a high plateau that stretches for eight miles before meeting Kilimanjaro’s tallest volcanic cone, Kibo, and its summit, Uhuru peak.

He shared his best intel on what a proposed route could look like. Nunes now owns Wildersun Safaris, a company that runs tours from the Serengeti to Kilimanjaro National Park. Merwyn Nunes, a Tanzanian who opposes the cable car, worked for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism before serving as a tourist representative for the Kilimanjaro region. Machame is also easily accessible from A23, the region’s main road, so it’s a natural choice for this kind of tourist attraction. Machame attracts nearly half of all Kilimanjaro climbers, with its high success rate (85 percent for a seven-day climb) and beautiful passage through five ecosystems. Where Would the Kilimanjaro Cable Car Run?Īll reports and inside sources point to Machame, a scenic and popular route on the peak’s southern side. Here’s what I’ve uncovered about its most pressing questions, including insider perspectives on whether it will actually happen. I’ve spent nearly two years tracking this project, from messaging Tanzanian government officials to speaking with at least a dozen local and global experts. But as a Kilimanjaro climber and frequent Tanzania traveler, my curiosity got the best of me after the 2019 announcement. Timing for such a decision, like many details surrounding this project, remains unclear. When Banga responded to me on WhatsApp in January, he told me that if and when officials move forward on the matter, “the government decision will be communicated to the public.” “We are waiting for instructions from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism before we start looking for investors,” Banga said during a TANAPA workshop, according to the Xinhua news agency. Tanzanian officials remained mostly quiet on the topic, promising that they’d study feasibility and environmental and societal impacts before moving forward.īut in December 2020, the government gave its blessing for the cable car. Paul Banga, the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA) spokesperson for the project, has emphasized that approval does not mean confirmation, however.

Porters and guides joined forces in opposition through local lobbying groups, while climbers launched online petitions.

That same year, Constantine Kanyasu, then deputy minister of tourism for Tanzania, told me the cable car would help students and travelers under 15 years old and older than 50 experience the mountain’s beauty.īut climbing groups urged the government to reconsider, and social media erupted with opinions. Others admired the landmark from its surrounding national park. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Kilimanjaro attracted some 50,000 tourists a year, roughly 35,000 of whom attempted the summit. Its goal: to increase the area’s tourism by 50 percent. The nation’s government first announced the cable-car idea in May 2019.

Still, while it may technically be approved, the project is far from a sure bet. The Tanzanian government recently approved construction of a cable car on the 19,341-foot peak, the highest summit in Africa and the tallest freestanding mountain in the world. Kilimanjaro could soon look quite different, and not just because of its shrinking glaciers.

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