Take a day hike on the foothills of Kilimanjaro

Leave Arusha at around 5 am and, after a hearty sunrise breakfast, you'll begin the 1,000-metre hike, moving up the western facade of Mount Kilimanjaro. Along the way, you'll spot colobus monkeys, verdant birdlife and even hear elephant tramping through the trees. Your destination is the vast 500,000-year-old Shira Plateau, where you can stop for lunch or forge on to see Lion Gorge and the Shira Pinnacles. From here, the iconic, snow-capped peaks and glaciers are visible. It's best to avoid the rainy season and the optimal conditions occur between January - early March and June - October.