In January 2006, Kara and I decided to head to East Africa to see the snows of Kilimanjaro before they vanish due to global warming. Prior to climbing the big mountain, we spent several days hiking in the Ngorongoro highlands in northwestern Tanzania.

Some day, if I spend a lot more time there, I may feel qualified to express some thoughts about the place, its friendly but sometimes maddening people, its desperate poverty and rampant corruption, its wonderful wilderness and derelict cities. For now, though, the only thing I can say with certainty is that it is one of the most visually stunning places I have ever been.

Here are some photos from our walk.

And here are some of my favorite shots from the climb up Kilimanjaro.

If you like the photos on this page, you can take a look at the entire album (292 photos, displayed 16 per page by default).