more-in Two mountaineers from Andhra Pradesh -- Raghunath Reddy (Guntur) and Satya Rao (Visakhapatnam) -- were part of the Indian contingent which created a record by scaling Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, on Monday, according to information reaching here. As many as 13 climbers, including an 11-year-old girl from Tamil Nadu covered the distance of 5,895 metres and held aloft a 100-ft Indian tricolour on the summit. They also celebrated the Independence Day at the summit. Tadepalli-born Raghunath led the expedition and he was also part of the recent Government of Andhra Pradesh’s expedition to Mount Everest. Mr. Raghunath, after completing the mountaineering course with Grade A, has climbed several high altitude peaks in India and also organised several treks for the enthusiasts from Andhra Pradesh, especially Vijayawada. Incidentally, he climbed Mt. Elbrus in Russia in May. Mr. Satya Rao was one among the six climbers who scaled Mount Everest from the Department of Youth Services. With this expedition, Mr. Satya Rao completed three summits out of seven highest peaks in the seven continents. “Mt. Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa. It’s slopes are covered by a variety of vegetation as well as a variety of ecological systems. Plantations, mostly of coffee, for which Tanzania is famous, cover the lowest slopes. Tropical rainforests are found on top of the slopes,” said Raghunath in a press release. The contingent left Vijayayawada on August 8 and flew to Mt. Kilimanjaro International airport in Tanzania on August 9.

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