Walking is hard at 5,000 metres above sea level. The wind is up, the oxygen is thin, and temperatures have likely plunged below zero. You\u2019ve been trekking for hours through the night, slowly zigzagging up a scree slope by the light of your head torch. Your breathing is jagged, your legs are sore. It\u2019s all you can do to keep going, to shift one foot in front of the other.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re still hours away from Uhuru Peak, the summit of Tanzania\u2019s<\/a> mighty Mount Kilimanjaro<\/a>, and you\u2019re wondering why on Earth you came. Then, from out of the darkness, you hear a song \u2013 not an epic ballad booming from the heavens, but something closer, more human, sung on repeat in a lulling loop. You fall into rhythm and push on.<\/p>\n Africans have a habit of breaking into song \u2013 even on the slopes of their highest mountain. Guides, porters, cooks and travellers will crack out a tune in celebration or to encourage each other when the going gets tough. Just ask Samuel Kusamba (aka \u2018Mountain God\u2019), an expert Intrepid guide who\u2019s climbed Kili over 500 times. Yep, that\u2019ll earn you godly status in our mind.<\/p>\n When he needs to motivate his climbers, Samuel sings a beautiful, traditional Swahili song. Hit play below to hear it for yourself \u2013 and to learn what it means (hint: it involves snakes). Take it away, Samuel:<\/p>\nSamuel, the Mountain God<\/h3>\n