Girl from Kerala’s Cherthala takes taekwondo to Kilimanjaro, eyes a record
13-year-old Anna Mary, along with her father, treks 46.5 km in six days to reach one of the summits of the tallest peak in Africa. She performs taekwondo kicks there, potentially setting a record. The Class VIII student has set the goal of climbing the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on all seven continents
What excites her most these days is reaching new heights. In a show of sheer determination, Anna Mary, a 13-year-old girl from Cherthala in Alappuzha, has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, reaching Stella Point (5,756 m/18,885 ft), one of the summits of the highest free-standing mountain in the world and the tallest peak in Africa.

Anna, accompanied by her father Shine Varghese, completed the six-day trek via the Lemosho route, covering 46.5 km. According to the Mountain Climbing Certificate issued by the Tanzania National Parks Conservation Commissioner, she reached Stella Point on November 6, 2024, at 6.10 a.m. There she performed taekwondo poomsae and kicks, potentially setting a record. Anna has been learning the martial arts since the age of three.