The smitten team members making up the maiden "Wings of Kilimanjaro" paragliding adventure from Africa's highest peak have given up and started their descend on foot in the night of Wednesday.

The 100 international pilots, after trying to perform the feat for the last 12 days, were still nursing their "wounds of defeat" and recovering from the mountain hardships.

The team of pilots include some of the world renowned paragliding champions like Robert (Bob) Gardner, Colin Downer, Angel Rivera, Colin Davies, Daniel Retz and Fernando Davalos.

The Tanzania National Parks through its Public Relations Manager, Paschal Shelutete, admitted on Thursday that the Africa's highest peak still had many surprises left for international climbers and that it won't be defeated easily.

"Kilimanjaro has been attracting many climbers for years to an extent that people started taking it for granted, but we have just seen that there are many things that cannot be done easily from the world's tallest free-standing mountain," Shelutete said, adding the failure of expert gliders to fly from Uhuru peak should pose a new challenge that the world need to accomplish.

Chief Conservator for Kilimanjaro National Park, Erastus Lufungulo, said the failed pioneer paragliding attempt on the mountain should prompt new studies and researches on how similar adventures can be accomplished successfully in the future.

"The 100 pilots taking part in the 'Wings of Kilimanjaro' are all experts who have managed to conquer many mountains in the past but their failed attempt at Kilimanjaro goes to show that Tanzania has many surprises in store for global adventurers," said Lufungulo.

According to the conservator, it took years before man could eventually reach the peak of Kilimanjaro and it may take more years before paragliding could ever be accomplished on the Mountain which records over 52,000 climbs in a year. The first recorded person to reach its summit was Hans Meyer from Germany who peaked in 1889.

A new history and record was supposed to be drafted on Tuesday when the first batch of paragliders were to fly from Uhuru peak and land in Kibosho but it never happened due to gushing winds and thick cloud cover.

On the second day, the situation got worse with unpredictable weather but also the mountain effects were starting to take toll on the climbers with many falling sick and cutting down the number from 100 to just 69. When 20 more had to be rescued from the mountain, it took the adventurers a few more hours before admitting defeat. Endi

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