You climb to this location for acclimatization, then back down to camp to rest before leaving for the summit—which we all made, by the way. I’m not a climber—I just like adventure. People take for granted what we have in America, and this trip was really so amazing because I always try to be grateful for what I have. It’s so relaxing.

 Advertisement 13 of 15 Courtesy of Laura Prepon My first Zebra sighting in the Ngorongoro crater. “It’s weird—now I’m all about climbing. Behind us is a hippopotamus watering hole. But after seven days of roughing it, the star was in need of some pampering (we can’t blame her). Our porters and guides wholesale electric instant heating water faucet would always sing to us. It’s almost like a mantra. We start our Kilimanjaro climb hiking through the rain forest.Advertisement 14 of 15 Courtesy of Laura Prepon Outside of Arusha, I had the honor of visiting a local village that is part of the Olevolos project, a not-for-profit organization benefiting orphans and disadvantaged children from the Olevolos Village of Tanzania, Africa.Advertisement 10 of 15 Courtesy of Laura Prepon The dining room of andBeyond Crater lodge at the Ngorongoro Crater. 

I can’t thank these awesome men enough for getting us up the mountain. Whenever people are like, ‘Where have you been?’ It’s like, ‘Dude, I was on a mountain. It was an unforgettable day. I was recovering from pretty bad altitude sickness here, but my friend made me pose in this surreal environment.Advertisement 7 of 15 Courtesy of Laura Prepon When we were on safari in Central Serengeti with the Four Seasons, this herd of elephants passed right in front of our truck.

Advertisement 11 of 15 Courtesy of Laura Prepon The first image was a “welcome to my home” moment in the living room/reception area of andBeyond Crater Lodge. So squeezing in a mountain climb is kind of tough. 1 of 15 Courtesy of Laura Prepon This image is of myself and one of my friends, Robbie Carter. Then you go somewhere like Africa, and that’s not the case. So I’m going to have to wait to do that. This is my crew of friends, along with our guides Jackson, Nas, and Paulo, and a few of our porters and cooks. “I was hanging out with Roberto, and he said, ‘I’m going to climb Kilimanjaro in Africa, want to go?’ And I was like, ‘Sure!’ And then I came home and Googled it, and I was like, this is a full-on mountain! It’s almost 20,000 feet, which I didn’t know. I was able to see how micro-financing supports the village, and spend time with the children and their families. He wrote the words to our favorite Kilimanjaro song—which I now know by heart.Advertisement 4 of 15 Courtesy of Laura Prepon My best friend, Terasa Sciortino, wanted me to jump up onto this rock and show off the beautiful terrain above the clouds. Advertisement 9 of 15 Courtesy of Laura Prepon This was taken at the last base camp after we summited Kilimanjaro.” The actress and her group flew into Tanzania (which, coincidentally, made our list of Best Places to Travel in 2016), and spent the first seven days hiking the mountain. This was the day before we summited. So where did they choose? “We went to the Ngorongoro Crater and stayed at andBeyond Crater Lodge, which was one of the most gorgeous hotels I’ve ever been to. But everybody I met was so happy! When we were going up the mountain, one of our guides, Paulo, was literally singing, ‘I love my job!’ . We stopped for a snack and coffee with Amarula, which is the best type of Baileys you can ever imagine.” As a first timer to Africa, we had to ask: what surprised Prepon most? “There are a lot of people from Los Angeles and New York that aren’t happy with their lives, and we have everything we could possibly want at our fingertips. We were at the pool, and an entire herd of elephants just walked by, like, no big deal. It was so special and magical.” As for where the travel junkie’s headed next? “I was going to France to climb Mont Blanc, but then I wrapped a movie, moved to New York, the show [Orange is the New Black] premiered, and then I start filming. 3 of 15 Courtesy of Laura Prepon My Kilimanjaro crew! From left: Robbie Carter, Roberto Santos, Alex Marazzo, myself, and Terasa Sciortino. Advertisement 6 of 15 Courtesy of Laura Prepon My best friend, Terasa, and I, summiting. But when you summit, something happens to you that’s so incredible, and it’s such an accomplishment. There is a long hike down to the last base camp. We wanted to learn the song so we could sing with them. “Summiting Kilimanjaro was so hard the last day, because you have to ascend 5,000 feet in one day, since it’s too dangerous to sleep at those altitudes,” she says. This is truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. And it’s amazing to be disconnected from the world