Category: Africa Attractions

When many people think of Africa, they are actually thinking of Tanzania. It is here that some of the continent’s most vivid images come to life: snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro, rhinos standing proud in Ngorongoro Crater and wildebeests’ hooves thundering over the Serengeti National Park. If for you Africa means hot, dusty afternoons ending in star-studded skies, or Indian Ocean breezes caressing the white sands and Swahili ruins of the Zanzibar Archipelago, then head straight for Tanzania.

Angola is an eye-opener – in more ways than one. Scarred painfully by years of debilitating warfare and untouched by foreign visitors since the early 1970s, the country remains remote and undiscovered, with few observers privy to the geographic highlights and vast cultural riches that lie hidden behind an ostensibly violent veneer. But, with the recent cessation of a 40-year civil conflict ushering in a prolonged period of peace and stability, opportunities for exploration are quietly opening up. For outsiders the attractions are manifold. Despite widespread poverty, inbred corruption and an infrastructure devastated by decades of indiscriminate fighting, Angola holds a lure that few other countries can match. Here in the heady heat of equatorial Africa you’ll encounter some of the continent’s most gracious people and discover many of its most closely guarded secrets.

Morocco is sensory overload at its most intoxicating, from the scents and sounds that permeate the medinas of Fès and Marrakesh to the astonishing sights of the landscape.

It’s easy to miss The Gambia on a map of mighty Africa. This tiny sliver of land is a mere 500km long and 50km wide, and, with the exception of an 80km shoreline, it’s entirely enveloped by Senegal. But beach-bound tourists have long known how to trace this oddly shaped country on the map. Its magnificent coast invites visitors to laze and linger, tempting with luxurious beach resorts and bustling fishing villages. But there’s more to Africa’s smallest country than sun and surf. Stunning nature reserves, such as Kiang West National Park and River Gambia National Park (also known as Baboon Island), and the historical slaving stations of St James Island and Jufureh offer peaceful pauses from the clamour of the nearby coast. And The Gambia’s vibrant culture is always there to be taken in by open-eyed visitors. Traditional wrestling matches regularly take place, the heaving markets of Banjul and Serekunda & the Atlantic Coast have you soaking up the atmosphere and sharpening your negotiation skills, and the striking performances of kora-strumming griots can be experienced during weddings, baptisms or public concerts.

If you’re heading to West Africa to unearth lost treasure, look no further than Benin. This club-shaped country, on the western edge of Nigeria, was once one of the most powerful empires in Africa – the Dahomey kingdom. The ruins of the Dahomeyans’ palaces and temples can be seen in Abomey, while Ouidah is a poignant reminder of where their riches came from: the slave trade. The Route d’Esclaves in Ouidah was the last walk on African soil for slaves bound for Brazil and the Caribbean. Museums here and in Porto Novo, Benin’s lagoon-side capital, examine the resultant Afro-Brazilian society and culture. Cotonou, on the other hand, is urban Africa at its most frazzling and polluted – but is not without its own charms, a lively nightlife and good shopping being a couple of them.

Eritrea is a heartbreaker. It was once heralded as a good place for travelling and, with a bit of luck, it could soon be so again. But as long as the country is at odds with its neighbour Ethiopia, its sworn enemy, tourism development won’t be a priority. One of the most secretive countries in Africa, Eritrea seems doomed to remain a hidden gem. Unsurprisingly, it falls below many travellers’ radars.

Mozambique is one of Africa’s up-and-coming hot-spots, with stunning beaches, excellent diving and magical offshore islands. Go snorkelling around the Bazaruto Archipelago, sail on a dhow through mangrove channels or laze under the palms in the Quirimbas Archipelago, take an off-beat safari in the wilds of Gorongosa National Park, wander along cobbled streets past stately colonial-era buildings on Ilha de Moçambique, sip a café espresso at one of Maputo’s lively sidewalk cafés (or maybe a caipirinha at one of its jazz bars), watch the silversmiths at work on Ibo Island or dance to the country’s trademark marrabenta music.