Zakouma National Park

Chad

　　This national park is a major Chadian success story. After poaching and civil war ravaged the area's wildlife, the animal population has been steadily increasing. Much of this has to do with two things: the EU funding €20 million to manage the park since 1989, and a joint decision by...

Igreja de Nossa Senhora dos Remedios

Angola

　　See the impressive double-domed façade of the Igreja de Nossa Senhora dos Remedios , built in 1655 and restored in 1995. ...

Igreja de Nossa Senhora de Nazaré

Angola

　　Luanda has a smattering of old colonial churches hidden among the skyscrapers. A bit of careful searching will reveal the diminutive Igreja de Nossa Senhora de Nazaré , dating from 1664. ...

Tunda-Vala Volcanic Fissure

Angola

　　Largely unaffected by the war, Lubango provides access to the beautiful beaches of Namibe. En route, watch for the Tunda-Vala volcanic fissure, where you can climb to 2600m above sea level. The view of a sheer drop to sea level is quite spectacular. ...

Palácio de Ferro

Angola

　　Architectural buffs will also want to check the Palácio de Ferro , designed by Frenchman Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame) in the 1890s for the Paris Universal Exhibition. The construction was dismantled and brought to Luanda in 1902 ...

Banco Nacional de Angola

Angola

　　The curvaceous sweep of the harbour-side Marginal makes an interesting stroll at any time of day. Look out for the striking domed pink façade of the Banco Nacional de Angola designed by architect Vasco Regaleira and inaugurated in 1956. ...

Museu Central das Forças Armadas

Angola

　　The Fortaleza de São Miguel guarding the entrance to the bay was constructed by the Portuguese in 1576 and is Luanda's oldest surviving building. Altered in 1664, whereupon it took its present star shape, the fort today houses the Museu Central das Forças Armadas and offers sweeping views of the...

Museu de Antropologia

Angola

　　The Fortaleza de São Miguel guarding the entrance to the bay was constructed by the Portuguese in 1576 and is Luanda's oldest surviving building. Altered in 1664, whereupon it took its present star shape, the fort today houses the Museu Central das Forças Armadas and offers sweeping views of the...

Parque Nacional da Kissama

Angola

　　Kissama (also spelt Quiçama), situated 70km (43.5mi) south of Luanda, is Angola's most accessible and well-stocked wildlife park. This huge swathe of coastal savannah punctuated by gnarly baobab trees is home to elephants, water buffalo, indigenous palanca antelopes and a precarious population of nesting sea turtles. 　　Inaugurated as a nature...

Mt Ntingui

Comoros

　　It's a hard and steep climb from Lac Dzialandzé up to the normally cloud-covered summit of 1595m (5231ft) Mt Ntingui, the highest point on Anjouan. On a rare clear day, it affords a view over all four islands of the archipelago. ...

Arab Quarter

Comoros

　　The neighbourhood around the port and the Ancienne Mosquée de Vendredi (old Friday mosque) is a convoluted medina with narrow streets lined with buildings dating back to Swahili times. It's reminiscent of a miniature version of Zanzibar's Stone Town and almost as intriguing. Watch for the elaborately carved Swahili doors...

Nouvelle Mosquée de Vendredi

Comoros

　　Friday worship takes place in the magnificent new Friday mosque next to the port. In between prayers, the steps outside the mosque serve as a meeting place for the town's menfolk, many dressed in the traditional kanzu (long white robe) and kofia. To see the interior, you have to be...

Petit Marché

Niger

　　The Petit Marché is smack-dab in the centre of town and merits a visit. Self-caterers can go crazy, squeezing fruit and veg to their hearts content in this lively market. Remember where your wallet is when you're ogling the wares, as pickpockets are rife. ...

Musée National du Niger

Niger

　　The sprawling Musée National du Niger is one of West Africa's standouts. Numerous themed pavilions, each tipping their hat to Hausa architecture, give visitors a peek into Niger's present and past. The Pablo Toucet pavilion displays the dress of Niger's different ethnic groups - a quick way to train the...

Parc National de la Kibira

Burundi

　　The largest rainforest in Burundi is contiguous with Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda, and is believed to still be home to hundreds of colobus monkeys. There are also a number of chimpanzees present (although they're very hard to see). 　　Accsess to the park is via the northern town of Kayanza...

La Pierre de Livingstone et Stanley

Burundi

　　This large rock allegedly marks the spot where the infamous 'Dr Livingstone, I presume?' encounter between Livingstone and Stanley took place on 25 November 1871 (Ujiji in Tanzania has a much better claim to being the location of this event, though). Wherever it was, this is as good a place...

Musée Vivant

Burundi

　　This small zoo won't win the approval of animal rights activists. In fact, it probably won't win approval from many people at all. Currently it houses a chimp, a leopard, several crocodiles, various snakes and some antelopes in cramped, dirty and exposed cages. The guinea pigs for sale at the...

Parc National de la Rusizi

Burundi

　　This is the most accessible, and popular, national park, as Bujumbura is just 15km away. It's a wetland environment, and provides a habitat for hippos, sitatungas (aquatic antelopes) and a wide variety of birds. 　　Tour companies and some top-end hotels in Bujumbura can organise half or full day safari. These...

Chutes de la Karera

Burundi

　　The Chutes de la Karera is the collective name for the four beautiful waterfalls near Rutana. The prettiest is the cascade Nyakai I where you park your car. Upstream from this is the smallest of the four falls, Nyakai II, an ideal spot for an impromptu shower. This watercourse is...

Source du Nil

Burundi

　　Vying with another small spring in Nyungwe Forest National Park in Rwanda for title of the source of the Nile (the truth of the matter is that there's no one source), this insignificant-looking little spring at Kasumo, 115km southeast of Bujumbura, might be the southernmost source du Nil. In a...

Institut Français Burundi

Burundi

　　As is pretty much standard with French cultural institutes the world over, this one hosts a diverse and exciting array of cultural events which take in everything from art-house films to exhibitions and food related events (it's French, after all). The website lists upcoming events, or you can pick up...

Saga Beach

Burundi

　　Bujumbura’s Lake Tanganyika beaches are some of the best urban beaches of any landlocked country in Africa. The sand, though not exactly pristine white and clean, is still an inviting place to drop a towel, the swimming is safe and the water warm. 　　The stretch of beach that lies about...

House of Mammub Mohammed Nahari

Eritrea

　　The ancient House of Mammub Mohammed Nahari was built with magnificent soaring Ottoman-style windows on every side. Unfortunately they are particularly decrepit and, like the rest of the house, seem ready to crumble at any moment, so take particular care about wandering inside. Nearby are several large and ornate 18th-century...

Camel Market

Eritrea

　　From 8am on Monday mornings, a small yard on the Nakfa road just before the edge of town comes alive with buyers and sellers from Keren and the surrounding villages haggling over livestock in a lively market. Though the name refers to the obvious highlight – the caravans of camels...

Imperial Palace

Eritrea

　　Overlooking the harbour just north of the gates of the Dahlak Hotel is the Imperial Palace, the original iteration of which was built by the Turkish Osdemir Pasha in the 16th century. The present building dates from 1872, when it was built for the Swiss adventurer Werner Munzinger. During the...

Qohaito

Eritrea

　　Historians debate whether or not the ruins of Qohaito were once the inhabited walls of the ancient town of Koloe, a settlement that predated, but grew to commercial importance during, the Aksumite kingdom. Even if it wasn't, the city's impressively large remains – covering an area of 2.5km (1.5mi) by...

La Dune Rose

Mali

　　Gao's premier tourist attraction is a sunset trip to La Dune Rose, known locally as Koïma, a wonderful sand dune on the right bank of the Niger, visible from town. As it turns pink with the setting sun, there is magic in the air, not least because it was once...

Centre de Recherches Historiques Ahmed Baba

Mali

　　An amazing collection of ancient manuscripts and books are kept at the Centre de Recherches Historiques Ahmed Baba. Home to (at last count) 23,000 Islamic religious, historical and scientific texts from all over the world, the centre is the focus of a South African-funded project to protect, translate and catalogue...

Massina

Mali

　　From the pleasant Fula village of Massina, you can start a trip along the Niger by public pinasse (large canoe). A good first stop is Diafarabé, where vast Fula herds cross the Niger in one of West Africa's most picturesque annual rituals. 　　Every late December or early January (the exact...

Grand Marché

Mali

　　Every Monday, the wide open area in front of the mosque is transformed into the clamorous Monday Market, which has barely changed since the days when Saharan camel caravans brought salt across the sands to the gates of Djenné. Thousands of traders and customers come from miles around, and many...

Dyingerey Ber Mosque

Mali

　　Timbuktu has three of the oldest mosques in West Africa. While not as visually stunning as some in Mali, they're still extremely impressive and represent classic and well-preserved examples of the Sudanese style of architecture which prevails throughout much of the Sahel. The oldest, dating from the early 14th century,...

Mopti Port

Mali

　　Mopti's port is a lively place, where boats from up and down the river unload their cargoes. You'll see slabs of salt from Timbuktu, dried fish, firewood, pottery, goats, chickens and much more. Boat building happens next to Restaurant Bar Bozo. ...

Sankoré Mosque

Mali

　　Timbuktu's three great mosques - all inaccessible to non-Muslims - are nothing much to look at, but serve as reminders of its great past. The youngest of the three, Sankoré Mosque was raised at the turn of the 16th century. It also functioned as a university and an important centre...

Grande Mosquée

Mali

　　Djenné's elegant Grande Mosque was constructed in 1907, though it's based on the design of an older Grande Mosquée that once stood on the site. Famous throughout the world, the Grande Mosquée has dazzled travellers for centuries - much as it does today. 　　It was first built in 1280, after...

Diosso Gorge

Republic of Congo

　　Half an hour north of Pointe-Noire, just outside the dusty village of Diosso, is the remarkable scenery of Diosso Gorge, which tears through the otherwise ordinary landscape between the village and the coast in a blaze of pinks, yellows and oranges. It's quite a sight to behold, and some locals...

Pointe Indienne

Republic of Congo

　　This lovely stretch of sandy beach 19km north of Pointe-Noire is a great place for a day trip out of the city. It's popular with locals at weekends, and there are several hotels and restaurants here, though during the week you'll have the place almost entirely to yourself. 　　Head north...

La Côte Sauvage

Republic of Congo

　　Pointe-Noire's best and most popular beaches are located to the south of the city and are known locally as 'the wild coast'. There are lots of stalls serving fresh fish and cold beers, as well as plenty of room to escape the crowds. A taxi from Pointe-Noire should be around...

Parc National Conkouati-Douli

Republic of Congo

　　The newest of the three national parks in Congo, Conkouati-Douli was inaugurated in 1999 and is the most biodiverse of the country's national parks. The range of habitat – ranging from beaches and mangrove swamps, to savannah, to rainforest – makes this park home to a huge number of species,...

Parc National Nouabalé-Ndoki

Republic of Congo

　　A Unesco World Heritage Site since 2012, Nouabalé-Ndoki is home to important populations of forest elephants, western lowland gorillas, chimpanzees and many other endangered mammals. The park also boasts over 300 bird species and is a rare example of an intact forest wilderness, completely uninhabited by human settlers. If wilderness...

Parc National d'Odzala

Republic of Congo

　　One of the oldest national parks in Africa, the Parc National d’Odzala is Congo's calling card, a massive slice of the Guineo-Congolian rainforest that's also one of earth's last strongholds for lowland gorillas and forest elephants. Odzala also offers one of Congo's few luxurious travel experiences for those who can...

Le Ksar al Kiali

Mauritania

　　As you arrive across the sands or plateau from Atâr or Chinguetti, the stone houses of Le Ksar al Kiali seem to tumble down the cliff. The top of the hill is dominated by the minaret of the new mosque, which is a mere 200 years old, while at the...

Réserve Satellite du Cap Blanc

Mauritania

　　A small nature reserve with an excellent information centre, dedicated to the colony of endangered Mediterranean monk seals (phoque moin) that live here. Resembling elephant seals, these grey-skinned animals have been hunted since the 15th century for their valuable skins and oil. The protected colony here of roughly 150 seals...

Parc National Diawling

Mauritania

　　This little-known national park is a sister to the adjacent Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary in Senegal. It has important mangroves and acacia forest (any bit of greenery comes as a relief), as well as large coastal dunes. Incredibly rich in birdlife – you're also likely to spot monkeys, warthogs and...

Parc National du Banc d'Arguin

Mauritania

　　This World Heritage–listed park is an important stopover and breeding ground for multitudes of birds migrating between Europe and southern Africa, and as a result is one of the best birdwatching sites on the entire continent. It extends 200km north from Cape Timiris (155km north of Nouakchott) and 235km south...

Vogan Friday Market

Togo

　　This is one of the biggest and most colourful markets in Togo, with produce and bric-a-brac and a fun atmosphere. It's great for embracing local culture as well as picking up some fruit and veg. 　　It's located about 20km northwest of Aného. Taxis (CFA800, 30 minutes) leave from the junction...