10 Most Favorite Places To Travel In Africa

The exotic continent, Africa, has attracted thousands of tourists each year. They come to several different attractions. Not only well-known for its majestic natural landscapes, but it also is famous for ancient and historical sites that cannot be found in any other parts of the world.

Indeed there are dozens of appealing tourism spots in every African country. Consisting of 55 states, Africa has a wide variety of tourism destinations. Among them, here are the top ten favorite places to travel in Africa that you should at least once in a lifetime.

Serengeti National Park

Who never heard of the word ‘Serengeti’? This vast natural and open space covers savanna, woodland, grassland, and riverine forest. It has been home to a variety of wildfire which some of them are endangered species. Established in 1951, this park enables people to witness real wildlife as tourists can get closer to animals.

With 14,750 km2 width, this landscape belongs to three parts that are Serengeti plains, Northern Serengeti, and Western corridor. Each part has quite different vegetation, faunas, and topography. 

As mentioned before, some species could only be found in certain areas of the park. However, the most common ones include lion, hyena, African leopard, Cape buffalo, African elephant, and black rhinoceros. Birds and primates live there, but not in all parts. Some even are the rare ones.

To visit this place, most tourists stay in the hotels in the allowed areas for settlements. Besides hotels, only staff and researcher lodges are built in the park. Drier time is the most recommended time to visit.

Tsingy de Bemaraha

Another favorite place under the UNESCO heritage site list is Tsingy de Bemaraha. Located in Madagascar, it is also a national park with karst badlands as its trademark. The word Tsingy’ itself refers to the karst, badlands, and in the complete name, ‘Tsingy de Bemaraha’ means ‘place that one cannot step barefoot’.

Another favorite place under the UNESCO heritage site list is Tsingy de Bemaraha. Located in Madagascar, it is also a national park with karst badlands as its trademark. The word Tsingy’ itself refers to the karst, badlands, and in the complete name, ‘Tsingy de Bemaraha’ means ‘place that one cannot step barefoot’.

Chamarel

This is a wide and enchanting village on Mauritius Island. Though it is a village, there are some tourism spots frequently visited as the Seven Colored Earths and Chamarel falls. Both of them have a splendid view.

The colored earth is basically made of sands that came from basalt gullies decomposition to clay and then turned into ferralitic soil. At glance, the sands seem to have seven colors covering green, red, blue, brown, yellow, violet, and purple. It gets more beautiful as the meringue patterns emerge resulted from the raindrop at the hillside.

Moving to the next destination, Chamarel falls stands about 100 meters in height. Surrounded by tropical forests, the water in the falls is joined with the Saint-Denis River. The splash freshens every visitor as she/he has to trek up to reach this place. There is also a track that connects the falls with the Seven Colored Earths.

Delta Okavango

Other natural and favorite places to travel in Africa that should be missed is Delta Okavango. Just like its name, this area covers lagoons, swamps, lakes, and canals. 

Hence, the best time to visit is during the rainy season where the water level is at the fullest. This open area is the habitat for dozens of animals and plants. Especially fish, there are at least 71 species swimming there. Meanwhile, the indigenous plants that cover up the area are red rafts and papyrus.

Not only plants and animals, but this area is also inhabited by people. Five ethnic groups have lived there for decades. Some people also offer the canal trip using ‘Mokoro’ or the boat used as the traditional transportation to go around the delta. 

As the tourists float around, they can watch some natural wildlife or even bump into several rare species. To stay, safari lodges are available. Besides the natural wildlife, the sunset there is also breath-taking.

Victoria Falls

This largest waterfall in the world is already known to many and it is ultimately in the list of most favorite places to travel in Africa. To enjoy its beauty there are two ways available. 

The first one is by taking a cruise and another is by flying around with a helicopter or plane. By air or water, everyone could still see and feel the rumbling smoke made by the falling water.

Not only the thunders but sometimes the rainbow also occurs that adds a more aesthetic view to the waterfall. Besides the water, some tourists also hike up some surrounding hills just to get the above like from the Zimbabwe view. 

Yet, not all views can be seen all year round. The foot of the falls is covered during the flood season. While during the dry season, some gorges of the falls are also possible to be crossed by feet.   

Valley of The Kings

Moving to the ancient site, Valley of the Kings in Luxor is a legendary place to visit. Built on the Nile’s west bank, the site is a complex of burials with 63 tombs in the minimum. For the history junkies, strolling around the tombs or even going into some allowed chambers.

Since this archaeological site is so vast, there is a tram to transport you to tombs’ entrances uphill. The prices and rules in visiting the tombs are changing quite a lot, so you need to stay updated. Some tombs might also be open to the public.

Just like what you see in photos, once you get into the tombs you will see pillars and reliefs carved on the walls and ceiling. Visiting the tombs with an Egyptologist is more suggested as you can learn some from him/her. Finally, the main highlight is seeing the mummy of some pharaohs.

Giza Pyramid

Following the Nile’s flow will bring you to another archaeological site to exhibit other mummies. The Giza pyramid complex is ultimately listed as one of the favorite places to travel in Africa. 

Another royal burial has more construction than the Valley of the Kings. There are several pyramids, sphinx, and worker village sites. A day will not be enough to visit every site.

The fun way to reach the site is by riding a camel. Feel the sensation of an ancient Egyptian by riding the camel in the deserted area on the way to the pyramid. 

On the other hand, a trip to reach the Grand Gallery inside the pyramid is way more thrilling because you need to pass through the narrow, steep, and ascending corridor.

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Inspired by the lost Library of Alexandria, Bibliotheca Alexandrina was established in 2002. It is such a heaven for bookworms because it has more than eight million books collection. 

Not only books, but it also accommodates galleries, a planetarium, multimedia rooms, a conference center, a laboratory for manuscript restoration, and others. It is also an inclusive place because it is accessible for the blind and visually impaired.

This great library is constructed near the location of the real lost ancient library. Not so far, people also could visit the ruins of the ancient library in the Serapeum of Alexandria even though some ruins are already moved into the present library.

Djinguereber Mosque

Just like its unique name, the architecture of this building is also unusual. Located in Mali, this mosque was built using rendered mud and limestone. 

It functioned not only as a place to pray for Muslims in the past but also as a learning center. Some historians also suggest that it was built during the City of Gold or Timbuktu’s glory.

From the inside, the view is also delightful. Especially in the late afternoon when the rays are low and going through the arched passageways that make golden hues. The last way to get a joyful view is by going to the rooftop as you can see the complex clearly.

Leptis Magna

Last but not least the most favorite places to travel in Africa should include Leptis Magna. At a glance, this site will remind people of Greek architecture. Of course, that is true because this place was under Roman expansion.

Nowadays, visitors could see the remains and ruins of the city like the Arch of Trajan, Tetrapylon, Roman Basilica, Roman Amphitheatre, and more. 

They are well-preserved as the stones and some sculptures remain clear and in good shape. Yet, some ruins, mosaics, and others are already moved to other galleries like Tripoli National Museum.  

The remaining ruins are situated by the sea that decorates the view more beautifully. Some research also discovered a necropolis the Roman Theater. However with the current Libya political situation, not only for scientific discovery, many find it is hard just to visit this gorgeous place.

Scroll to Top