10 best places to visit in Africa this year

Have you planned a trip to occupy your next vacation? Well! Today we offer you a selection of the best places that you can choose to enjoy your relaxation in Africa.

1. Bisate, Rwanda

On the edge of the Volcanoes National Park, a two-hour drive from Kigali (capital) in northern Rwanda, the site of Bisate is home to an extraordinary lodge of round huts, opened in 2017. Six forest villas with spherical straw roofs, inspired by the architecture of the former royal palaces of Rwanda, offer a luxury retreat with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a view of the mountains.

This nec plus ultra, well known to Rwandans, is located between lakes and volcanoes, close to the much sought-after gorillas.

2. Great Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe

This medieval archaeological site, built between the 11th and 15th centuries by the ancestors of the Shona people, gave the country its name. Older than Timbuktu and Djenné, it is the best preserved in sub-Saharan Africa in Mali. To get the latest stories, install our app here

Its high stone buildings assembled without mortar extend over 730 hectares and include a round tower 22 meters high. It tells the great story of the empire of Zimbabwe, founded around gold mines and traded with the whole world.

3. Island of Mozambique, Mozambique

This island pearl of the Indian Ocean, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is difficult to access despite the 3 km road bridge that connects it to the coast. It is an ancient fortified city no less marked by multiple influences: Swahili, Indian, Arab, Persian, Chinese, and Portuguese. To get the latest stories, install our app here

A former Portuguese counter on the route to India, the island gave its name to the country, taken from the surname of Sultan Mussa Mbiki. It offers an architectural mix and unique gastronomy due to its various influences and the white sand beaches on the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean.

4. Betty’s Bay, South Africa

Beach and mountain, feet in the water with penguins, this bay is a vacation spot popular with Capetonians. They meet there with friends for the end-of-year celebrations, in the heart of the southern summer, in rented villas on the edge of the warm waves of the Indian Ocean, far from the hordes of tourists in their city. To get the latest stories, install our app here

The place offers an immersion in nature, with many hiking trails in the fynbos, the particular flora of this region with a Mediterranean climate.

5. Sao Tome and Principe

The entirety of this country, the smallest in Africa with Seychelles, is worth visiting. The mountainous archipelago, a former Portuguese colony, offers deserted coves and still unused hiking trails, in addition to a mixed culture that is characterized by a “Leve-Leve” or “light-light” state of mind. The two main islands are described as being culturally closer to Latin America than to Africa.

São Toméans are known for ússua and socopé rhythms, while Príncipe is home to the dêxa beat. Portuguese ballroom may have played an integral part in developing these rhythms and their associated dances. To get the latest stories, install our app here

Tchiloli is a musical dance performance that tells a dramatic story. The danço-Congo is similarly a combination of music, dance, and theatre. Morna is a music genre from the islands, and Cesária Évora was known as the Queen of Morna.

6. Tibesti mountain, Chad

Located in the far north of Chad, the Tibesti massif is a mountain range in the central Sahara. It is the highest peak in Chad and the Sahara, 3415 meters above sea level. Its highlight is the Emi Koussi.

The massif covers 100,000 km² and extends over Libya and Chad. You will find rocks such as basalt, sandstone, trachyte, dacite and ignimbrite.

7. Bassari Country, Senegal

Far from the seaside resorts of the Petite Côte, the Bassari country, reachable from the town of Kédougou, in the southeast of Senegal, allows an incursion into the Niokolo-Koba natural park, but also, and above all, into an authentic Africa. To get the latest stories, install our app here

Its population, organized into age groups where initiation rites mark the passage, is renowned for preserving its animist culture. The Bassari archers, hunters, and farmers entrenched themselves in a troglodyte habitat on the plateaus of Eastern Senegal to flee slave raids and Islamization. They live today between Senegal and Guinea, on the foothills of the majestic Fouta-Djallon massif.

8. Dakhla, Morocco

Dunes and lagoon, “the West Indies of Morocco,” have been booming since 2003. Popular with surfers kite-surfers, Dakhla, located in Western Sahara, offers a spectacular mix of sea and desert. It has a small airport served by Royal Air Maroc, but getting there by road is a journey since it is 650 km south of Laayoune and nearly 1,700 km from Rabat.

Housed on a narrow peninsula of 40 km, Dakhla stands out with its temperate climate and remains off the beaten track of Morocco, even if it attracts 3,000 surfers a year, especially in winter.

9. The Danakil Depression, Ethiopia

Also known as the Afar Depression or the Afar Triangle, the Danakil Depression is located in northwestern Ethiopia. It is probably the hottest place in the world. It is bordered by mountains and cliffs, culminating up to 4000 meters in altitude.

The Danakil Depression reaches 165 meters below sea level. It is connected to the north by the Red Sea, to the southeast by the Great Rift Valley and to the Gulf of Aden by the Gulf of Tadjoura. It is an area of immense geological interest. Reputed to be the best place in Africa, there are volcanoes, hot springs and salt lakes. To get the latest stories, install our app here

10. Thugga, Tunisia

Not far from the city of Béja, in the northwest of Tunisia, is “the best-preserved small Roman city in North Africa,” according to Unesco, which classified it as a World Heritage Site in 1997. Better than Carthage, therefore, Thugga deploys 17-century-old remains over several hectares. To get the latest stories, install our app here

Rows of columns, ancient theatre, mosaics, Thugga also gives signs, in its town planning, of cohabitation between Roman settlers and “Numidian” natives, in what was the Maghreb of the 3rd century.