Must-see attractions in Africa

  • Two young elephants from the herd play to test their strength, Ruaha National Park, Tanzania
Africa; African Elephant; Animal; Animal Themes; Animal Wildlife; Animals In The Wild; Color Image; Day; Elephant; Fighting; Focus On Foreground; Four Animals; Grass; Horizontal; No People; Outdoors; Photography; Rough Housing; Ruaha National Park; Sunlight; Tanzania; Young Animal;

    Ruaha National Park

    Southern Highlands

    At approximately 22,000 sq km, Ruaha National Park is Tanzania’s largest. It forms the core of a wild and extended ecosystem covering about 40,000 sq km…

  • Leopard (Panthera pardus) crossing road with tourists in jeep in background
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    Kruger National Park

    South Africa

    In terms of wildlife alone, Kruger is one of the world's greatest national parks. The diversity, density and sheer numbers of animals is almost…

  • Île aux Aigrettes

    Mauritius

    This popular ecotourism destination is a 26-hectare nature reserve on an island roughly 800m off the coast. It preserves very rare remnants of the coastal…

  • Archaeological Museum

    Tunisia

    A 1km walk from the El Jem Amphitheatre (follow the signs), this museum showcases an exceptional collection of Roman mosaics. All are richly coloured, in…

  • The Great Enclosure at the Great Zimbabwe National Monument, nearly 100 metres across and 255 metres in circumference, it's the largest ancient structure in Sub-Saharan Africa

    Great Zimbabwe

    Zimbabwe

    The mysterious ruined city of Great Zimbabwe dates back to the 11th to 15th centuries AD and remains the emblem and heart of the nation. The Unesco World…

  • A car stopped on an african road in the amboseli park under mount Kilimanjaro while a giraffe is crossing the road

    Amboseli National Park

    Kenya

    Amboseli belongs in the elite of Kenya’s national parks, and it’s easy to see why. Its signature attraction is the sight of hundreds of big-tusked…

  • Dune at sunset, Sahara

    Erg Chigaga

    Draa Valley

    The area's star attraction is the misnamed Erg Chigaga, not a single dune (erg) but an incredible stretch of golden sand sea some 56km southwest of M…

  • Allée des Baobabs

    Western Madagascar

    One of Madagascar's most recognisable images, this small stretch of the RN8 between Morondava and Belo-sur-Tsiribihina is flanked on both sides by…

  • Lonely Planet Traveller Magazine, Issue 66, Ethiopia, In the beginning
Priest sitting on ledge outside Abuna Yemata Guh cave church.

    Abuna Yemata Guh

    Rock-hewn Churches of Tigray

    There's nowhere on earth quite like Abuna Yemata Guh. Although less impressive architecturally than most, the church is spectacularly sited within a cliff…

  • Common Chimpanzee - Scientific name - Pan troglodytes schweinfurtii portrait at Kibale Forest National Park, Rwenzori Mountains, Uganda, Africa
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    Gombe National Park

    Western Tanzania

    With an area of only 56 sq km, this is Tanzania’s smallest national park, but its famous primate inhabitants and its connection to Jane Goodall have given…

  • 28 OCT 2017: the District Six Museum, a museum in memory of apartheid, located in Cape Town.
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    Apartheid Museum

    Johannesburg

    The Apartheid Museum illustrates the rise and fall of South Africa’s era of segregation and oppression, and is an absolute must-see. It uses a broad…

  • Meroe pyramids.

    Meroe Pyramids

    Sudan

    Seemingly lost under the folds of giant apricot-coloured dunes, this ancient royal cemetery, with its clusters of narrow pyramids blanketing the sand…

  • ABU SIMBEL, EGYPT - DEC 3, 2014: Interior of The Great Temple of Ramesses II on the sunrise, Abu Simbel, Egypt. One of the main sights of Egypt
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    Temples of Abu Simbel

    Abu Simbel

    Overlooking Lake Nasser, the Great Temple of Ramses II and the Temple of Hathor, which together make up the Temples of Abu Simbel, are among the most…

  • Overhead of Bardo Museum interior.

    Bardo Museum

    Tunis

    The main draw at the Tunisia's top museum is its magnificent collection of Roman mosaics. These provide a vibrant and fascinating portrait of ancient…

  • Young elephant bulls in Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania.

    Selous Game Reserve

    Southeastern Tanzania

    The Selous is Africa's largest wildlife reserve, and Tanzania’s most extensive protected area. It’s home to large herds of elephants, plus buffaloes,…

  • Cape fur seal colony on the Skeleton coast in South Atlantic ocean. Cape Cross Seal Colony, Namibia.
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    Cape Cross Seal Reserve

    Skeleton Coast

    The best-known breeding colony of Cape fur seals along the Namib coast is in this reserve, where the population has grown large and fat by taking…

  • Osun State, Nigeria - August 15th, 2015 - Osun shrine by the river.
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    Osun Sacred Grove

    Nigeria

    The Sacred Grove is a large area of rainforest on the outskirts of Oshogbo. Within the forest is the beautiful Shrine of Oshuno, the River Goddess. In…

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    Praia Banana

    São Tomé & Príncipe

    Once the subject of a world-famous Bacardi advertisement (you'll remember it when you see it), this picture-perfect tropical beach is located on the…

  • The Ngorongoro Conservation area in Tanzania.
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    Ngorongoro Conservation Area

    Northern Tanzania

    This astounding conservation area and Unesco World Heritage Site encompasses the Ngorongoro Crater, Oldupai Gorge and much of the Crater Highlands. It can…

  • The dead Camelthorn trees in the famous Deadvlei are one of the Hotspots for Photographers all over the world.

    Deadvlei

    Namibia

    Although it's much less famous than its neighbour Sossusvlei, Deadvlei is actually the most alluring pan in the Namib-Naukluft National Park – it's…

  • Pico Cão Grande in Sao Tome and Principe, nature landscape. Travel to Sao Tome and Principe. Beautiful paradise island in Gulf of Guinea. Former colony of Portugal.; Shutterstock ID 1193588719; purchase_order: 65050; job: ; client: ; other:
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    Cão Grande

    São Tomé

    The Great Canine is the poster image of São Tomé, and an awesome sight. An enormous tooth of rock 663m high, it is a hardened column of magma, the remains…

  • A river flowing through a forest with dramatic mountain in the background at the Blyde Nature reserve.

    Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve

    Blyde River Canyon

    This stunning 260-sq-km reserve centres on the 30km-long Blyde River Canyon, where epic rock formations tower above the forested slopes and eagle-eye…

  • The Osireion at the Temple of Seti l.

    Abydos

    Northern Nile Valley

    As the main cult centre of Osiris, god of the dead, Abydos (known as Ibdju in ancient times) was the place to be buried in ancient Egypt. The tomb of Djer…

  • Tomb of Seti I (KV 17)

    Luxor

    One of the great achievements of Egyptian art, this cathedral-like tomb is the finest in the Valley of the Kings. Long closed to visitors, it is now…

  • Anse Lazio beach.

    Anse Lazio

    Praslin

    Anse Lazio, on the northwest tip of the island, is picture-perfect everywhere you look and often turns up in lists of the world's most beautiful beaches…

  • Ol Doinyo Lengai, Tanzania - January 1, 2007: A group of tourists is hiking down from the  top of Ol Doinyo Lengai into the green Rift Valley, in the background the Escarpment of the Rift Valley is visible. In the foreground there is some volcanic smoke coming out of a crack.

    Ol Doinyo Lengai

    Northern Tanzania

    The northernmost (and youngest) volcano in the Crater Highlands, Ol Doinyo Lengai (2878m), ‘Mountain of God’ in the Maasai language, is an almost perfect…

  • Lonely Planet Traveller Magazine, São Tomé & Principe, November 2017, Issue 107
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    Baía das Agulhas

    São Tomé & Príncipe

    The spectacular Bay of Spires is not just Príncipe's top attraction, but STP's as well. It's best seen from the water, where the postcard view of the…

  • Palais Royal

    Cameroon

    The must-see attraction is the sultan's palace, home to the 19th sultan of the Bamoun dynasty. It has a fascinating, well-organised museum providing great…

  • Table Mountain Aerial Cableway in Cape Town

    Table Mountain

    Cape Town

    Around 600 million years old, and a canvas painted with the rich diversity of the Cape floral kingdom, Table Mountain is truly iconic. You can admire the…

  • view of three rondavels and the blyde river canyon at sunset in south africa; Shutterstock ID 1536002621; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI
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    Three Rondavels Viewpoint

    Blyde River Canyon

    The area's highlight, with a staggering view of these enormous rounds of rock, their pointed, grassy tops resembling giant huts carved into the side of…

  • Simien Mountains National Park

    Northern Ethiopia

    No matter how you look at it, the Unesco World Heritage–listed Simien Mountains National Park is one of Africa’s most beautiful ranges. This massive…

  • Musée de la Photo

    Antananarivo

    Opened in early 2018, this fabulous photography museum is Antananarivo's best museum. There are four small rooms showing films (in French, English or…

  • Parc National Isalo

    Southern Madagascar

    Isalo is one of Madagascar's most beautiful parks. It contains sculpted buttes, vertical rock walls and, best of all, deep canyon floors shot through with…

  • Parc National Bemaraha

    Western Madagascar

    If you visit one place in western Madagascar, make it Parc National Bemaraha. A Unesco World Heritage Site, its highlights are the jagged, limestone…

  • Maison Traditionnelle

    Anti Atlas Mountains

    The 3-storey granite, palm and argan house, some 400 years old, was inhabited by 20 family members – three generations – until 1982. The owner, Mohammed,…

  • Anse Maquereau

    Seychelles

    Quite possibly the world's most beautiful beach, petite Anse Maquereau is flanked by granitic monoliths, backed by palms and caressed by waters of the…

  • Anse Marron

    La Digue

    Perhaps the most stunning natural pool and beach combo on the planet, Anse Marron sits nestled behind Gaudíesque granite boulders at the remote southern…

  • Dougga

    Tunisia

    Arguably the most magnificent Roman site in Africa, Dougga’s ancient remains – a Unesco World Heritage site since 1997 – are startlingly complete, giving…

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    Volubilis

    Middle Atlas

    Sitting in the middle of a fertile plain, the ruined Roman city of Volubilis is the best-preserved archaeological site in Morocco. Its most amazing…