Rolling Sahara desert meets windswept coastline. Explore labyrinthine old towns, deep, dark canyons, and a national park bursting with birdlife.
Mali
Home to vast seas of sand, the ancient city of Timbuktu, the biggest mud-brick building in the world, and a lively capital where world famous musicians play up a storm in local nightclubs.
Cameroon
Home to a diverse population, a vibrant music scene, one of the region’s best national parks, and Mount Cameroon, the highest peak in West Africa at 13,435 feet.
Benin
Once the hub of a powerful kingdom that grew rich on the slave trade, this tiny slice of West Africa is also a center of voodoo, and is dotted with beach resorts, stilt villages, and national parks.
Ghana
Battered European slaving forts pepper miles of beautiful coastline. The splendors of the Ashanti empire are still in evidence at the country’s heart, and the capital’s clubs rock seven days a week.
Burkina Faso
Many travelers whisk through Burkina Faso on their way somewhere else, but they miss out on the dusty savannah, stunning lakes and waterfalls, and the laid back capital of Ouagadougou, home to the continent’s most important film festival.
Sierra Leone
Emerging from a decade long civil war in 2002, Sierra Leone is still thought of as a “no go” destination by many, yet the country is now considered safe for travelers. It has some of the continent’s best beaches and national parks, although a poor infrastructure makes getting around difficult.
The Gambia
Africa’s smallest country is best known as a package destination, welcoming thousand of tourists to laze on its magnificent shoreline each year. Within easy reach of its boisterous coastline are fine nature reserves and wetlands.
Senegal
Many people visit Senegal for its beach-time pursuits, but the country also offers desert, steamy tropical forest, and the assault on the senses that is Dakar, home to some of the region’s best nightclubs.
Cape Verde Islands
Located over 350 miles from the mainland, tourists are quickly warming to the charms of the beaches, valleys, and mountains that make up this former Portuguese colony.
