We spent a few days exploring Livingstone, Zambia’s tourism capital, located just 10 kilometres north of Victoria Falls on the northern bank of the Zambezi River, which forms the natural border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Founded in 1905, the town was named in honour of the...
We spent the afternoon in Zomba, Malawi’s fourth-largest city, located in the scenic Shire Highlands. The city sits at the foot of the majestic Zomba Plateau, a vast 130 km² mountain massif whose highest point, Malombe Peak, rises to 2,087 metres above sea level. The plateau is...
We spent one day in Fianarantsoa, a major highland city in east-central Madagascar, situated at approximately 1,200 meters above sea level on the eastern escarpment. Known as the intellectual capital and as the “place where one learns the good,” it is distinguished by its unique three...
We spent a day in Madagascar’s central highlands, in the historic heartland of the Betsileo people and a town often called the “Capital of Woodworking” for its renowned Zafimaniry art. Ambositra is a high-altitude city (1,342–1,422 m elevation) serving as the capital of...
Just a short distance from Antananarivo, Ambohimanga, the “Blue Hill” and the most sacred site of the Merina Kingdom in Madagascar, offers a unique glimpse into Madagascar’s royal and spiritual past. Once a stronghold of the Merina people and the base of King...
Today, we spend the whole day in Harar, a fortified historic city in eastern Ethiopia, in the Ch’erch’er Mountains, at an elevation of 1,800 metres. It is known as the “fourth holy city” of Islam and has been considered a major commercial centre in the Horn of...
In the morning, we finally went to explore Berbera. First, we drove to the historic port, which is now part of the new port complex. It’s not possible to get there, but we got a permit via friends to drive through the port. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to get out of our car...
We spent a day in Iringa, a small city situated at 1,600 meters on a cliff overlooking the Ruaha River Valley. Iringa – once built by the Germans as a bastion against the local Hehe people – is now a convenient base for the southern parks of Tanzania, notably Ruaha National Park, the...
Kilwa Kivinje was a prominent maritime city-state that flourished between the 11th and 15th centuries, dominating the Swahili Coast and becoming a centre for trade in gold, ivory, and slaves. In the 19th century, the town was a terminus of the southern slave caravan route and served as a...
We sailed to the tiny island of Songo Mnara, about 8km south of Kilwa Kisiwani, for about one and a half hours. It contains ruins at its northern end – including a palace, several mosques and numerous houses built from coral and mortar – that are believed to date from the 14th and 15th...