Central African Republic

As of May 2015, the Central African Republic is not a place for a typical holiday: Since a 2013 coup, this landlocked country, which stretches from Sudanian savanna in the north to tropical swamp forest of the Congo Basin in the south, has been roiled with violent internal strife. As such, the governments of the U.S. and the U.K. both presently advise their citizens against traveling here.

The tragic turmoil in the Central African Republic overshadows—and directly threatens—the country’s outstanding ecological treasures. In the southwest lies one of Africa’s greatest rainforest preserves, the Dzanga-Sangha Complex of Protected Areas, which serves, along with national parks in Cameroon and the Republic of Congo, as part of the Sangha Tri-National Protected Area: One of the last stands for the African forest elephant and many other rare species. Equally precious is the Manovo-Gounda-St Floris National Park along the Bongo Massif, close to the Chad line: A huge savanna landscape home to such critically rare creatures as the black rhino and the painted hunting dog.

These outstanding national parks and refuges are among the continent’s most valuable, and they hold enormous ecotourism potential. Though rampant poaching, only exacerbated by the ongoing conflict, places such protected areas and their wildlife at grave risk.

Even beyond the threat of violence, the Central African Republic poses many inherent challenges to travelers. Its infrastructure is among the least-developed in the world, and just reaching the country is generally an adventure. Long pillaged by outsiders (not least European colonial powers) and now shaken by an unstable government and warring rebel groups, the Central African Republic and its lovely people are denied the thriving tourism industry the place deserves.

For students of African culture, cuisine, and ecology, this is one of those destinations to dream about until a more stable and secure future materializes.