Gabon

Gorillas and elephants on an immaculate ocean beach? Check. Burly mountains rising out of primeval rainforest? Check. Great cuisine, friendly people, and plenty of palm trees for shade? Check. That’s Gabon, one of Central Africa’s most “doable” travel destinations.

Relatively sparsely populated and politically stable, Gabon—a former French colony about the size of Great Britain—is home to some of the planet’s most exciting ecotourism opportunities, given an astonishing network of 13 national parks established in the early 2000s. As the Wildlife Conservation Society puts it, “Gabon is a true Eden of Africa”: Its rainforest supports possibly the richest remaining population of forest elephants on the continent as well as important sanctuaries for western lowland gorillas, mandrills, and chimpanzees; while the pristine Atlantic coast’s ecological treasures include the world’s greatest leatherback-turtle nesting beaches and globally significant nursery waters for the humpback whale.

One of the standout spots in Gabon is Lopé National Park, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its outstanding confluence of ecological and cultural attributes. Besides rainforest-encircled savannas and superb biodiversity, the park includes archaeological evidence of some 400,000 years—yes, 400,000 years—of human occupation in the valley of the Odooué River. Not terribly far away, Ivindo National Park—another wildlife mecca—astounds with the giant waterfalls of the Ivindo River.

Even if wildlife doesn’t float your boat—and it’s hard to imagine not being spellbound at the sight of an elephant bull or buffalo herd strolling into a tropical-forest clearing—Gabon’s untouched landscapes still enthrall, even if only as a stirring backdrop for rustic R&R. Kicking back with a beer or a cocktail beside the gleaming sands of Mayumba—tourist-friendly but still far flung and laidback—is a refreshing change of pace from the overdeveloped beach resorts that define many more trafficked corners of the tropics.

And let’s not overlook the more cosmopolitan pleasures of the capital of Libreville, a handsome port city that more than a third of the (predominantly Bantu) Gabonese population calls home. Here you’ll find fine urban beaches, colonial-era architecture, and thrumming street markets such as Mont-Bouët.

The big-city energy of Libreville aside, Gabon is mainly a wilderness paradise, providing some of the best opportunities in Africa for exploring pristine ecosystems and indulging in tropical leisure in a politically secure nation. Though some of its most beautiful attractions are still remote and the roads and accommodations can be primitive, Gabon continues to expand and develop its tourism sector, making seacoast and rainforest adventures all the more feasible.