Liberia

Liberia claims a unique history in West Africa, founded as it was by freed African-Americans in the first half of the 19th century (along the U.S. model of governance). In recent decades, this lush country has been rocked with tumult: a succession of civil wars from the late 1980s to the early 2000s, and the deadly ebola epidemic of 2014. On the road to recovery, however, Liberia is, for the spirited traveler, a fascinating (and typically very warmhearted) destination.

With that unique foundational connection to the U.S.; a seafront long known among European traders as the Pepper or Grain Coast; and an ethnic makeup that includes more than a dozen indigenous groups in addition to Americo-Liberians, Liberia serves up a bounty of history. (This was one of the only countries in Africa to have escaped colonial European rule, incidentally.) You can survey some of that history in the capital, Monrovia (named for the U.S. president James Monroe, who supported Liberia’s establishment), which houses the National Museum of Liberia. The American influence can be detected in many unique aspects of Liberian culture, including its baking (rare in West Africa) and quilting traditions.

Monrovia’s also a great place for dipping into Liberian music, including the native spin on hip-hop called hip-co (“co” referring to the colloqua slang-dialect of Liberian English)—a genre commonly concerned with social and political justice.

Outside its urban clubs and village marketplaces, Liberia presents some of the most pristine wildlands in West Africa, most notably in the fabulous Sapo National Park in the southeast. Much of this 700-square-mile parcel is old-growth lowland rainforest inhabited by leopards, pygmy hippos, chimpanzees, and many other striking animals. If you like your outdoor experiences on the tamer side, Liberian beaches—and their surf breaks—have many fans; and a number of them, such as ELWA and Thinkers, are easily accessed from Monrovia.

Liberia’s only just emerging from its terrible bout with Ebola (it was declared free of the disease in May 2015), and the legacy of its civil wars and unrest are still plain to see, not least in widespread poverty. Yet a visit here illuminates one of the most fascinating cultural heritages in Africa.