5. Cape Town Jazz Festival – South Africa
I have argued here before that Cape Town is Africa’s greatest city. This can be attested to by the many awards and accolades the city keeps getting, the latest being the 2011 travellers choice for the top destination in the world.

Add to this a glamorous cultural event – the Cape Town International Jazz Festival – and the result is fireworks. Entering it’s 13th year in 2012, this event is the biggest of its kind in Africa, and on its way to being the greatest in the world too. Like in the past years, the line up this year is star-thudded, with many great artists from South Africa and the whole world. The 2012 event takes place on 30th and 31st March.

More details are available at the official website here.

6. Timkat 2012 – Lalibela and Gondar – Ethiopia 
This list would not be complete without an event from Ethiopia, a country I consider the cultural capital of Africa. With its rich historical and religious heritage, Ethiopia has several interesting cultural festivities throughout the year. Timkat is the most popular among these.

The festival celebrates Epiphany, the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan. Although Timkat is celebrated by Ethiopian Orthodox Christians all over the country, the festivities in Lalibela are the most colorful, and most exciting to watch. Huge crowds, all dressed in white, sing, beat drums, and dance in the streets. Colorfully bedecked priests carry the ark of the covenant as they lead the giant street procession.

Timkat is celebrated on 19th January (celebrations are going on today as I publish this post).  Below is a video from Timkat 2010.

7. Fez Music Festival Morocco
This is a spiritual music festival that brings together musicians from all over the world. According to the events official website, the festival’s aim is “to harness the arts and spirituality in the service of human and social development, and the relationship between peoples and cultures”. You get to enjoy amazing sacred music from Morocco, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, India, Japan, and many other parts of the world.

The 2012 festival is its 18th edition, and takes place from 8th to 16th June.

The African culture is as diverse as the hundreds of ethnic groups (or tribes) and religions in the continent. Despite several misconceptions about Africa, no single culture can be identified as “the” true culture of Africa. Like in all other continents, the interaction between these different cultures has also led to the birth of newer cultures that transcend any particular tribe or religious group.

Many cultural festivals take place all over Africa all year round, but a few of them are more colorful and enjoyable than others. Today’s post highlights seven of what I consider the top must-see cultural events and festivities. If you know of a festival that ought to have made this list, please feel free to add your comments at the bottom of this page.

1. Annual Voodoo Festivals in Benin
Voodoo is a religion that many Westerners associate with secret practices and the occult, although its adherents say that this is a misconception. The religion is quite prevalent in West Africa, most notably in Benin.

Since 1997, thousands of voodoo believers gather once every year at Ouidah in Benin, to celebrate the most important public event of the religion. The festivities entail animal sacrifices at the beach, wine drinking, and a lot of drumming, singing, dancing and chanting. It is very dramatic, to say the least. What with some of the adherents wearing live pythons around their nakes as ornaments, and others dancing naked in the streets at night.

The festivities take place early in January, so you can start making arrangements for next year. (The 2012 celebrations happened on 10th January). Below is a video recording from a past event.

2. Festival au Desert – Mali
I previously mentioned Timbuktu as one of historical sites you must see in Africa. Here’s one more reason you should travel to this ancient town in Mali – the annual festival in the desert. This is a three-day musical concert held every year since 2001, to celebrate the music of the nomadic Touareg tribe of the Sahara desert.

The celebrations take place in the desert in Northern Mali, just a few kilometers from Timbuktu. The event is inspired by a long standing Touareg tradition of holding big annual gatherings to sing, dance, demonstrate male strength and female beauty, and to have lots of fun.

Most of the artists who perform at Le Festival au Desert are Malian, and a majority of the performances are Touareg songs. However, there are performances by a few other invited African and world artists.

The 2012 edition has already taken place (12th to 14th January), but you can start planning for next year’s event now. Remember however that it will require you to rough it up a bit. For your accommodation, you will sleep inside a traditional Touareg tent, in a sleeping bag atop a traditional Touareg mat, for the three days. You will also have to adjust to the desert conditions – very hot during the day, and very cold at night.

You can find more information about this event at the official website. Below is a video footage from a past event

3. Maulidi Festival Lamu (Donkey races, Dhow races)
Maulidi is an islamic festival held to celebrate the birth of Prophet Mohammed. It takes place during Rabi-ul-awwal, the third month of the Muslim calender, hence its date in the Gregorian calender varies each year.

Every year, thousands of Muslim faithfuls from the whole East African region and other parts of the world go to Lamu to attend the Maulidi festivities. The celebrations last for the whole month, but the last week is the most fun-filled. Lots of sports competitions take place this time including dhow races, swimming, tug-of-wars, and donkey races.

On the last day of the Maulid festival, all the men gather at a central location for silent prayers, after which they interlock their arms and proceed in a giant procession to the sea front, where they celebrate vigorously with lots of singing and dancing.

4. Sauti za Busara – Zanzibar
Some people consider this as Africa’s biggest musical event. The organizers have dubbed it ‘the friendliest festival on the planet’. Sauti za Busara, a swahili phrase that translates to “Sounds of Wisdom”, is a cultural festival that brings together performing artists from Tanzania and several other African countries. The result is a great and exhilarating experience of the best of African cultural music.

But Sauti za Busara is much more than just a musical festival. It showcases the best of Zanzibar and Swahili culture. Visitors get to participate in a street carnival in Stone Town, fashion shows, dhow races, and a chance to sample the local food and drinks. All people who have attended the event have great things to say about it. The 2012 edition takes place from 8th to 12th February.

Visit the official website to see more information about the festival.

1. Kruger National Park – South Africa
Perhaps this game reserve needs no introduction. Some of the most amazing African wildlife videos and pictures come from Kruger, for example the pictures of a leopard killing a crocodile and the battle at kruger video (below).

Kruger is the largest game reserve in South Africa, and is distinguished for its high animal density, and the great diversity of animals, birds, and plant life. All the big five game (elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion, and leopard) are present in large numbers in the park. No other African game reserve has as many mammal species as Kruger.

The birdwatching experience in Kruger is just as superb, with over 500 resident and migrant bird species found there.

Kruger national park is ideal for self-drive safaris owing to a good road network. Adventure travel enthusiasts find the far North part of Kruger quite alluring being very wild and also very difficult to access. There are a number of small private game reserves along the edges of Kruger, each providing equally rewarding wildlife tours.

Arguably, no other game park in Africa offers you that total wildlife safari experience you find at Kruger. More information about Kruger and the neighbouring reserves are available on this site.

2. Masai Mara National Reserve – Kenya
Again, no introduction needed for this game reserve. The spectacular great wildebeest migration, dubbed as the most impressive event of the natural world, has given the Masai Mara game reserve an international appeal that other parks must envy.

During the migration, millions of wildebeests plus hundreds of thousands of zebras and other ungulates move into the Mara from Serengeti national park in Tanzania, in search of water and pasture. Several lions and other predators follow these migrating herbivores as they present easy prey. Some of the most dramatic moments of the migration happen during the crossing the Mara river.

Yet, with or without the migration, the Mara is still a must-visit destination. The park has a very high animal population, including all the big five. Besides the wildebeest, the lions and the other big cats are the other star attractions of the Mara. In a nutshell, the Mara is as good a safari destination as Kruger.

3. South Luangwa National Park – Zambia
The Luangwa valley in Zambia is one largely unexplored wildlife destination with an astonishingly high animal density. This remote valley is located far from any major city, thus does not have very many visitors. Yet the valley contains four pristine national parks, the most outstanding being the South Luangwa national park.

Walking safaris in Africa cannot be any better than what you experience in South Luangwa. The safari experience here can only be termed as the greatest in Africa. Visitors get to see many animals especially around the Luangwa river and its oxbow lagoons. Being a bit off the beaten track, the park is not very “touristy” or congested. The tour guides are some of the best you can find in Africa.

Among the animals you will see in South Luangwa are four of the big five (big five minus the rhino), cheetahs, many other predators, hippos, crocodiles, and many more. The thornicroft’s giraffe is only found here, and nowhere else in Africa. The elephant herds in the park are exceptionally large, sometimes numbering as many as 70. South Luangwa is also regarded as the best place in Africa to see the very elusive leopard.

4. Etosha National Park – Namibia
Despite being situated in arid conditions (in the Namib desert), Etosha deserves its position as one of Africa’s finest wildlife sanctuaries. Etosha national park is home to over 110 mammal species, an almost equal number of reptile species, and 340+ bird species.

This magnificent game park also has one of the highest population of the black rhino in Africa. Other animals present on Etosha include elephants, lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, and several rare species of Southern Africa antelopes.

The opportunity for wildlife photography Etosha provides is incomparable to any other park. The photo below, plus others found on blogoncherry blog attest to this fact.

Etosha has a very good road network making it perfectly suitable for self-drive wildlife safaris.

5. Selous Game Reserve – Tanzania
This top five list could not be complete without at least one national park or game reserve in Tanzania. There are several fine parks and reserves in the country but I think Selous, in Tanzania’s southern safari circuit takes top position.

Selous game reserve is the biggest game reserve in Tanzania and also in Africa. One similarity between Etosha and South Luangwa is that they are among the few remaining untouched wilderness in Africa. Like in South Luangwa, visitors to Selous can go for guided walking safaris within the reserve.

Selous has a very high animal concentration, especially along the Rufiji river banks. During the dry season, the Rufiji river is a magnet for many plains game, plus opportunistic predators preying on these easy targets.

One of Selous’ many reputations is in having the highest population of african wild dogs (pictured below: source wikimedia commons).

Other Parks and Reserves
This post was about the top five. However, there are several other game reserves worth mentioning. Depending on the criteria used to evaluate, some of them may even replace the above mentioned in the top five:

• Chobe national park in Botswana
• Ngorongoro conservation area in Tanzania
• Okavango Delta, in Botswana

Recommended African Safari Packages Booking
Visit the Africa guide Africa holiday packages to select a safari of your choice, including to some of the above destinations.

If I were to include the sphinx, the pyramids, and all other monuments from the ancient Egyptian civilization in this article, they would take all the top ten spots. This previous post lists what I consider the top five must-see sites in Egypt. In a later post, I will hopefully expand the list to include all the other places in Egypt.

Outside of Egypt, there are several equally important places that you should plan to visit in Africa. And these are what I am focusing on in today’s post.

1. The Roman ruins and relics of other ancient civilizations in Northern Africa
The entire Northern Africa region has dozens of monuments from the ancient ages. For the purpose of this article, I have grouped them together, but they are spread across Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco, making it impossible to see all of them all in one trip.

The ruins are the remains of the activities of the Phoenician, Greek, Roman, and Carthaginian civilizations in the Mediterranean region. The most popular among these historical sites include Leptis Magna (pictured) in Libya, El Djem in Tunisia, Djémila in Algiers, and Volubilis in Morocco. For those attractions in Tunisia, read this previous post.

2. Timbuktu, Mali

“…Timbuktu where every race came to get books, to learn from black teachers who taught Greeks and Romans…”

The Sankore Mosque in Timbuktu. Image by blueguy (http://www.flickr.com/photos/blueguy/280064686/) (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 generic)

The above quote, from Nas’ song I Can, may sound like an exaggeration – and it is – but from as early as the 12th century AD, Timbuktu was a key commercial and intellectual city.

Credible sources, like this website, indicate that by that time, the city already had three universities and several schools, with an active book publishing industry. Of course that was long after the end of both the Roman and Greek empires, but it still illustrates the historical significance of this city.

Today, Timbuktu may be a shadow of its glorious past, “a dusty footnote in northern Mali” as this report (PDF) indicates, but it remains an interesting and a must-visit site.

Sadly though, cases of kidnappings and terrorism have made several governments to issue warnings and alerts against traveling to Northern Mali. Here’s the one by the UK government for example.

3. Great Zimbabwe Ruins

Part of the great Zimbabwe ruins. Image by ctsnow (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ctsnow/95112892) (Creative commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

These ruins are the greatest evidence of the existence of a Bantu civilization long before the arrival of the Portugueese explorers and other Europeans. Historians estimate that at its peak, this massive stone city had a population of about 18,000 people. The region was an important commercial hub, trading mostly in gold, iron, copper, and cowrie shells.

Some early historians expressed doubt whether indeed the city was built by native Africans, claiming instead that a “more civilized race” must have built it.

There are several other legends concerning the city, including that it was was the capital of the Queen of Sheba, but then the same is said of Axum. If you are interested in more history about the Great Zimbabwe, Professor Manu Ampim has written quite an interesting account. Undoubtedly, the ruins are one of the most awe-inspiring places to visit in Africa, as you can read in the reviews of other people who have been there.

4. Meroe, Sudan

Some of the Pyramids at Meroe in Sudan Image by Fabrizio Dermartis (http://www.flickr.com/photos/fabriziodemartis/48324720/) (Creative commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0)

Did you know that there are more pyramids in Sudan than there are in Egypt?

(See this link for reference).

The so called Nubian pyramids are found in what is today a UNESCO world heritage site, the Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe.

Like their Egyptian counterparts, many of these pyramids were tombs for the royalty, but in this case, in the Kingdom of Kush.

The Meroe pyramids are smaller and lack the splendour of those in Egypt, but they still are an interesting place to visit.

5. Ethiopian Historical Sites

A Castle in Gondar, Ethiopia. Image by Beautiful Ethiopia (http://www.flickr.com/photos/beautifulethiopia/6058715749) (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic)

Ethiopia has one of the richest histories of all African countries. Arguably, only Egypt can rival Ethiopia’s historical heritage. As a result, the country has many interesting places for cultural travel.

The Ethiopian historical sites include Lalilbela, Axum, Gondar, and Harar.

Lalibela, for example, is famous for its monolithic temples, carved out of a stone from the ground.

You can read more about Ethiopia here

Map of Libya in North Africa

I know, this is a travel blog, with a goal of informing and educating people on matters pertaining the Africa travel industry. I have very little expertise on economic and political affairs to write about such matters in detail in this platform. But occasionally, some political events warrant a comment. The death of Muammar Gaddafi is one such event.

I was watching some video footages of the event on youtube, and was left with a sickening feeling in my stomach. I mean, this man has been the Libyan President for over 40 years. Yes, he may have been a dictator, a despot, and all other bad adjectives we can use to describe bad leaders. But he was the face of that nation. Also he must have had some few positives, as some people have pointed out.

In my view, it was very barbaric to treat him the way he was treated. To see what I am talking about, go to youtube then go to /watch?v=oR8v00pfglg and /watch?NR=1&v=6HlG7nEAryE (I choose not to embed the videos in this post).

Probably Gaddafi deserved to die because of the way he had treated other people, but that is a moral/ethical question, depending on your convictions. But even the worst criminal amongst us deserves some dignity.

I remember reading somewhere in Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War“ that when you corner your enemy, you should at least leave him a small escape route, presumably to keep his dignity intact. From the comments in the videos, I have also learnt about how Alexander the Great treated his enemy Darius III when he found him dying – offering him water and promising him a decent burial. Here’s a link that mentions that story.

That, in my opinion, is what the Libyan rebels should have done – allow Gaddafi to save some face. If for no other reason, because he was their leader for a very long time. One or two clean shots in the head would have done the job. Kicking his dead body, and other embarrasing things, was not nice.

Is Libya going to be a better place because of Gaddafi’s death? Maybe, maybe not, time will tell. Should world leaders celebrate Gaddafi’s fall with so much gusto? I don’t think so. There’s a Swahili proverb that goes “Ukiona cha mwenzako chanyolewa, tia chako maji”.

Map of Kenya

This post is prompted by the latest Kenya travel advisory issued by the UK and France governments.

A Brief Background to these latest travel warnings
Early last month (September 11, 2011), an armed gang raided an exclusive tourist resort in Lamu, killed a British tourist, and abducted his wife. See the full story in the Daily Nation.

Three weeks later, in October 1, 2011, another gang kidnapped a 66 year old French woman from her private home in Manda Island in Lamu. You can see this story too in both the Standard and the Daily Nation.

The minister for tourism, Najib Balala, has since then assured Kenya tourism stakeholders that the government has put measures in place to ensure such incidents do to occur again. Too late perhaps, coz the harm has already been done.

Under such circumstances therefore, the travel warnings about Kenya are somehow justified. And to be fair, the advisories only advise against traveling to Lamu and the region near the Kenya-Somali border. But I know safety is an important consideration for many people planning to come to Kenya, whether on a safari holiday or a business trip. So, is it safe to travel to Kenya?

As a Kenyan resident, I’d confidently state that yes, Kenya is still a very safe destination. However the most objective way to address the issue is by looking at some of the commonly identified security threats and concerns in Kenya.
• Terrorism
This is considered Kenya’s biggest security threat, mostly because of al-Shabaab and similar groups from the neighboring Somalia. In this day and age however, no place in the world can really claim to be entirely safe from terrorism. Terrorists can strike anywhere, and without warning. The porous Kenya-Somali border may make Kenya look particularly vulnerable, but the government security agencies have so far been doing a good job preventing attacks.

Update October 18, 2011: About five days ago, al-Shabaab struck again, this time kidnapping two Spanish doctors who work with Medecin sans Frontieres at the Dadaab refugee camp. See the full story on BBC. The Kenyan government viewed that as a declaration of war by al-Shabaab, and has now decided to take the battle to al Shabaab’s turf. As I write this, the Kenya Defence Forces have already started an offensive deep into Somalia territory, targeting al Shabaab strongholds.

NB: Daadab is in Garissa, near the Kenya – Somali border. It is  quite far from Kenya’s main tourism circuit. So far, apart from the two earlier incidents in Lamu and Manda, the main tourist areas remain safe. Kenyan security agencies have become even more vigilant to reduce the chances of terrorist acts and to ensure the safety of both the citizens and the visitors/tourists.

In the recent past, Kenya has had two major terrorist attacks: the US embassy bombing of 1998, and the Kikambala bombing of 2002. These served as wake-up calls for the Kenyan government to take strong counter-terrorism measures. Today therefore, you can be as safe from terrorism in Kenya as in the US, UK, and most other western countries.

• Political Unrest and Riots
The 2007-2008 post-election violence remains one of the darkest moments in Kenya’s history. In those days it was indeed quite unsafe to travel to the country as a foreigner. In my opinion, the biggest cause for that violence was the heightened tribalism and ethnic tensions that started in 2005, coupled with a few other historical facts that are too complex to discuss in one post. However, the violence taught us a very bitter lesson, and I don’t think we are willing to go down that road again.

At the moment therefore, Kenya has a calm political environment. The likelihood of highly-charged political rallies and riots is almost nil. Next year, 2012, will however be an election year. There will definitely be some heightened political temperatures because of the stakes involved, but I can bet my last coin it will still be peaceful. We, the “ordinary Kenyans”, learnt our lessons well in 2007-2008. Even the political leaders are aware that anyone who attempts to incite people to violence will be commiting political suicide. So, yes, it will still be safe to travel to Kenya even in 2012.

• Crime
Nairobi and other major Kenyan cities have relatively high crime rates, with armed robberies, kidnappings, and carjackings being common. However these crimes are mostly indiscriminate in that they do not specifically target tourists or foreigners, but rather anyone who happens to be at the wrong place, and at the wrong time, just like in most other cities of the world. You should therefore follow the same safety precautions that you follow in the cities in your home country. You know the rules:

• Avoid walking alone at night in isolated places (e.g. beaches) and unsafe streets in the cities
• If driving at night, close your car windows, and lock all the doors. Unless you really have to, do not stop your car at the side of the road.
• Leave your valuables in a locked safe place when taking a walk/going to public places, especially at night.
• etc. etc. mostly common sense

If you have never considered traveling to Uganda before, read this post to discover why you should. Henry Morton Stanley and Sir Winston Churchill were not crazy to refer to Uganda as the pearl of Africa.

1. Gorilla trekking and other primates safaris

A mountain gorilla in Uganda. Image Source: Fiver Löcker at Wikimedia commons

Have you ever watched the 1998 movie Mighty Joe Young? Or the Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011). Did you find them interesting? Of course, being movies, they have several exaggerations, but they well capture our (human’s) fascination with chimpanzees, gorillas, and other apes, considered our close relatives. What better way could there possibly be to satisfy this fascination, than tracking these primates in their natural habitat.

Gorilla trekking is without doubt the number one tourist attraction in Uganda. The country is home to one of the world’s largest population of mountain gorillas, the biggest of all apes. Every year, thousands of visitors travel to Uganda just to observe these mighty apes in their true home in the wild. The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is the most popular gorilla trekking destination in Uganda. Generally though, gorillas are also found in the Virunga mountains forest region, which transverses the Uganda, Rwanda, and Democratic Republic of Congo borders.

Be warned however, gorilla trekking is not an easy exercise. Most often, you will have to trek for two hours or more in dense forest terrain before sighting the first troop of gorillas. You therefore need to be healthy and reasonably fit to undertake this activity. The Uganda government restricts the numbers of people allowed to go tracking gorillas at any one time. As a result, gorilla trekking permits are in very high demand. To stand a good chance therefore, you should purchase your permit from a reputable tour operator at least three months before your intended date of travel.

You can find more information about mountain gorillas at the African Wildlife Foundation website. For some great gorilla trekking packages, visit the real adventures website here

Besides gorillas, other primates you can see in Uganda include chimpanzees, colobus monkeys, mangabeys, baboons, and many more monkey species.

2. Beautiful scenery and stunningly amazing landscape

Scenic Uganda landscape at Kabale area. Image source: Edirisa in Wikimedia Commons

In the book My African journey, Sir Winston Churchill describes Uganda as a scarcely describable beautiful garden. You may think that this has changed much since the time Churchill wrote that in 1908. But even today, Uganda still retains its amazing scenic beauty, one that very few other African countries can rival. Read this first hand experience of an independent traveler in Uganda if you think I’m bluffing.

Some of the beautiful places you must visit in Uganda include the spectacular Murchison falls, Lake Bunyonyi and its many tiny islands, Ssese Islands in Lake Victoria, the Kabale and Kisoro areas, the Kidepo valley national park in the Karamoja region, Mount Elgon near the Kenyan border, the snow-capped Rwenzori mountains – also known as the mountains of the moon, and Queen Elizabeth national park among others. Simply put, Uganda’s majestic rivers, green rolling mountains, and other natural features are the perfect setting for the most exhilarating scenic tours in Africa.

3. Spectacular African wildlife safaris

A tree-climbing lion at Ishasha region in Queen Elizabeth National Park of Uganda. Image source: Cody Pope at Wikimedia commons..

You have probably heard of the tree-climbing lions of Lake Manyara national park in Tanzania. But did you know that you can find the same in Uganda? The Ishasha plains of the Queen Elizabeth national park is the place to be to witness this.

In fact, you can see all of the big five African animals in Uganda. The Murchison Falls, Kidepo valley, and Queen Elizabeth national parks are among the best destinations for wildlife safaris in Uganda. They all have four of the big five, rhinos being the exception, plus an array of several other African animals. Like in other Africa destinations, leopards may be harder to spot in the wild because of their elusive and nocturnal nature.

There was a time when there were plenty of rhinos all over Uganda. However, the poaching menace, plus civil wars, led to their near extinction in the country. Today, the Ziwa Rhino Sanctaury is the only place you are assured of seeing rhinos in Uganda.

Of course, you cannot compare Uganda to Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, or South Africa when talking about wildlife safaris. But the country does offer a unique experience that you will not find elsewhere. You will find both the cape buffalo and the smaller forest buffalos, the savanna elephants and the smaller forest elephants, and hundreds of other animal species. You can also go on a chimpanzee tracking safari at the Kibale forest national park.

4. Great Opportunities for adventure sports and travel

The Nile, the longest river in Africa and in the world, has its source in Uganda. If you love extreme sports and adventure, the white Nile presents you some of the most exhilarating adventure opportunities. Popular adventure activities in Uganda include kayaking (from class II to class VI), white water rafting, and bungee jumping, all in the white Nile. You can also go sport fishing in Lake Victoria and at the foot of the Murchison Falls.

Owing to its hilly terrain, Uganda also has many excellent hiking and trekking trails, among them Mt. Elgon. You can even go mountain climbing in the snow-capped Ruwenzori mountains. Compared to the more famous Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) and Mt Kenya (Kenya), the mountains of the moon are less crowded with other tourists, yet they are just as challenging.

5. Rich African cultural heritage
Like several other African countries, Uganda has a very rich historical and cultural heritage. The most prominent destination for cultural travel in Uganda is the Kabaka trail.

The Kabaka is the king of the Baganda kingdom, a kingdom that dates back to the 14th century. The kingdom is still intact today, and its members practise some of the cultural and traditional rituals that have been passed down several generations. The Kabaka trail is that region in Uganda that preserves the history of the Baganda people. Some of the sites in this trail include the Naggalabi Buddo coronation site, Katereke royal prison, Ssezibwa falls, the Wamala tombs, and the popular tombs at Kasubi, the only UNESCO cultural world heritage site in Uganda.

How To Book Uganda Holiday Packages
The Africaguide.com offers some great holiday packages for Uganda. Click here to see and book some of them.

This is the second part of a run-down of ten of the most attractive places in Marrakech. They’re in no particular order, so don’t forget to check out part one!

6. Djemma el Fna (Jemaa el Fna)

A place of both beautiful sights and sounds, any respectable Marrakech tours have to include a stop here. At night, it is populated by musicians, dancers and story tellers; by day, you can expect to see snake charmers and people with monkeys.

Djema El Fna in Marrakech, Morocco. Image courtesy of srte at Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sr1/)

You should also find stalls there at any time of the day, selling all kinds of stuff – so you can get a bite to eat while you are watching any of the shows, among the most exciting things to do when on holiday in Marrakech. Just remember to pay to watch them.

7. Marrakech Souks

This is a very colourful place – literally, as well as metaphorically. It is basically the main market place of Marrakech, where you can purchase almost anything – food, clothes, cutlery… you get the gist. Try your best to haggle for good prices – though, in my experience, you will probably still end up paying more for goods here than a native would. Those seeking mainly shopping-oriented Marrakech holidays should make this place their first port of call.

8. Saadian Tombs

These date from the time of sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (reigned 1578-1603), but were only discovered in 1917 after being left untouched for centuries. Befitting the name, you can find the graves of about sixty members of the Saadi royal dynasty that ruled Morocco in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The real visual delights here are in the Italian Carrara marble monuments and the gorgeous decoration of the tombs.

9. El Badi Palace

This building, originally constructed in 1578, these days lies in ruins, and is clearly more accustomed to housing stray cats than Moroccan royalty. However, it isn’t difficult to imagine how truly majestic it must have looked prior to being torn apart by Alaouite sultan Moulay Ismail. It remains one of the most fascinating Marrakech historical sites, and exploring it remains one of the most riveting things to do in Marrakech.

10. Koutoubia Mosque

Though named after the booksellers market previously located here, it is fair to say that this, one of the most imposing Marrakech landmarks, is much more aesthetically pleasing than any pile of books. In fact, the minaret of the mosque has often been likened to the Eiffel Tower in Paris – and, like that monument, it looks even more beautiful when lit at night. Getting a photo of yourself and your fellow travellers in front of this is one of the truly essential things to do in Marrakech.

This is a guest post by Dave Clough who writes for lowcostholidays.com.

For travel enthusiasts, you may be happy to know that Southern Sudan provides you an incredibly rich experience, one that rivals or even surpasses other more established African destinations like Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Botswana, etc. This is despite the country’s prolonged civil war with its northern neighbor in the recent past. To this, add the fact that country is virtually a virgin destination, and you get a perfect reason for traveling to Southern Sudan now.

Here are 5 good reasons you should start planning your trip to Southern Sudan today.

• An Incomparable Africa Wildlife Experience: Picture hundreds of thousands of wildebeest and other large mammals moving as one huge herd across the plains as they migrate in search of pasture and water. What comes to mind? The Serengeti and Masai Mara, right?

Well, you are in for a surprise. Experts were shocked to “discover” in the Buma region of Southern Sudan, what they termed as “the largest migration of large mammals on planet earth“, one that is “more spectacular than other migrations on the African continent“.  And that’s not all: Southern Sudan has several game reserves that host plenty of elephants, lions, buffaloes, giraffes, and many other animal species plus an amazingly rich bird-life.

You need evidence? See the video below.

• An Unrivaled Cultural Heritage: Many of us already know about the rich culture of the Masai of Kenya and Tanzania, and the Zulu of South Africa. Now, meet the Dinka of Southern Sudan. Do you remember the 1980′s NBA superstar Manute Bol? The Seven feet, seven inches tall giant? He was a Dinka by tribe. The Dinka are considered the tallest tribe in Africa, alongside the Tutsi of Rwanda. Of course, their height is not their only distinguishing trait. The Dinka have a very vibrant culture, with some rituals, e.g. stick fighting, tattooing, facial marking and scarring, dating thousands of years.

Southern Sudan is also home to more than 60 other African tribes, each with equally interesting cultures and traditions.

• Plenty of Adventure Travel Opportunities: Think white water rafting, sport fishing, trekking, felucca tours, and much more. You can do all this in Southern Sudan, thanks to the presence of the White Nile. The White Nile in Southern Sudan has some few good spots for both flat water and wild water rafting and kayaking.

• Unique Historical Sites: Some of the most famous historical sites in Southern Sudan include King George’s house, which at one point housed the British King during during World War I;  the famous Tamarind tree, the resting point for the great British explorer, Sir Samuel Baker, as he explored the source of the Nile; Diem Zubair, which was one of the biggest slave markets during the slave trade; and the mausoleum of the late Dr. John Garang, SPLA commander.

• Magical Scenic Sites: The White Nile in itself offers plenty of beautiful scenery including waterfalls and rapids. There are many other beautiful sites in Southern Sudan besides those in the Nile. Some of the interesting ones include the Imatong mountains, Fulla Rapids, and the Sudd region, also known as “Lake No” because it is completely covered by water hyacinth, making it completely impossible to navigate.

To help you plan a sustainable and animal-friendly safari, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has compiled the following travel tips for you:

• Conduct a background check of the travel company before booking your trip: Some tour operators cater for very specific interests like hunting safaris or photographic safaris. Whatever your interests, ensure that the company uses professional and well-trained naturalists/tour guides, who are conversant with local rules, regulations, and acceptable practices. There are many operators that employ inexperienced persons as tour guides. Such individuals do not have adequate knowledge to make your safari trip enjoyable and at the same time animal-friendly.

• Use a tour operator/company that supports local community initiatives: There are companies that channel part of their profits towards such local initiatives as education projects, wildlife conservation efforts in community-owned animal conservancies. Such companies also employ members of the local community, thus empowering them.

• Adhere to the rules and regulations in the national parks and game reserves: During your safari, you will get the rare chance of getting very close to the animals in their natural homes in the African wild. As a responsible person, you should avoid doing anything that can disturb or frighten the animals, thereby endangering other people in the vicinity. Avoid behaviors like crowding, noise pollution by the tour vans, speeding and reckless driving.

• Be a responsible traveler: What you may consider an insignificant amount of litter can harm the ecosystem in a huge way. Do not therefore throw litter anyhow in the wild. Likewise, if you must buy curios and other souvenirs, make sure that they are not made from indigenous wood or animal parts.

• Inform the relevant authorities about any violations and improprieties: Do not turn a blind eye when, for example, other people mistreat the animals. Such actions reflect poorly on the community, and are bad for tourism. Let the game rangers and any other wildlife authorities know. Even after you return home from your vacation, it may help to write a follow-up mail to your country’s embassy. This would help get more action on the concern you expressed.