Things to note when traveling in Africa

Purity, beauty, original ecology, paradise, Garden of Eden, safari, diamonds... are the words that most often describe the first impression of Africa in people's minds. Indeed, Africa is a land full of magical charm. Here are the things I have to pay attention to when traveling in Africa. I hope it will be helpful to you!

Things to pay attention to when traveling in Africa

1. Before traveling to Africa, you must be vaccinated against yellow fever and malaria at home and bring proof of vaccination, as well as relevant preventive and treatment drugs.

2. Be sure to go to the airport early;

3. Be sure to wear long sleeves and long trousers. One is to protect against ultraviolet rays and the other is to prevent mosquito bites. Mr. Du of China is here I have been wearing long-sleeved clothes and pants all year round in Africa for five or six years, and I have never had malaria;

4. You must bring anti-mosquito medicines;

5. When you come to Africa, African friends brought some cool oil, Vaseline and other small items as gifts to them, and they liked them very much;

6. When you come to Africa, try to wear some old clothes from home. When you go back, give all these clothes away, and pack lightly. go home.

7. If you don’t understand the language in Africa, it is better to stay in a big hotel for safety. Most areas in Africa are relatively safe, mainly because there are many thieves. Please take care of your important belongings. As for vicious incidents such as kidnapping and shooting, It mainly occurs in areas with anti-government, armed forces, war, ethnic and tribal conflicts. It also happened to draw international attention and put pressure on the government.

8. When traveling to Africa, prepare some scattered US dollars and local currency. You can use MasterCard and Visa cards in big hotels, booking tickets, etc., but in some places, there is no change for large amounts of US dollars.

9. When traveling in Africa, you must find a local travel agency. If you have any questions, you can communicate with them. If you don’t understand the language, it’s best to memorize a few English words like “airport customs clearance, transfer channel”. Africa has different scenery from China. When traveling, you must bring a camera and prepare spare batteries, conversion sockets and enough memory cards (note that some places are not allowed to take pictures, so be sure to follow the tour guide's instructions). When traveling in Africa, you can bring your domestic China Mobile international roaming mobile phone to prepare for domestic communication. Also bring paper, pen, and slippers.

Recommended tourist attractions in Africa

1. The best wildlife sanctuary in the world - Masai Mara National Wildlife Refuge [Kenya]

The Masai Mara is a vast, well-protected landscape in southern Kenya and one of the best wildlife reserves in the world. The low hills are rolling, and the vast grassland stretches as far as the eye can see. Giant acacia trees and Bobabu trees are scattered among them. Many tributaries of the Mara River cross it. The scenery is magnificent. Here, people and nature, people and animals live in harmony, the unique primitive culture, and the wonderland-like beauty of sunrise and sunset on the grassland can make modern people who have lived in cities for a long time forget all stress and worries and completely integrate into the wonderful nature. , feel a kind of relaxation and happiness of return.

2. The oldest desert - Namib Desert [Namibia]

Although most of this desert is uninhabited and difficult to reach, there are still people living in Sesriem. The area is close to the famous Sossusvlei and a series of sand dunes, some of which are more than 300 meters high, including the highest sand dunes in the world. Its dunes have complex and regular shapes and have become the research object of geologists. This area is considered to be the oldest desert in the world. The arid and semi-arid climate has lasted for at least 80 million years. Doesn’t it sound like an urge to explore?

3. The most luxurious Stone Town of Zanzibar - Stone Town of Zanzibar [Tanzania]

Stone Town of Zanzibar is a seaside commercial city built by the Swahili people in East Africa. Zanzibar Stone Town has deep winding streets, noisy markets, many mosques, and magnificently decorated Arab-style houses. The tall wooden doors of urban buildings are covered with copper nails, and the ornate patterns are intricately carved, in a typical Arabic style.

Stone City has well preserved ancient town buildings and beautiful town scenery. There are also many exquisite buildings in the city, reflecting its unique culture.

4. The highest mountain in Africa - Mount Kilimanjaro [Tanzania]

Mount Kilimanjaro is located in northeastern Tanzania, close to the Kenyan border. It is the highest mountain in Africa. mountain peak. Its snow caps hanging high on the blue sky can be seen as far away as 200 kilometers away, shining under the scorching equatorial sun. Mount Kilimanjaro is known as the "Roof of Africa", and many geographers like to call it the "King of Africa". The high peak of Mount Kilimanjaro is covered with snow, and the mountainside is shrouded in clouds and mist, which is full of a magical and unpredictable atmosphere. Especially at dusk, the clouds and mist on the top of the mountain occasionally disperse, and the silver-white and crystal-clear peak is illuminated by the golden sunset. Revealing her charming face, she looked colorful and brilliant.

5. The only gem of the Niger Valley - the ancient city of Djenné [Mali]

The ancient city of Djenné, known as the "jewel of the Niger Valley", is known for its unique It is world-famous for its Saharan-Sudanese architectural style, Moorish architecture and splendid Islamic culture. There are about 2,000 ancient buildings in the city, all of which are well preserved. Houses were built on hillocks to accommodate seasonal flooding. The green Bani River flows slowly through the urban area of ??this historic city. The city is lined with ditches, small bridges, and gurgling water. Various buildings are hidden among tall and lush mango trees, as well as strong palm trees, banana fruits, luxuriant flowers, and lush grass. Various buildings such as princes' residences, mosques, and scholar's mausoleums present an urban scene like a tropical water town.

6. One of the largest waterfalls in the world - Victoria Falls [Zimbabwe]

Victoria Falls (Victoria Falls) is one of the largest waterfalls in the world, located in Zambia, Africa. The middle reaches of the Bisi River, on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The canyon poured into by the waterfall itself is a rare natural chasm in the world. Here, the high gorges twist and turn, the blue rocks are like swords, the giant waterfalls roll over the silver, and the rapids flow, forming an exceptionally beautiful natural scenery. Famous for its shape, size and sound, Victoria Falls is a wonder on earth. The waterfall rushes into the basalt strait, and the rainbow formed by the water mist can be seen from 200 kilometers away. Whenever the new moon rises, the dazzling moonbow is reflected in the water mist, and the scenery is very charming.

7. One of the largest inland deltas in the world - Okavango Delta [Botswana]

The Okavango Delta is located near the edge of the Kalahari Desert. Papyrus and phoenix palms flourish, while the abundant waters provide an ideal environment for ospreys, kingfishers, hippos, crocodiles and tiger fish. When the surrounding areas of the delta began to emerge from the water, wildlife began to concentrate on the edges of the new water, making it a natural refuge and large waterhole for the large animals of the Kalahari. The fish swimming leisurely in the water, crocodiles sunbathing on the beach, hippopotamus and swamp antelopes grazing freely are wonderful.

8. The largest canyon in Africa - Fish River Grand Canyon [Namibia]

The Fish River Grand Canyon is located in the Aais/Chitthwaite Transnational Park and is the world's largest canyon. One of the largest canyons in the world and the largest canyon in Africa. The Fish River Gorge Hiking Adventure Trail ranks among the top hiking adventure trails in southern Africa and allows backpackers to walk along the river. The road is surrounded by steep cliffs on both sides, and below is a deep winding river. The entire route leads from the northernmost point of the Fish River Grand Canyon to Ais Hot Springs. Many visitors choose to hike Fish River Canyon, which takes at least five days to complete.

9. The most mysterious cemetery pyramid - Memphis and its cemetery pyramids [Egypt]

Memphis and its cemetery pyramids are located around the capital of the ancient Egyptian kingdom, including rock tombs , stone tombs, temples and pyramids, it is considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Every plant and tree in Giza, where the pyramids and the Sphinx were built, is so sacred that it has remained the same even though thousands of years have passed. The Pyramids of Giza have a majestic appearance and are located on a plateau, echoing the old city of Cairo across the Nile River.

10. One of the most famous prehistoric cultural sites - Omo Valley [Ethiopia]

The Omo Valley is located in Tur in the Herm-Gofa region in southern Ethiopia. The Omo Valley, north of Lake Cana, is a world-famous prehistoric cultural site. Today, the Omo Valley remains in its pristine state and tribal traditions remain unchanged to this day. Women there still wear exquisite and gorgeous animal skin costumes, while men signify their adulthood by combing their hair in a bun with a special color on their head. Here you can see that the women of the Mursi tribe still wear huge lip plates, and the men participate in regular stick fighting rituals.

Africa Travel Guide

Africa Travel Guide - Accommodation

The star rating of tourist hotels in Africa is different from that in China, so don’t care about the number of stars. There are no translators in the hotel, but the service staff can speak English. All hotels do not provide toothbrushes, toothpaste, or disposable slippers.

The hotel does not have hot water for drinking. Please remember that the tap water is not drinkable directly. Wi-Fi is rarely available.

Service staff generally do not ask for tips. Western tourists usually give service staff a tip of US$1; if they do not give a tip, they will not ask for it.

Environment of Africa Travel Guide

The African continent is wide in the north and narrow in the south, taking the shape of a scalene triangle. The longest length from north to south is about 8,000 kilometers, and the longest width from east to west is about 7,500 kilometers. Africa is a plateau continent with relatively flat terrain, and obvious mountain ranges are limited to the north and south ends. The average altitude of the entire continent is 750 meters. The plateau with an altitude of 500 to 1,000 meters accounts for more than 60% of the continent's area. Mountains and plateaus above 2,000 meters above sea level account for about 5% of the continent's area. Plains below 200 meters above sea level are mostly distributed in coastal areas. The terrain is roughly bounded by a line from the mouth of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the northern edge of the Ethiopian Plateau. The southeastern half is higher and the northwest half is lower. The southeastern half is called High Africa, with altitudes mostly above 1,000 meters. There are the Ethiopian Plateau (with an altitude above 2,000 meters, known as the "Roof of Africa"), the East African Plateau and the South African Plateau. On the South African Plateau there is Kalaha. Dee Basin. The northwest half is called Lower Africa, with altitudes mostly below 500 meters. Most of them are low plateaus and basins, including the Upper Nile Basin, Congo Basin, and Chad Basin.

Most of the taller mountains in Africa stand in the coastal areas of the plateau. There are the Atlas Mountains on the northwest coast; the Drakensberg Mountains on the southeast coast; and Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro in the east. Mount Kilimanjaro is an active volcano with an altitude of 5,895 meters, making it the highest peak in Africa. East Africa has the largest rift zone in the world. The eastern branch of the rift zone starts from the mouth of the Shire River in the south, passes through Lake Malawi, runs northward through the central East African Plateau and the central Ethiopian Plateau, and passes through the Red Sea to the northern part of the Dead Sea. It is about 6 400 kilometers; the west branch of the rift zone starts from the northwest end of Lake Malawi in the south, passes through Lake Tanganyika, Lake Kivu, Lake Edward, and Lake Albert, and ends at the Albert Nile Valley, with a length of about 1,700 kilometers. The rift zone is generally 1,000 to 000 meters deep and dozens of kilometers to 300 kilometers wide, forming a series of long, narrow and deep valleys and lakes. Among them, the lake surface of Lake Assal is 156 meters below sea level, which is the largest lake in Africa. The lowest point on land.

Desert: The desert area in Africa accounts for about 1/3 of the entire continent, making it the continent with the largest desert area. The Sahara Desert is the largest desert in the world, covering an area of ??7.77 million square kilometers; there are also the Namib Desert and the Kalahadi Desert in the southwest.

Volcanoes and earthquakes: There are a series of extinct and active volcanoes in and near the East African Rift Valley, among which the tallest volcanoes reach an altitude of more than 5,000 meters. There are also many tall volcanoes in central and western Africa. The East African Rift Valley is also the area with the most frequent and strongest earthquakes in Africa.

Water system: Africa’s outflow area accounts for approximately 68.2% of the continent’s area. Most of the Atlantic outflow water systems are large rivers with long origins, including the Nile River, Congo River, Niger River, Senegal River, Volta River, Orange River, etc. The Nile River is 6,671 kilometers long and is the longest river in the world.

The basin area and flow of the Congo River are second only to the Amazon River, ranking second in the world. The Indian Ocean outflow system includes the Zambezi River, Limpopo River, Juba River, short rivers on the east coast of Africa, and rivers on the island of Madagascar. The area of ??Africa's internal drainage systems and flowless areas is 9.58 million square kilometers, accounting for approximately 31.8% of the continent's total area. Among them, only the Lake Chad basin has a sound river system. The Okavango River Basin and the Sahara Desert are very dry, with many intermittent rivers and many dry valleys in the desert. The inner flow area also includes the small lake area of ??the Great Rift Valley in East Africa. Rivers flow into the lake from the surrounding highlands. The lake area has abundant rainfall and a dense river network, which is different from other arid inner flow areas. African lakes are concentrated in the East African Plateau, with a small amount scattered in inland basins. Plateau lakes are mostly fault lakes with long, narrow and deep waters arranged in a bead shape in the East African Rift Valley. Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and the second largest freshwater lake in the world; Lake Tanganyika is the second deepest lake in the world. Lake Tana, located on the Ethiopian plateau, is the highest lake in Africa, with an altitude of 1,830 meters. Lake Chad is the largest lake in the inland basin, and its area changes frequently.

Africa is known as the "tropical continent". Its climate is characterized by high temperature, little rain, and dryness, and the distribution of climate zones is symmetrical from north to south. The equator runs across the center, and the climate generally decreases with increasing latitude from the equator. Approximately 95% of the continent's area has an average annual temperature above 20°C. More than half of the areas are hot all year round, and nearly half of the areas have hot warm seasons and warm cool seasons. Dallol in northeastern Ethiopia has an average annual temperature of 34.5°C, making it one of the places with the highest annual average temperatures in the world. In Aziziya, south of Tripoli, the capital of Libya, the temperature reached 57.8°C on September 13, 1922, the highest temperature in Africa. Mount Kilimanjaro is located near the equator. Due to its high altitude, the top of the mountain is covered with snow all year round.

Precipitation in Africa decreases from the equator to the north and south, and the distribution of precipitation is extremely uneven. In some areas, there is almost no rain all year round, and in some places, the annual precipitation reaches more than 10,000 mm. One-third of the continent has an average annual rainfall of less than 200 mm. The windward slopes of the southeast, the Gulf of Guinea coast and the mountains receive more precipitation.

History of Africa Travel Guide

Africa has a long history and is one of the birthplaces of human civilization. Since the 19th century, archaeologists have successively discovered many ancient human fossils in Africa. Among them, the 3.2 million-year-old female ape-man fossil discovered in the border area of ??Kenya and Ethiopia in 1974 is considered to be the first person in the world to walk out of the tropical forest. The remains of a woman who began walking upright. Some anthropologists use genetic techniques to study human genes and believe that all ethnic groups in the world originated from a primitive African tribe 40,000 to 200,000 years ago. They believe that most of the primitive humans who differentiated from apes 4 to 6 million years ago left no descendants. Only one tribe in Africa survived. 100,000 years ago, this tribe began to leave Africa and moved to West Asia, and then moved from West Asia to All over the world, they entered the interior of Asia 60,000 years ago, Oceania between 40,000 and 60,000 years ago, Europe 35,000 years ago, and finally crossed the Bering Strait and reached the Americas 35,000 years ago. The descendants of these African tribes who migrated around the world eventually formed modern humans.

Africa is one of the first regions to enter civilized society. In 5000 BC, the ancient Egyptian residents in the lower reaches of the Nile River mastered the technology of cereal cultivation and construction of water conservancy projects. In 3500 BC, the ancient Egyptians created the world's earliest hieroglyphs. In 3200 BC, a unified centralized slave state emerged in ancient Egypt. In the next nearly 3,000 years, the ancient Egyptians created a splendid culture and built the pyramids, one of the seven wonders of ancient times. Many ancient Egyptian kings (Pharaohs) conquered east and west to expand the territory of ancient Egypt. At its peak, Egypt's territory extended to Sudan in the south, Libya in the west, Asia Minor in the north, and the upper reaches of the two rivers in the east. At the same time as it expanded, ancient Egyptian culture also spread to all directions. Egyptian hieroglyphics were introduced to ancient Greece and evolved into the Greek alphabet. The Greek alphabet later evolved into modern Western Latin. The powerful ancient Egypt existed for nearly 3,000 years. During this period, Egypt expanded outwards many times and was invaded many times by powerful peoples around it. In 525 BC, the Persians conquered Egypt. From then on, Egypt lost its independent status and was ruled by the Macedonians, Romans, Arabs, and Ottoman Turks for a long time.

After World War II, the African people's movement for national independence and liberation flourished.

Since the 1950s, African countries have gradually gained independence. In 1974, Angola, Mozambique and other countries declared independence, and the entire colonial system in Africa was disintegrated. On April 18, 1980, Zimbabwe declared independence, and the colonial rule of Western countries completely disappeared from Africa. There are 50 independent countries in Africa. African countries that had just gained independent status recognized the importance of unity and cooperation. In April 1958, the First Conference of Independent African Countries was held. Eight countries, including Egypt, Liberia and Ghana, participated in the conference. The participating countries unanimously agreed to strengthen unity and cooperation. The African Unity Movement began. In May 1963, the leaders of 31 independent African countries gathered in Addis Ababa and held the unprecedented summit of independent African countries. The meeting signed the Charter of the Organization of African Unity, declaring the official establishment of the Organization of African Unity.

An independent and united Africa plays an increasingly important role on the world political stage. With the support of the international community and the joint efforts of African countries, many problems in Africa have been solved. In March 1990, Namibia, the last colony in Africa, declared independence from South Africa. The white South African regime that implemented the apartheid policy also gradually gave up its racial discrimination policy. In 1994, South Africa held its first non-racial national election in history. Black leader Mandela was elected president. On April 12, Mandela was sworn in as President of South Africa, announcing the birth of a new South Africa.

The establishment of the Republic of Namibia and the birth of the new South Africa announced the successful completion of the African people's historical mission of striving for national independence and political liberation. Ancient Africa has entered a new historical period.

Ethnicities in Africa Travel Guide

Most African residents believe in primitive religions and Islam, while a few believe in Catholicism and __

Festivals in Africa Travel Guide

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There are many African countries, and the situation of ethnic groups and tribes is even more complicated. Therefore, African festivals are extremely rich and colorful, with strong regional characteristics and distinctive national characteristics. Compared with European and American countries, African festivals retain more primitive customs. Various competitive contests, emphasis on ancestral life and battle scenes, totem worship, and traditional music and dance of various tribes are often indispensable elements of African festivals. Of course, today's festivals not only display the fierce and rugged primitive heritage, but also add new contents such as promoting national culture, enhancing inter-ethnic exchanges and unity, and promoting the development of economy, trade and tourism.

Religious Festivals in Africa Like those in other parts of the world, religious activities are indispensable in African festivals. African traditional religion worships many gods. All things in nature, ancestors, totems, sun, moon, wind and rain can all be gods. This is still reflected in various festivals in Africa. Among foreign religions, Islam and Christianity are quite influential, and Hinduism also has its sphere of influence. The ensuing religious festivals will spread in areas where believers of various religions are concentrated, but they will inevitably have the characteristics of African culture, and even blend with local culture, changing the religious meaning of the festival.

For example, Eid al-Adha is a grand religious festival for Moroccan Muslims, held in late July every year. The festival customs are not much different from those in other Muslim countries. The trading activities of buying and selling sheep started before the festival. During the festival, every family holds a grand feast of sheep to entertain guests, and also holds a grand worship ceremony at the mosque. Unlike other regions, Muslims in Morocco also hold a grand sheep-sacrifice ceremony. Each family prepares a sheep. After praying, a knife is inserted into the neck of the sheep, and then the bloody sheep is picked up and runs to the mosque. When the sheep arrived at the temple gate and the sheep was still alive, a gun was fired to indicate this auspicious sign, and then there was a carnival. It is estimated that millions of sheep are slaughtered in Morocco every year during Eid al-Adha. Therefore, King Hassan II called for no sheep slaughter during the festival in 1981. During this year, Moroccan Muslims spent the year without slaughtering sheep. Eid al-Adha. Eid al-Adha is also a traditional peace festival in Morocco. Tribes, family members, and neighbors must live in harmony during the festival, and no conflicts or disputes should occur.

Local transportation in Africa travel guide

Africa does not have transnational highways that run from east to west and from north to south. Even within a country, there is a lack of a sound transportation network, and even basic road facilities are not provided. Among the relatively similar road systems, the Mediterranean coast of North Africa is the first, followed by the international network of the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa.

Railways are the main means of transportation in South Africa and East Africa. In terms of scale, South Africa's railways and roads are second to none and have reached world standards.