Africa has 89 World Heritage Sites, which feature some of the world’s most fascinating and breath-taking places to visit. These landmarks are so important to the world that they are officially protected for future generations to enjoy. There’s much spectacular beauty to be enjoyed in Africa and these World Heritage Sites are a great place to start to appreciate our great continent.
World Heritage Sites
So what’s a World Heritage Site? Short answer: an inscription on the World Heritage List designates a place as being of outstanding universal value to humanity and, as such, protected from destruction for posterity. Examples of such sites include the Pyramids of Giza, the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China. There are several striking heritage sites in Africa; here are some of the best known sites.
Lalibela, Ethiopia – the rock-hewn churches
These particular churches are large and beautifully carved out of rock, with artistic detail that is highly refined and in almost perfect preservation. This is Orthodox Christianity at its most raw and powerful, with extraordinary architecture that is adorned with awe-inspiring paintings in an ethereal atmosphere complete with the soft chanting of white-robed priests and pilgrims. Visit during Timket, the festival of the Epiphany that sees Ethiopian Christians re-enact Christ’s baptism.
Cliffs of Bandiagara, Mali
Mali’s Dogon Country is a dizzying spectacle of rose-coloured villages, vast azure skies, sacred crocodiles and sandstone cliffs. Add to this a mysterious animist culture with complex traditions.
In addition to its geological, archaeological and ethnological significance, the Bandiagara plateau here is one of the most impressive sites in West Africa.
Timbuktu, Mali
There are few places on earth that celebrate the pursuit of knowledge as Timbuktu does. With its ancient libraries, imperial monuments, and not-yet-digitized texts on philosophy and astronomy, the city captivates visitors.
Great Zimbabwe National Monument, Zimbabwe
Ancient legend has it that Great Zimbabwe – the capital of the Queen of Sheba – was built by the Bantu Shona between the 11th and 15th centuries. It’s certainly a testament to the skill and workmanship of the Shona. Covering an area of nearly 80 ha, the city was an important trading centre.
Ancient Thebes with its necropolis, Egypt
With its temples and palaces at Karnak and Luxor, as well as its necropolis in the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens, Thebes is a striking testimony to Egyptian civilization at its most remarkable
Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve, Madagascar
We dare you to show us anything on earth quite like the jagged limestone pinnacles of Parc National des Tsingy de Bemaraha. The park’s serrated, other-worldly peaks and boulders are geological masterpieces, resulting from water, wind and erosion over millennia. Equally impressive is the creative infrastructure put in place to allow the public to experience the park: ferratas (fixed-cable routes), rope bridges and ladders, with circuits combining forests, caves, pirogue trips and, believe it or not, abseiling.
Maloti-Drakensberg Park, South Africa
There is exceptional natural beauty found in the sites of the Maloti-Drakensberg Park composed of the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg National Park in South Africa and the Sehlathebe National Park in Lesotho. In addition to soaring buttresses and dramatic cutbacks of basalt, the site has stunning sculptured arches, caves, cliffs, pillars, and rock pools.
There are numerous endemic and globally important plants at the site, as well as endangered species including the Cape vulture (Gyps coprotheres) and the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus).
Sehlabathebe National Park in Lesotho supports the Maloti minnow (Pseudobarbus quathlambae), an endangered fish found only within the park.
Caves and rock shelters at this site contain the largest and most concentrated collection of paintings found anywhere in Africa south of the Sahara. These paintings represent the spiritual life of the San people who inhabited the area over a period of 4,000 years.
Have you been to any of these sites? If so, let us know in the comments!
