Chad is a northern central African country full of amazing landscapes, deserts, rocky highlands, and savannas. It’s always been a place where tourists go out of their comfort zones to discover new places and have new experiences. Picture the sublime oases, relax in the boats on Lake Chad, or explore the Sahara desert. Here are the top destinations you must visit when you travel to Chad.

N’Djamena

N’Djamena is Chad’s capital and the largest city, where you can find the Musee National, Grand Mosque, and the Central Market. You can see the blend of ancient and modern culture in the city. The national museum, established in 1962, houses many artifacts of historical importance and preserves ancient civilizations’ culture. N'Djamena Grand Mosque in the city center is where people gather and pray.

The central market is the best place to go in the capital city as you can find almost everything is on sale. You can check out household items, clothes, jewelry, souvenirs, and even unusual food. The locals know a lot about trade, and you can bargain with the sellers. Walk in the alleys and interact with the locals to learn more about the city and the country. N'Djamena architectures and cultures boast both historical and contemporary norms.

Zakouma National Park

The famous and the largest reserve in Chad is Zakouma National Park, located on Shari Rivers and Bar Salamis banks. This 3,000 square kilometers of the land is truly a refuge of wildlife, being the home of different animals such as the African elephants, Lelwel’s hartebeest, leopard, cheetah, and buffalos. It’s best to go here during the summer so you can watch birds and go on a guided safari.

You can also try out camping in Tinga Camp, which offers the park’s best viewing area, and can accommodate 490 people. Discover the restaurants surrounding the park and try out the local dishes while enjoying the African bush’s ambiance. You’ll surely meet different people who already finished their guided safari tours, or probably they are just starting their journey to the park.

Abéché

The oldest city in the country, full of historic places and remnants of the past, is Abéché. It is the country’s ethnographic and cultural place, as you can see ruins of the past that retained the ancient charm. Drive and explore the city and go to the mosques, Sultan’s palace, and the old cemetery. There are still the ancient city walls and ancient houses preserved. You can also drop by in the old markets to buy local dishes, spices, and handicrafts.

Ennedi Region

You can find this flat landscape with the most stunning sculpted rocks in the northeast region of Chad. The stone arches and the uneven stones make a dramatic landscape and a unique natural work of art. There are caves, ponds, and a maze of rocks in the Ennedi Plateau. You can also find petroglyph on the stones that depicted animals, peoples, warriors, horse riders, and ancient life.

Douguia

In this town, you’ll witness waterways, deserts, villages, and Chad’s landscape. The city owes much of its tourist popularity to the Chari River, which flows from the Central African Republic into Lake Chad, joined by its principal tributaries. Some of the activities you can do are riding a tour with a boatman that will take you in the traditional canoe and witness the local birds.

You can also enjoy eating the fresh captain fish near the river’s restaurants. Besides going to the Chari River, you can go to the Hadjer Lamis (Rock of the Elephants) mountain formation. It got its name since the mountain formation in granite resembles an elephant. Just don’t visit the mountain during the rainy season since there is usually flooding on the roads and can’t pass by the Elephant rock.

The Sahara Desert and Lake Yoa

Undoubtedly, one of the most beautiful places in Chad is the Sahara Desert that covers more than 9 million square kilometers. It is the largest desert in the world which stretches from the Red Sea to the Atlantic. Some areas of the desert have rugged cliffs and highlands, while the rest is full of sand. The desert climate is arid and hash, and life is only possible near oases and banks of reservoirs.

Lake Yoa is a salt lake in the Sahara Desert. There is a high salt concentration since the sun daily evaporates water from the lake’s surface. There is a little rain throughout the year, but Lake Yoa does not dry out since underground fossil sources fill the lake. Since the water is salty here, only seaweed can live in it. It’s quite hard to locate the Sahara, so you must ask the locals about the right directions to go to the desert. It is also best to join group tours with travel guides who are experts in the place.