Africa has numerous natural and cultural World Heritage sites. Here I present 14 wonderful places!
Table of Contents
Best African World Heritage Sites
Serengeti National Park
Located in northern Tanzania near the Kenyan border, the park is one of the world’s most famous nature conservation areas.
The ecosystem includes savannas, woodland forests, and endless grasslands. Its most famous phenomenon is the „great migration” during which nearly two million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebras search for new pastures annually.
The animals living in the Serengeti include representatives of the famous „Big Five” (lion, elephant, leopard, buffalo, rhinoceros), as well as several endangered species such as cheetah and wild dog. Additionally, more than 500 bird species live in the park.
Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve
One of the Seychelles’ most important nature reserves is located on Praslin Island.
The area owes its World Heritage listing to its extraordinary biodiversity and rare, endemic flora and fauna. The 19-hectare mountainous section is one of the best-preserved tropical rainforests in the world.
The area is famous for the Coco de Mer (palm tree), whose extraordinarily large seeds and unique shape have made it world-famous. Additionally, the forest provides special habitat for several endemic bird species, including the Seychelles Black Parrot, one of the world’s rarest parrot species.
Aït Benhaddou
Located near the city of Ouarzazate on the southern slopes of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.
It’s a kasbah-type settlement, which is a traditional architectural form comprising fortified villages. The village gets its characteristic red color from locally mined clay. Most of the structures date from the 17th century, although the settlement’s roots go back much further.
It was located along former caravan routes that were the main trading routes from the Sahara to Marrakech. Today it’s rarely inhabited and owes its fame to several films. Parts of Gladiator and Game of Thrones were filmed here.
Great Pyramid of Giza
One of the three royal pyramids forming the Giza pyramid complex, it’s part of the UNESCO World Heritage site as part of the Memphis necropolis.
It’s the oldest, largest, and only surviving wonder of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The world’s largest pyramid, at 147 meters high, was also the world’s tallest building for four thousand years.
The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of humanity’s most outstanding engineering and architectural achievements. It’s a symbol of size, precision, and durability.
Lamu Old Town
Located in Kenya, the center of Lamu Island is the country’s oldest and best-preserved Swahili settlement.
Founded in the 14th century, it had strong trade connections to Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, India, and Europe. This cultural mixing shaped Lamu’s unique identity.
Its Old Town is unique in that it still preserves its traditional architectural style and way of life. Its narrow streets, houses built from coral stone and mangrove wood, and traditional wooden doors are fascinating examples of Swahili culture. The Old Town’s residents still live in traditional ways today.
Le Morne Cultural Landscape
A picturesque site on Mauritius’s southwestern coast, famous not only for its natural beauty but also for its extraordinary historical significance.
Le Morne itself is a massive mountain that is the island’s most iconic point. In the lagoon around the mountain, there’s an interesting formation, the „underwater waterfall”: from the air, it looks like water is pouring into a large ditch. This appears in almost every picture.
Historically, it’s important because many escaped slaves used this area in the 18th-19th centuries to hide from pursuing authorities. The rocks, caves, and hidden bays at the top of the mountain and surrounding area provided them with ideal shelter.
Robben Island
Located in South Africa, about 7 km off the coast of Cape Town in the Atlantic Ocean.
It’s one of the world’s most famous political and historical sites. Over centuries, it served various purposes, including as a prison, military base, and leper colony. During apartheid, the island became a notorious prison where political prisoners were held, including Nelson Mandela, who spent 18 years here.
The island now operates as a museum and is an important site for conveying knowledge about apartheid history and the struggle for freedom and equality.
Archaeological Site of Carthage
Near Tunisia’s capital, Tunis, you can see the remains of one of antiquity’s most significant cities.
Founded by the Phoenicians around 814 BCE, it became a significant power center, especially during the Punic Wars when it became Rome’s greatest rival. It was destroyed in 146 BCE during the Third Punic War when the Romans conquered and demolished the city. It was later rebuilt and became one of Roman Africa’s most important cities.
The site contains rich archaeological remains from various periods, including Punic-era harbors and burial sites, as well as Roman-era structures such as the Roman theater and the Antonine Baths.
Stone Town
The historic part of Zanzibar is one of the best examples of East African Swahili coastal trading towns.
The city’s name (Stone Town) refers to the coral stone houses that represent the architectural heritage of this thriving 19th-century trading center. It uniquely combines Arab, Indian, Persian, and European influences, seen for example in the ornately carved wooden doors and sunshades.
Zanzibar was once a center for slave, spice, and ivory trade, forming an important connection between East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, India, and Europe. The city is a defining center of Swahili culture, which has had a lasting impact in music, literature, and gastronomy.
Victoria Falls
Located on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, it’s one of the world’s largest and most famous waterfalls.
The Zambezi River plunges into a chasm about 1,708 meters wide. The average height of the falls is 108 meters. Scottish missionary David Livingstone discovered it for the Western world in 1855 and named it after Queen Victoria.
The surrounding rainforest ecosystem is unique, and thanks to the constant mist created by the falls, it’s home to many endemic plant and animal species.
Timbuktu
The city in Mali, on the southern edge of the Sahara, has been listed as an endangered World Heritage site since 1990.
It was one of the most important cities of the Mali Empire, which flourished in the 14th-16th centuries. Known as the „Golden City,” Timbuktu played a significant role as a center of trans-Saharan trade, particularly in gold, salt, and other commodities.
Through its three famous mosques (Djinguereber, Sankoré, and Sidi Yahia) and numerous private libraries, it became one of the Middle Ages’ most important study locations. The Timbuktu manuscripts are unique documents of the medieval Muslim world’s scientific achievements, preserved in more than 700,000 copies.
M’Zab Valley
Located in the northern Sahara in Algeria, it’s one of the world’s most beautiful oasis systems.
It consists of five separate fortified cities (Ghardaïa, Melika, Beni Isguen, El-Atteuf, and Bou Noura), founded by the Mozabite Berbers from the 11th century. The cities’ special circular arrangement, the architectural style of houses and mosques, and the organization of community life are fascinating examples of adaptation to the desert environment.
Ghardaïa is the valley’s largest and most famous city, known for its market and mosque. Beni Isguen is a strictly closed settlement that has preserved its traditional way of life and functions as a religious center. El-Atteuf is the valley’s oldest city, and its mosque is an early example of Mozabite architecture.
Namib Sand Sea
This special area is part of the Namib Desert, famous for its huge sand dunes, which are among the world’s highest.
The desert along the Atlantic Ocean is known for its unique environment created at the meeting point of ocean and land, where fog and wind-shaped dunes create a fascinating landscape. It’s considered the world’s largest sea of river sand, showing a dynamic and varied landscape through its constantly changing dunes.
Its main attraction is Sossusvlei. The famous red sand dune area is home to Big Daddy, one of the world’s highest dunes.
Okavango Delta
Located in Botswana, it’s one of the world’s largest inland deltas, created by the Okavango River forming a vast marshland.
Interestingly, the delta doesn’t reach the ocean or sea but spreads out in the dry Kalahari Desert, where it evaporates or seeps into the ground. The delta floods annually, creating a rich and diverse ecosystem providing ideal habitat for countless species.
The delta is home to more than 130 mammal species, 480 bird species, 1,000 plant species, and numerous fish and reptiles.
