Over the course of its history, this tiny island has held enslaved people in transit and served as a quarantine zone. Today, it's a giant tortoise sanctuary.

Mosques carved from coral and dozens of well-preserved stone structures fill this 500-year-old Swahili trading center.

In Zanzibar, a historic 19th-century palace is a reminder of the world's shortest war.

This rare volcano spews the strangest and (literally) coolest lava in the world.

This sacred, circular cave is lined with pools so clear and still that it's hard to tell where the water begins.

Stunning ruins of what was once the center of one of the greatest empires in East Africa.

A salty red wasteland in Tanzania is a breeding spot for endangered flamingos.

Arrogance and quarreling are forbidden near these three sacred waterfalls.

Zambia's smallest national park is home to one of the world's largest annual mammal migrations.

A secluded natural oasis hidden deep along a rainforest trail.

An enchanting rocky island of scraggly baobabs surrounded by an ancient sea and sprawling salt pans.

Wondrous stalactites house thousands of bats in these African caves.

Known as "The People's Park," this verdant oasis is home to elephants and villagers alike.

This deceptively beautiful island was once home to a German concentration camp and known as "Death Island."

A rare cluster of alien-like plants grows along a dusty highway.

Ten shipwreck-shaped chalets lie along the sand dunes on Namibia’s Skeleton Coast.

The remains of diamond fever taken over by the desert.

Brace yourself for the slowest, scariest, most spectacular drive, down the Drakensberg Escarpment.

Environmentally crucial raptors like eagles and vultures are kept and protected in this massive sanctuary.

The South African dialect's complex history is immortalized in stone, in one of the world's only monuments dedicated to a language.

Home to some of the oldest hominid fossils ever found.

Caves that can't seem to quit producing the remains of prehistoric humans.

A safari-themed castle in the South African bush with the largest maze in the southern hemisphere.

Local lore says a serpent-like beast lurks in the deep basin below the falls.