Afrinkong
Nature & Landscapes
The Sudd
One of the largest wetlands on earth, where the Nile spreads out and slows almost to a stop.
East Africa · Afrinkong
South Sudan
The Sudd, and the second-largest migration on earth.
A million white-eared kob moving across Boma and Badingilo, the Sudd wetland the size of Belgium, and the cattle camps of the Mundari — the youngest country in the world, and the least travelled.
Where it is
Africa · East Africa · South Sudan
The land in brief
- Spans
- 1,220 km E–W, 980 km N–S
- Latitude
- 12°N to 4°N
- Borders
- 6 countries
- Sea
- Landlocked
- Best time
- The dry season, December to March. Everything else is under water or unreachable.
Also in East Africa
BurundiThe southernmost source of the NileDjiboutiWhere three plates pull apartEritreaArt deco Asmara, and the Dahlak islandsEthiopiaThe roof of AfricaKenyaWhere the safari was invented
Compare South Sudan with another countryAll fifty-four, worked through the same twenty-seven categories.When to come
JFMAMJJASOND
The dry season, December to March. Everything else is under water or unreachable.
01Highlights
What South Sudan is known for.
Six of the twenty-seven, and the ones most people come for. The rest are below — and none of them is filler.
Nature & Landscapes
The Great Kob Migration
White-eared kob, tiang and Mongalla gazelle — counted at over a million animals.
The Imatong
Mount Kinyeti at 3,187 metres on the Ugandan border, the highest point in the country.
Beaches & Coast
No Coast, Plenty of Water
Landlocked, but the river islands and sandbars near Terekeka do the job.
The Southern Forests
Guinea-Congolian rainforest at the Congo border, with forest elephant and chimpanzee in it.
Culture
Sixty-Four Peoples
Dinka, Nuer, Shilluk, Bari, Azande, Mundari and fifty-eight more, in a country of twelve million.
02Experiences
25 ways to spend the time.
Every country we cover works through the same twenty-seven categories, so you can hold two of them side by side and compare like with like rather than one brochure against another. Compare South Sudan with another → The two not listed here are the hero picture and the case for going, which has a section of its own below.
Landscapes
- The SuddOne of the largest wetlands on earth, where the Nile spreads out and slows almost to a stop.
- The ImatongMount Kinyeti at 3,187 metres on the Ugandan border, the highest point in the country.
- Fula FallsThe Nile dropping through rock at Fula, on its way north out of Uganda.
- The White NileIt runs the length of the country and it is the reason for everything here.
- No Coast, Plenty of WaterLandlocked, but the river islands and sandbars near Terekeka do the job.
- The Southern ForestsGuinea-Congolian rainforest at the Congo border, with forest elephant and chimpanzee in it.
Wildlife
- The Great Kob MigrationWhite-eared kob, tiang and Mongalla gazelle — counted at over a million animals.
- Boma and BadingiloTwo parks either side of the migration route, with almost no infrastructure and no crowds.
- The Sudd Holds the Nile BackHalf the water entering the Sudd evaporates in it. The wetland is a climate system.
- Walking the ImatongCool forest, waterfalls and Kinyeti, from Gilo. Guides are essential and available.
People and culture
- Sixty-Four PeoplesDinka, Nuer, Shilluk, Bari, Azande, Mundari and fifty-eight more, in a country of twelve million.
- The MundariCattle are wealth, name and argument. A camp of them at dusk is unlike anything else.
- WrestlingDinka and Mundari wrestling matches draw whole districts, with drumming and singing round the ring.
- Beadwork and CorsetsDinka beaded corsets in colours that state a man's age set, and Azande basketry.
- Kisra, Asida and FishSorghum asida, kisra flatbread, and Nile perch grilled on the bank.
- Hard Country for ItThis is not a family destination yet, and pretending otherwise would not help anyone.
- Market Day at TerekekaCattle, sorghum, fish and tea, and the whole district in one place.
Places
- JubaA river port that became a capital in 2011 and has been building ever since.
- TukulsRound mud walls, conical thatch, and a shape that has not needed improving.
- Lado and the Old PostsThe Lado Enclave, Gondokoro and the river stations of the nineteenth-century Nile expeditions.
- Nothing on the List YetNo World Heritage sites, and a heritage that is living rather than ruined.
Ways to travel
- Getting to BomaLight aircraft and then hours of track. It is expedition travel and it is honest about that.
- Two CampsThere is a mobile camp on the migration and very little else. That is the honest position.
- Smoke and HornsA Mundari camp at first light, when the fires are lit and the light comes through them.
- NimuleA small park on the Ugandan border with elephant, and the Nile going through it.
03Why go
The case for South Sudan.
Why Visit This Country
Why South Sudan
A migration to rival the Serengeti's, seen by a few dozen people a year.
Hidden Gems
Nimule
A small park on the Ugandan border with elephant, and the Nile going through it.
Eco Tourism
The Sudd Holds the Nile Back
Half the water entering the Sudd evaporates in it. The wetland is a climate system.
Heritage
Nothing on the List Yet
No World Heritage sites, and a heritage that is living rather than ruined.
04Go deeper
All of South Sudan, four ways in.
Who would take youAfrinkong
The ground is ours right across Africa: your vehicle, your driver for the whole journey, and the days shaped around what you came for.
In Cameroon, Uganda and Namibia you travel with companies of our own as well.
Plan your journey →
Begin
Your South Sudan starts here.
Tell us the month, or simply the thing you want to see, and a guide who works there will answer.