Afrinkong
Nature & LandscapesThe Afar Triangle
Three tectonic plates pulling apart, and you can stand in the crack.
Photo wal_ 172619 / Pexels
DJIBOUTI · Tourism
Lake Assal
Lake Assal at 155 metres below sea level, whale sharks in the Gulf of Tadjoura every winter, and the Ardoukoba rift where the continent is actively splitting — all of it in a country the size of Wales.
East AfricaRegion
27Tourism experiences
Where three plates pull apartKnown for
01
Featured destinations
Where the country actually takes you.
Nature & Landscapes
MountainsThe Goda and Mabla
Mousa Ali at 2,028 metres, and juniper forest above the coastal plain at Day.
Photo Henrik Le-Botos / Pexels
WaterfallsNothing Permanent
There are no rivers here. The water is in wadis, springs and the sea.
Photo Tobias / Pexels
Lakes & RiversLake Abbe
Limestone chimneys steaming on a dry lake bed, on the Ethiopian border.
Photo Channel Iskatel / Pexels
Beaches & CoastThe Gulf of Tadjoura
Beaches at Sable Blanc and the Sept Freres islands, and reef straight off the sand.
Photo 정규송 Nui MALAMA / Pexels
Forests & RainforestThe Last Juniper
The Day forest is a relic of a wetter Horn, and it is shrinking.
Photo Robert Hacker / Pexels
02
Wildlife & safari
What lives here, and how you see it without disturbing it.
Wildlife
Whale Sharks
They come into the Gulf of Tadjoura from November, in numbers, close to shore.
SafariDay Forest
Beira antelope and the last Djibouti francolin in the juniper of the Goda mountains.
Photo Engin Akyurt / Pexels
Eco TourismSalt, Cut by Hand
Slabs still cut from Assal and loaded onto camels, on a route a thousand years old.
Photo 笑 邵 / Pexels
03
Culture & heritage
The part of a country you cannot photograph from a vehicle.
Culture
Afar and Somali
Two peoples, French and Arabic official, and a port that half the Horn depends on.
Traditional PeopleThe Afar
Salt caravans still come up from Assal, and the Afar have worked that trade for centuries.
Photo Plastic Lines / Pexels
Food & CuisineSkoudehkaris and Yemeni Fish
Spiced rice with lamb, and whole fish baked in a Yemeni clay oven on the coast.
Independence Day
27 June, and the Afar and Somali dance traditions that come out for it.
Weaving and Woodwork
Afar mats and milk vessels, and carved wooden headrests that double as stools.
Photo Engin Akyurt / Pexels
Historic SitesOttoman Tadjoura
One of the oldest towns on this coast, with seven mosques and a sultan's history.
Photo mori dad / Pexels
HeritageThe Lake Abbe Landscape
Not listed, but the chimneys are on every list of the strangest places on earth.
Photo Sayefotograf / Pexels
04
Cities & everyday life
Where people actually live between the landmarks.
Djibouti City
A French-Arab port city with a covered market, and the Horn's busiest container terminal.
ArchitectureArcades and Coral
Colonial arcades in the European quarter, and coral-block houses in the old town.
Local LifeKhat at Four
The flight lands from Ethiopia and the city stops for it. Every afternoon.
Sable Blanc
Shallow, warm, empty white sand an hour and a half from the capital.
Photo Luciana Evrard / Pexels
05
Adventure & outdoors
For travellers who would rather walk it than watch it.
Adventure
Snorkelling and Rift Walking
Swimming with whale sharks in the morning, walking a spreading rift in the afternoon.
Photo sofia comasetto / Pexels
The Ardoukoba
A volcano that erupted in 1978 as the rift opened. The lava field is still bare.
Photo ArtHouse Studio / Pexels
Luxury TravelSmall and Getting Better
A few good hotels in the capital and a diving lodge on the gulf.
Photo Asaad Alabri / Pexels
06
Travel inspiration
The frames people come home with.
Photography / Scenic ViewsWhite on Turquoise
Lake Assal at midday, when the salt is blinding and the water is the wrong blue.
Photo u h / Pexels
The Sept Freres
Seven islands at the mouth of the gulf, with the best reef in the country round them.
Why Visit This Country
Why Djibouti
Whale sharks, the lowest point in Africa and a rift valley opening, in a country you cross in a day.
Why Djibouti
Whale sharks, the lowest point in Africa and a rift valley opening, in a country you cross in a day.
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