Afrinkong
Nature & LandscapesThe Sand Sea and the Jebel
The Ubari sand sea in the southwest, and the green Jebel Akhdar behind Benghazi.
Photo Wzm Pictures / Pexels
LIBYA · Tourism
Leptis Magna
The best-preserved Roman city on the Mediterranean, Greek Cyrene on its escarpment, and the Ubari lakes in a sand sea — a country whose archaeology is world-class and whose access is not simple.
North AfricaRegion
27Tourism experiences
Leptis Magna, and the sand sea behind itKnown for
01
Featured destinations
Where the country actually takes you.
Nature & Landscapes
The Acacus
Volcanic rock arches and towers on the Algerian border, with rock art under them.
Wadi Country
No permanent rivers. The water is in wadis that run once a decade and in springs at the oases.
Photo Zakaria HANIF / Pexels
The Ubari Lakes
Salt lakes between dunes, the last of them dense enough to float in.
Photo Engin Akyurt / Pexels
Beaches & CoastTwo Thousand Kilometres of Coast
The longest Mediterranean coastline of any African country, and almost none of it built on.
Forests & RainforestThe Green Mountain
Juniper and cypress on the Jebel Akhdar, the only real forest in the country.
Photo Awais Butt / Pexels
02
Wildlife & safari
What lives here, and how you see it without disturbing it.
Wildlife
Desert Survivors
Barbary sheep in the Acacus, dorcas gazelle on the gravel plains, and very little else.
Photo Héctor Berganza / Pexels
Tracking, Not Driving
The wildlife is thin and shy. What you go out to see is the country it survives in.
Photo 光曦 刘 / Pexels
What the Desert Keeps
Sand buried Leptis Magna for a thousand years, which is why there is so much of it left.
Photo Berfintage / Pexels
03
Culture & heritage
The part of a country you cannot photograph from a vehicle.
Culture
Arab, Berber, Tuareg, Tebu
Four peoples and three languages, and a coast that has been Phoenician, Greek, Roman, Ottoman and Italian.
Photo abdo alshreef / Pexels
The Tuareg and the Tebu
The Tuareg in the southwest around Ghat, the Tebu in the Tibesti foothills in the southeast.
Photo Dr Photographer / Pexels
Food & CuisineBazin and Bsisa
Bazin with lamb and paprika, couscous on Fridays, and shorba on the table all Ramadan.
Photo Nothing Ahead / Pexels
Ghat and the Desert Festivals
The Ghat festival brings Tuareg from three countries for racing, music and poetry.
Photo Anchau / Pexels
Silver and Leather
Tuareg silver crosses, tooled leather from Ghadames, and Berber weaving in the Nafusa.
Cyrene and Sabratha
A Greek city on an escarpment above the sea, and a Roman theatre facing the water at Sabratha.
Photo Sami Raad / Pexels
HeritageFive Sites, All of Them Major
Leptis, Sabratha, Cyrene, Ghadames and the Acacus rock art — every one on the World Heritage list.
Photo George Wang / Pexels
04
Cities & everyday life
Where people actually live between the landmarks.
Tripoli and Benghazi
An Ottoman medina inside Italian arcades in Tripoli, and Benghazi rebuilding.
ArchitectureGhadames
A covered mud-brick town where the streets are tunnels and the roofs are the women's road.
Photo abdo alshreef / Pexels
Tea, Three Times
Poured from a height, three glasses, and no conversation is finished before the third.
Photo anil kumar / Pexels
Roman Cities Are Good for This
Leptis is enormous, empty and safe to run around in, which not every ruin is.
Photo Mert Erim / Pexels
05
Adventure & outdoors
For travellers who would rather walk it than watch it.
Adventure
Into the Acacus
Four-wheel-drive expeditions of a week, camping under the arches with Tuareg guides.
Photo Irfan Rahat / Pexels
Outdoor ExperiencesThe Jebel Akhdar
Walking on the green mountain between Greek tombs cut into the rock.
Luxury TravelThin on the Ground
There is very little at the top end here, and what exists is in Tripoli.
06
Travel inspiration
The frames people come home with.
Photography / Scenic ViewsStone and Sea
Sabratha's theatre with the Mediterranean through its arches, in the last hour of light.
Photo mori dad / Pexels
Hidden GemsWaw an Namus
A black volcanic caldera in the middle of the Sahara with green lakes at the bottom.
Photo Adrien Olichon / Pexels
Why Visit This Country
Why Libya
Because Leptis Magna is the best Roman city left anywhere, and hardly anyone has stood in it.
Why Libya
Because Leptis Magna is the best Roman city left anywhere, and hardly anyone has stood in it.
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