The "Dead Heart of Africa"

Due to its distance from the sea, and it's largely desert climate, Chad is sometimes referred to as the "Dead Heart of Africa".

A strange land larger than South Africa, Chad is a landlocked country encompassing the brutal Sahara in the north and the quasi-tropical green and fertile grasslands, fed by two significant rivers, the Sari and the Longoni of the south. With a wildlife national park nominated for World Heritage status.

Lake Chad is Africa’s second largest lake after Lake Victoria. Emi Koussi, a dormant volcano in the Tibesti Mountains, is at 3,414 metres (11,201 feet) the highest point in the Sahara.

The population is a little under ten million, with the vast majority living in the capital, N’Dajamena and the south. The sparsely populated Sahara is the home of a few nomadic tribes.

The rivers which flow into Lake Chad from the south pass through tall grasses and wetlands, ideal for large mammals, reptiles and aquatic birds.

dmAFRICA limits its activity to visits to the Zakouma National Park and sorties into the Sahara, but which may include also a stay in the N’Djamena.

The Zakouma National Park is located in the south east, close to the border with the Central African Republic. It was first created in 1963 in an area of the Bahr Salamat Faunal Reserve. Once upon a time it contained the largest concentration of elephants (300,000) in the World, but widespread poaching prior to 2007 saw the numbers dwindle quite alarmingly. Conservation to protect the elephants in particular is now working and the park has been nominated as a World Heritage site. There are 44 common mammals, including once again large herds of elephants and a prolific population of lions.

The best time to visit is between December and March when it is dry and cooler.

Coming soon