Right Now

Expensive, remote, and sometimes dangerous outside the capital, Chad can be a very challenging place to visit, but by investing in the effort and taking safety precautions, travelers may gain a memorable tourism experience. Located in the heart of Africa, Chad is known for its stark expanses of savanna dotted with traditional villages. N'Djamena, Chad's capital and largest city, is one of the only urban areas in a country still dominated by a rural lifestyle. The gorgeous Tibesti Mountains and Lake Chad are two of Chad's most notable natural landmarks. The latter, now only 5% of its former size due to climate change and population pressures, should be on every adventure traveler's "what to see before it's gone" list.

The Top 6: What to Do in Chad

1. Lake Chad: Once one of the world’s largest lakes, almost as large as the Caspian Sea, Lake Chad has been affected more drastically by climate change than almost any other place on the African continent or in the world. As the region’s seasonal monsoons have changed course and farmers have used more water for irrigation, Lake Chad has shrunk to 5 percent of its former size in only 35 years. Despite the changes, it remains a popular fishing and boating spot. See it because it’s beautiful, see it because it’s off the beaten track, see it for the catfish, but see it soon—because in ten years it might be gone.

2. Markets: N’Djamena has excellent shopping for tourists, and the best place to find carpets, clothing, tropical fruit, carvings, and more is the open-air market in the historic quarter of the city. The market, which operates daily from dawn to dusk, serves as a kind of magnet for the city’s knickknacks, but to find the choicest art and the good deals, you’ll have to sift through all manner of junk. Doing so in itself is an adventure, though, and the market affords some of the city’s best people watching as locals sell, haggle, and socialize.

3. N’Djamena’s Central Mosque: The architectural, social, and religious center of N’Djamena, the central mosque can be seen from many parts of town. In addition to the mosque itself, the complex has a library, a lecture hall, and two schools, although visitors should be able to speak Chadian Arabic if they hope to benefit much from these facilities.

4. Stroll in N’Djamena: It may lack the tourist infrastructure of Dakar or Nairobi, but N’Djamena positively buzzes with life, and even if you spend less time at museums and monuments, you’ll learn just as much by observing the people around you. One of the best places to do that is Avenue Charles de Gaulle, lined with embassies, high-end restaurants, and Victorian homes that recall Chad’s days of European rule.

5. Tibesti Mountains: Although travel to the Tibesti Mountains is both difficult and dangerous at this time, the area has a stark, dramatic landscape of canyons and sheer rock faces topped by forest. The Toubou tribe still lives traditionally in villages within the range but tends to be hostile to visitors.

6. Zakouma National Park: Poaching remains a problem in the park. The Chadian government and the European Union have recently restocked it, though, and it is once again one of the best places to spot herds of elephants, as well as wildebeests, antelopes, and lions.

When to Go

The dry season (September to June) is the best for travel between cities, though it’s unlikely that tourists will be doing much of that in the near future. Rebel activity also increases during that time, so the period between June and August may be the safest one for visiting, if somewhat more inconvenient.