Burundi

Burundi is one of the smallest and most densely populated countries in Africa, a tiny highland nation of green hills and deep valleys tucked between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Tanzania. It shares much of its history with neighboring Rwanda - both were Tutsi-led kingdoms colonized by Germany and then Belgium, and both suffered devastating ethnic violence in the 1990s. But Burundi has largely faded from international attention, making it one of the most overlooked countries on the continent.

What makes Burundi unforgettable is its drumming tradition. The Royal Drummers of Burundi, known as the Karyenda, perform with a power and precision that has to be experienced. Their tradition was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Burundi also claims one of the southernmost sources of the Nile River, at a spring in Rutovu in the south. Lake Tanganyika, the world's second-deepest lake and the longest freshwater lake on Earth, forms its entire western border, offering sandy beaches and cichlid fish found nowhere else on the planet.