Central African Republic

The Central African Republic is one of the least visited countries on Earth, and that is partly because of chronic instability - it has suffered repeated coups, civil wars, and some of the lowest development indicators anywhere. But it is also one of the most ecologically remarkable places on the continent. The Dzanga-Sangha rainforest in the southwest is home to forest elephants, western lowland gorillas, and the Ba'Aka people, one of the oldest indigenous communities in Central Africa whose polyphonic singing is a UNESCO-recognized treasure.

The country sits right in the heart of the African continent, straddling the Congo Basin rainforests to the south and the Sahel to the north. The Ubangi and Sangha rivers teem with life, diamonds lie scattered in alluvial deposits, and the Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park was once one of Africa's great wildlife spectacles before poaching devastated it. The Central African Republic is a country of immense natural wealth and human resilience, struggling to find stability in one of the most challenging regions on Earth.