Gabon

Gabon is 88% rainforest, and it wants to stay that way. In a region where deforestation is a chronic crisis, this Central African nation straddling the Equator has staked its future on conservation. Thirteen national parks cover 11% of the country, and the 2002 decision to create them in one stroke - turning logging concessions into protected wilderness overnight - was one of the boldest conservation moves any country has ever made. The payoff is extraordinary: forest elephants amble onto empty Atlantic beaches at Loango National Park, western lowland gorillas forage in clearings called bais, and humpback whales breed offshore.

The human side of Gabon is equally distinctive. Libreville, the capital, was founded by freed slaves in 1849 (the name literally means "Freetown"), and today it's one of the wealthier cities in sub-Saharan Africa thanks to oil revenues. The Bongo family ran the country for 56 years until a military coup in 2023 ended the dynasty. Albert Schweitzer built his famous jungle hospital at Lambarene in 1913, and it still operates. The Fang, Myene, and dozens of other ethnic groups practice Bwiti, a spiritual tradition involving the iboga plant that produces powerful visions and has attracted Western attention as a treatment for addiction. With just 2.3 million people in a country the size of Colorado, Gabon has more forest per person than almost anywhere on Earth.