Africa

Tipping off the African map, the Cape Verde islands would appear to sit more happily with the Azores, or even the Canary Islands. Composed of nine main islands in two groups - the Windwards and the Leewards - six are volcanic ...

Here are camouflaged splendours: Africa's massive cliffs also called the Mountains of the Moon. They conceal their summit spectacles behind an almost endless blanket of cloud and it is only when swerving winds of white cloud tear back the curtain of ...

In Africa's southwest corner ramparts of sandstone rise out of the sea. Visible from more than 125 miles (200km) away, they have served as a spectacular and comforting beacon for seamen ever since the Portuguese explorer Bartholomew Dias became the first ...

The lyrically named Lapalala Wilderness lies within the UNESCO Waterberg Biosphere Reserve, in Limpopo Province, just a three and half hour's drive from Johannesburg. Despite its name, Lapalala is actually a privately owned nature reserve, created from the consolidation of 19 ...

Cloaked in a tangle of ragged vegetation, the steep flanks of this ancient extinct volcano in northern Tanzania give little indication of what lies within its crater's walls. The silence of the thin air some 6000ft (1800m) above sea level is ...

Across the broad, flat surface of Lake Turkana, a 'river highway' snakes its way between silt banks so regular that they appear man-made. More than 3 miles (5km) from the lake shore, the highway ends in a dramatic, sprawling delta, shaped ...

In the parched heart of southern Africa lies an oasis that once a year grows larger than Wales, and brings pulsating life to the surrounding desert. This is the Okavango Delta, a wilderness of waterways, swamps, islands and emerald reed beds ...

The popular image of an oasis is a romantic picture - waving palms beside a crystal-clear pool where nomads replenish their water supplies before moving on. It is an idyllic but not entirely true vision, for some oasis, such as Ouled ...

In the Sahara, at least when the sun is high, there are no horizons - only a milky vagueness whose bounds might be either near or far. Driving south though, from the oasis of In Salah towards the centre of the ...

The most polluted cities in the world tend to be those with more than a million people living in them. A report on Air Pollution and Health in cities around the world was published last week by the Health Effects Institute's ...

There are two entirely distinct worlds in south-east Venezuela's small equatorial rainforest. Gigantic, flat-topped sandstone cliffs tower like impervious fortresses above the dense jungle - a reserved, cloud-wrapped 'Otherworldly place' encircled by a rackety underworld alive with screeching macaws and Jabbering ...

Travellers ascending Mount Kilimanjaro (Africa's highest peak) can now upload their triumphs instantly on their favourite social media platform; following a move by the authorities in Tanzania to provide high-speed internet on Africa's Highest mountain. Mount Kilimanjaro, nestled in northern Tanzania, ...