Plan your trip to Djibouti, Djibouti

The small, East African nation of Djibouti is little-traveled but holds a treasure of natural beauty, cultural sites, and exquisite cuisine and nightlife. Visit Djibouti City, the surprisingly cosmopolitan capital known as the “Little Dubai on the Red Sea,” where African, European (primarily French) and Arab cultures coalesce.

Outside of the capital, Djibouti offers stunning landscapes, mostly eerie desert lands with otherworldly features like the sulfur-spewing limestone chimneys of Lac Abbé (where Planet of Apes was filmed) and the large salt lake, Lac Assal, Africa’s lowest point. One lush exception is the Goda Mountains, northwest of the Gulf of Tadjoura, where a giant, misty oasis rises 5,700 feet above the parched plains. The Goda Mountains contain Djibouti’s only national park, Forêt du Day National Park, and a handful of small villages.