Swaziland

Swaziland has impressive landscapes, traditional villages and unspoiled nature reserves, where you as a visitor can experience being in the real Africa...

With an area of half of the Netherlands it is smallest country in Africa, with about one million inhabitants. More than ninety percent of the population is Swazi, supplemented by Zulus, Tsonga, Mozambicans and a handful of Europeans. The country is mostly surrounded by South Africa and borders Mozambique.

Despite the attractive aspects, few tourists come to this mountain state. Swaziland has different landscapes, partly caused by a fault in the crust.
Rivers have cut in deep and created a varied landscape with high plains and savannas. Rain falls mainly in the summer and the storms can be particularly heavy. The rainfall increases from east to west. As a result, the forests are especially green in the summer, causing you to spot the animals less quickly. In the east there are many sugar cane plantations.

Most tourist attractions are located around Lobamba, the city where the parliament and the royal family resides. Here lies the Ezulwini Valley, an area twenty kilometres long. Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary is a beautiful park where you can encounter buffalo, hippos, giraffes, zebras and antelope. Hikers can enjoy the Malolotja Nature Reserve, a pristine wilderness with the erratic Komati River and overlooking the highest peaks of Swaziland. In this park you can visit the oldest mine in the world (under supervision).

Other parks are the Hlane National Park, the Mlawula Nature Preserve (there are no hippos and crocodiles) and Mkhaya Game Reserve, a private game reserve. The park is named after the Mkhaya tree, which the population uses to brew beer.