West Africa

Flat, dry and wind-blown, with the country’s main international airport and its biggest resort strip.

The green south below The Gambia, with Diola villages, river creeks and the best beaches in Senegal.

Sand dunes, long empty beaches and one of the world’s most important loggerhead turtle nesting sites.

Africa’s largest city and its loudest culture industry, plus a December festival season that fills every hotel room in Lagos.

The hiking island: terraced valleys, cliff-edge villages and a cobbled road over a volcanic ridge.