The hook
A conservation comeback story in the heart of Africa, a remote savanna park where elephants, once slaughtered in their thousands by poachers, now thrive again alongside vast herds and one of the continent's great bird spectacles.
01Why it's worth it
Zakouma, in the south of Chad, is one of Africa's most inspiring conservation success stories. Its elephant herds were devastated by heavily-armed poachers in the 2000s, their numbers crashing catastrophically, but a determined management partnership turned the tide: poaching was brought under control, and the elephants, along with other wildlife, have recovered strongly, with the herds breeding again. Today the park offers a genuine and increasingly rich safari far off the usual circuit: big elephant herds, huge numbers of buffalo, antelope, and predators including lions, and, in the dry season when animals crowd the shrinking waterways, one of the most extraordinary birding spectacles in Africa, with enormous flocks gathering at the pools. Its remoteness and small number of visitors mean a wild, exclusive experience, and being part of the story of a park brought back from the brink adds real meaning. Chad is a difficult, little-visited country, so this is premium, effortful travel, best in the dry season and with current conditions checked, but for the intrepid it is one of the continent's hidden safari gems.
02How to experience it
Visit in the dry season (the park closes in the rains) on a fly-in safari to one of its camps, for the recovered elephant herds, big game, and spectacular dry-season birdlife. Support the conservation partnership that saved it. Chad is remote and challenging, so plan carefully and check current advice.