CAPITAL DJIBOUTI CITY - POPULATION 496,374 - AREA 23,000 SQ KM -OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ARABIC, FRENCH
Little Djibouti, a lesser-known East African coastal country tucked between Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, doesn't see too many tourists. Most who make it here either come for a rest after a grueling trip through Eritrea or Ethiopia (Djibouti boasts both a world-class Sheraton and a Kempinski to splash out on), or to journey to Lac Assal, the lowest point in Africa. The other draw card is Lac Abbé, a weirdly desolate area covered in bizarre steam-emitting limestone chimneys, where the only dashes of color are flocks of flamingos and the robes of the local Bedouins. Though travel in Djibouti doesn't come cheap, you'll currently have the place, in all its strange and barren glory, largely to yourself.
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