Two UNESCO sites are accessible from Antananarivo: the sacred Royal Hill of Ambohimanga 24 km away, and the Rainforests of the Atsinanana, six parks of extraordinary endemic wildlife.

Uganda’s three UNESCO World Heritage Sites span a royal burial ground within Kampala, a mountain gorilla stronghold in Bwindi, and the glaciated Rwenzori summits.

Qatar’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site, Al Zubarah, is a vast ghost town of pearl-trade ruins on the Gulf coast — 105 km and 75 minutes from Doha.

Manila is the gateway to four UNESCO World Heritage Sites: a 16th-century church in Intramuros, the colonial streets of Vigan, the Ifugao rice terraces, and the pristine reefs of Tubbataha.

Four UNESCO World Heritage Sites lie within reach of Algiers: the Ottoman Casbah in the city itself, Roman coastal ruins at Tipasa, and two exceptional highland cities at Djemila and Timgad.

Zambia’s sole UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls, lies 470 km from Lusaka — the world’s largest curtain of falling water, with the Devil’s Pool and white rhino walks on the Zambian side.

Four UNESCO World Heritage Sites lie within a day’s travel of Harare — from the medieval stone ruins of Great Zimbabwe to the thundering curtain of Victoria Falls.

Sudan’s Meroe Pyramids and sacred Jebel Barkal mountain are both reachable by road from Khartoum, placing visitors at the heart of a Kushite royal landscape older and larger than most expect.

Four UNESCO World Heritage Sites lie within reach of Dar es Salaam: the medieval labyrinth of Stone Town, the glaciated summit of Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti’s endless plains, and the coral-stone ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani.

Nigeria’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites range from a living Yoruba sacred forest 240 km from Lagos to a chieftaincy landscape in the Mandara Mountains — each a journey worth making.