South Sudan: The World’s Newest Country

Congratulations, South Sudan, gaining independence! And on making globes everywhere outdated.

After more than two decades of strife and civil war between the mostly African and Christian southern part of Sudan and mostly Arab and Muslim north the two sides officially split. The divorce process started with a 2005 peace agreement that granted the south autonomy and the right to a referendum on independence. Then last January that referendum took place, with the pro-independent side winning an overwhelming majority. And now—as of July 9th, 2011—The Republic of South Sudan is a sovereign state.

Much of the workings of this embryo of a state is still to being worked out. At the time of writing, South Sudan still uses its northern neighbor’s currency (the Sudan Pound) and calling code (+249). Visas are still being issued by the Embassy of Sudan, though we imagine that will be changing very shortly.

Assuming you can figure out where to get a visa—and what money to use—you may be wondering what there is for travelers to see in what would be the world’s youngest country. Spot Cool Stuff takes a look:

[via UNHCR]

Boma National Park

If there’s a travel diamond in the rough of South Sudan it is Boma. The large, wild tract of land nearly adjoining the Ethiopian border was declared park in 1986, though for most of the time since then that designation hasn’t brought with it any wildlife protection or conservation efforts or travel infrastructure or, really, much of anything else park-like.

With political peace and ecological care, though, Boma might well become one of Africa’s greatest wild treasures, akin to Kruger, Okavango and Serengeti.

We say might because surprisingly little is known about the park. War is typically devastating to animals and their natural environment. Yet after the Wildlife Conservation Society conducted a survey of the area they estimated that it was home to over 1.3 million white-eared kob; the movement of that species of antelope around Boma might constitute the world’s largest land animal migration! The Wildlife Conservation Society also found a surprising number of orstrich herds as well as elephants, lions, giraffes, eland, hippos and jackals.

How to get there: Currently, the best way to Boma is with one of the few tour companies that operate there—Bahr El Jebel Safaris is the most popular and recognized. In the future we hope that Boma will be combined with Ethiopia’s Gambela National Park and that environmentally-friendly travel possibilities to both parks will be improved.

The Nile & Nimule National Park

As in northern Sudan and Egypt, the Nile River bisects southern Sudan and is the lifeblood of the country.

Time was that there were monkeys, hippos, crocodiles and other wildlife along the whole length of South Sudan’s stretch of the Nile. Today the animals have largely been driven from the town centers (“town” being a relative term in scarcely populated southern Sudan). Still, in villages along the Nile there’s something special about simply kicking back and taking in local’s life along the river—in many aspects it has changed little in the last century. Finding Nile wildlife away from people would be easy if travel conditions allowed.

For a little taste of South Sudan consider going to Nimule National Park, for which the Nile is the eastern border. Unfortunately, the park is not heavily populated by animals. But there is something charmingly undeveloped by it—the “nature trail” is a path through the shrubs knocked down by a hippo and the “park office” consists of a guy sitting in a chair under a tree. More importantly, Nimule is almost directly on the border with Uganda making it possible to take a day or overnight trip there (provided you have a visa or passport that allows for reentry to Uganda).

How to get there: The do-it-yourself option involves taking a bus to the Ugandan boarder post, walking to the South Sudanese town of Nimule and arranging transport from there. The more convenient—and probably cooler—option would be to travel up the Nile from Uganda by boat. A few local tour companies currently offer this as an option; we expect more this boat route to become more popular as a secure and functioning South Sudan state emerges.

Juba

Juba is South Sudan’s capital and, with around 140,000 residents, by far its largest city. Most of South Sudan’s 60km of paved roads and virtually all of its government infrastructure are here. Despite that, Juba is a ramshackle, dusty place. There’s virtually nothing in the way of traditional tourist sights. Of primary interest to travelers would probably be Juba’s colorful markets, which buzz with the activity of merchants from Kenya, Uganda and DR Congo as well as from all around South Sudan.

Juba has a surprising number of restaurants and watering holes catering to the town’s large number of international aid workers; at a Juba pub you are much more likely to find yourself drinking Guinness next to a Dutchman watching a broadcast of the Manchester United game than you are to have any sort of local South Sudanese experience.

How to get there: The safest and most comfortable transport is by way of an international flight from Cairo, Nairobi or Entebbe (Uganda). From Khartum try budget airline Marsland. For the hearty overland adventurer, there’s a daily bus from Uganda—plan on a bumpy 12 to 14 hour ride.

Where to stay: Most of Juba’s “hotels” are in pre-fab buildings. Acacia Village is not, making it Juba’s best hotel by default. Another alternative is the Oasis Camp; it sports a nice open bar and has a feature that even some of the world’s most luxurious hotels fail to provide—free wireless internet access.

If you go . . .

The good news: South Sudan is safer and easier to travel in than you probably imagine. There are travelers of both the high-end and backpacker variety enjoying the country at this very moment.

The bad news: South Sudan isn’t the sort of destination where you can just show up and figure things out as you go. There’s little in the way of transportation, medical and communication infrastructure. The political and security situation there is volatile to say the least. The region is awash in land mines and will be for many years to come. Caution is required.

(Our inner-lawyer compels us to link to Spot Cool Stuff’s Terms of Service which states that we aren’t responsible for how you use the information on this site).

Before you go to South Sudan get the very latest on the situation there. A few online resources for doing that:

• Juba Travel Guide
• The South Sudan News Agency
• Southern Sudan Nation
• Lonely Planet’s Sudan Forum – look for a southern Sudan forum in the future

Currently, Bradt publishes the only English guidebook dedicated to Sudan. It has only 29 pages dedicated to southern Sudan travel but is still worth getting for its sketch maps of the southern Sudanese towns of Juba, Malakal, Wau and Yei. The book’s history and “The Land and its People” sections also make for an interesting and useful read.

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Every month a group of expert, independent travel bloggers converge on a single topic in a Travel Blog Mob. Our topic for January 2011: new travel destinations for the new year. Check out the other posts in this month’s mob:

 Where to Travel Next: How Do You Decide? by BootsnAll

 New Year, New Places, New List by Traveling with MJ

 The Quirky Traveller Top Ten Travel Destinations 2011 by Wandering Educators

 A New Destination for a New Year by Sharing Travel Experiences

 Zip Lining in a Costa Rica Rainforest by The Vacation Gals

 Best Destinations for Solo Women Travelers by Wanderlust and Lipstick

 Dreaming of a Family Safari in Africa by Ciao Bambino

 Back to Austria in 2011 by Nerd’s Eye View