South Sudan has a land area of 658,842km², with Juba as the country’s capital city. It is traversed by the Nile River, the longest in the World and has over 64 tribes.

Rich history of South Sudan?

Prior to South Sudan’s independence on 9th July 2011, the country was part of Sudan. After Sudan’s independence from the British and Egyptians in 1954, the Southern Sudanese also started demanding for their own from Sudan. This demand for autonomy and representation led to 2 civil wars. The first civil war between 1955 to 1972 and the second which started from 1983 to 2005. This led to the mentioned independence.

Regardless of being a seldomly visited destination, South Sudan offers a myriad attractions for tourism. These include a brooad range of cultural legacies, physical features and wildlife species. Here are a few of the key attractions to include on your wish list,

Nimule National Park

Nimule National Park in the Eastern Equatoria region near the Ugandan border spans around 410km. Nimule National Park was established in 1954 and composed of deciduous trees. Other vegetation here include acacia, tamarind, Borassus and annona species. Other attractions within Nimule National Park include Kayu river, Illunga mountains, riverine woodland, and the White Nile at the eastern border.

This gorgeous park is home to numerous flora and fauna. These include mammals such as elephant, hippos, Defassa waterbucks, Nubian flapshell turtle, Nile crocodile, rock hyrax, and red-tailed monkeys etc. Birds here include woodland kingfisher, African grey hornbill, white wagtail, white-faced whistling duck, little egret, red whiskered bulbul, Senegal coucal, black-billed barbet and grey heron etc.

Bandingilo National Park

This is South Sudan’s second biggest national park that occupies around 10,000km² located in the Equatoria region. Bandingilo National Park was established in 1992. The national park is dominated by has numerous habitats including savannah vegetation, wetland, and riverine vegetation. Bandingilo National Park is also an Important Bird Area with numerous colorful birds. These include the malachite Kingfisher, village weaver, sedge warbler, and tree pipit etc.

Bandingilo National Park hosts the annual Great Nile Migration. This phenomenon includes millions of antelopes (tiangs, Mongalla gazelles, Bohor reedbucks and white eared kobs). They move in search of better pasture and water during the dry season through Boma National Park, Gambella National Park and the Sudd wetland. Other animals here include black-backed jackal, leopards, wild dogs, reticulated giraffes, lions, spotted hyenas and lesser kudus etc.

Boma National Park

This is the biggest national park in South Sudan, sitting on around 22,800km² of land in the eastern part of the country. Boma National Park was established in 1977. The savannah ecosystem is composed of numerous habitats such as grassland, woodland, swamp and riverine vegetation etc. Wild animals to see here include the Nubian giraffes, elephants, giant eland, wild dogs, zebras, African leopards, Beisa oryxes and the North-east African cheetahs.

Boma National Park is another site where the Great Nile Migration could be witnessed. This annual migration involves millions of antelopes composed of the white eared kobs, tiangs, Mongalla gazelles and Bohor reedbucks. They move into Gambella National Park in Ethiopia and back. Bird species calling Boma National Park home include the Abyssinian scimitarbill, rufous chatterer, shoebill stork, Boran cisticola and the golden pipit.

The Sudd

This is a Ramsar site and one of the largest freshwater ecosystems on earth, with a variable land cover of around 57,000km². Situated in the lower reaches of Bahr El Jebel, the Sudd is largely sustained by the White Nile. Habitats in the Sudd are primarily composed of permanent swamps, floodplain woodland, river and rain-flooded grassland etc. The Sudd is home to numerous birds, animals and fish species.

The Sudd also hosts the Great Nile Migration. Millions of angulates including the white eared kobs, Bohor reedbucks and tiang antelopes move looking for fresh pasture to and from Bandingilo National Park and Boma National Park etc. Other animals that find shelter in the Sudd include the Nile lechwes, Gravey’s zebras, African elephants, sitatungas, African buffaloes and Nile crocodiles etc.

Bird species include the much sought after shoebill stork, black crowned crane, white stork, black tern and the great white pelican. The sudd is also a great spot for fishing. Fish species calling the Sudd home include the tiger fish, Nile perch, marbled lung fish and African arowana etc.

Mount Kinyeti

At 3,187m above sea level, Kinyeti is the peak of the Imatong mountain. This is situated near the Ugandan border in Eastern Equatoria. A hike on the mountain is an opportunity to see the Imatong forest and the Kinyeti River. The key wildlife species to see here is the Mount. Kineti chameleon. There are also numerous birds and animals to see here. Animals include the blue monkeys and colobus monkeys.

People and cultures of South Sudan

The South Sudan people share quite similar cultural practices. However, their ethnic groups are divided into 3: the Nilo-Sudanic, Nilo-Hamites and the Bantu. Key tribes you can see among the South Sudanese include Ubangaian, Central Sudanic and Eastern. There you will notice how much the Ubangaian are more connected to the Bantu group. With over 64 tribes in South Sudan, this is the perfect tour destination for a cultural encounter.

You will see the Dinker, Acholi, Mundari, Anuak, Aja, Larim, Balanda Boor, Didinga, Imatong, Jur Beli, Kakwa, Bongo, Nuer, Bari, Azande and Shiluk etc. There are also cattle markets, which is an exciting time to experience South Sudanese culture in places like Bor and Rumbek. You can see people with their traditional dressing and speaking in their local dialects as they transact with each other.

The Mundari in particular are agro-pastoralists settled near the White Nile with their long-horned cattle. They do not consume beef. They believe that there is zero distinction between themselves and cattle. They use cattle as bride price to the lady’s family during marriages. The number of cattle owned is also directly proportional to wealth. The adult males tend to cattle, the kids clean the cattle camps and collect the dung to burnt it at dusk as mosquito repellent.

They also practice numerous cultural practices such as ritual scarification which indicates passage from childhood into adulthood. Another unique practice is the males often bleach their hair with cow urine. You will also observe their bodies smeared with urine they collect from cows as sunscreen. Cattle markets are also attractions unique to South Sudan. You can witness hundreds of cattle in a place being traded.