Two African nations, usually not on the tourism radar of Kolkatans, on Saturday showcased what they had to offer visitors.
Namibia, which has been in the news for sending cheetahs to India, was one of them. Zimbabwe, whose connection with the Indian masses is to a large extent limited to cricket, was the other.
The tourism departments of both countries have collaborated with a travel start-up to promote them as tourist destinations.
“From majestic sand dunes on the oldest desert on the planet to the second-largest canyon in the world, Namibia has a lot to offer,” Gabriel Sinimbo, the Namibian high-commissioner to India, told a programme in the city on Saturday.
He was referring to the Sossusvlei dunes in the Namib desert, which is among the oldest deserts in the world.
The Namib Sand Sea, declared a Unesco World Heritage Centre in 2013, lies along the arid African coast of the South Atlantic.
“The Namib Sand Sea is a unique coastal fog desert encompassing a diverse array of large, shifting dunes. It is an outstanding example of the scenic, geomorphological, ecological and evolutionary consequences of wind-driven processes interacting with geology and biology,” the Unesco website says.
The Fish River Canyon, the second largest canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon in the US, also offers an unforgettable experience, said Sinimbo.
A Namibia trip would be incomplete without a visit to the Skeleton Coast, also billed as the world’s “largest ship cemetery”.
It is a 40km-wide and 500km-long coastal stretch on the shores of the Atlantic, dotted with remains of ships.
“The name Skeleton Coast most probably came from the huge number of stranded whales that lost their life here and whose skeletons could be seen all over the place. The place has also seen many shipwrecks. The ships that failed to cope with the thick fog, the rough sea and unpredictable currents,” said Sinimbo.
Zimbabwe was represented by Lovemore Ncube, counsellor at the Zimbabwe embassy in Delhi.
He talked of Victoria Falls, the spectacular waterfall located about midway along the course of the mighty Zambezi River. It is also a Unesco heritage site.
The Zambezi river is the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. So, both countries share the falls.
Zimbabwe offers visa on arrival for Indians, said Ncube.
Both Namibia and Zimbabwe boast of multiple national parks, homes to rich wildlife.
“You can visit the Victoria Falls National Park. You can see the big Five of Africa — elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard and rhinoceros,” he said.
Namibia and Zimbabwe can be visited throughout the year, said the officials.
A display of wildlife pictures taken by actor Sabyasachi Chakraborty from his recent visit to Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana was part of the programme.
