Chad is for both the intrepid and the thick-walleted, which don’t always intersect. The Ennedi desert is an exotic place full of cave paintings, some striking, strange rock formations, canyons, and other sights. Take a break from vast desert expanses at Lake Chad, so relax in a boat and watch wildlife at the shores. You’re better off not trying to get a boat there in the dry season. The Zakouma National Park, just South of N’Djam├®na, has some of the best sights in the country. It was fully restocked with wildlife like lions, elephants, giraffes, and wildebeests after the Civil War.

Chadians typically eat dinner from a communal plate on a mat on the ground. Some of their staples are millet, sorghum, rice, okra, and cassava. Additionally many fruits are eaten. Tilapia, perch, eel, and carp are common in the North, and many of the nomadic Arabs of that region also eat dairy and meat frequently.

People drink a lot of red and green tea. Millet beer called bili-bili is consumed by non-Muslims in the South. Common dishes include daraba (made from okra, tomato, sweet potato, greens, and peanut butter), sourdough crepes called kisser, or esh, a boiled millet flour dish with a sauce called moulah. If you’ve had gumbo in the American South, you may find the okra gumbo here a particularly interesting choice.