Travel Attractions

The Dinka tribe constitutes the biggest ethnic group of South Sudan and probably counts for almost 40% of the population. They are pastoralists and let their cattle graze on the Greater Bahr el Ghazal, in the Pariang County in Unity, in and North of Bor as well as along the Eastern shore of the Nile in Upper Nile State. These geographical divisions reflect themselves into political rivalries among the different Dinka subgroups. While the historical leader of the SPLM, John GARANG, as well as the core leadership of the uprising, came from the Bor area the current President Salva KIIR comes from Greater Bahr el Ghazal (Gogrial in Warrap), which might at times lead to political disagreement. Several other ethnic groups have repeatedly accused the Dinkas of using the South Sudanese institutions to advance a tribal agenda.  View Tours

The Nuers are pastoralists and count for about 30% of the South Sudanese population. While the Unity State, with the exception of the Pariang County, is inhabited by the Nuer people, most of them live on the Eastern side of the Nile, in Southern Upper Nile, Northern Jonglei, and Western Ethiopia around Gambella.
The Nuer culture is very similar to the Dinka customs but distinguished itself by a very particular set of traditional believes and superstition as well as by a very efficient mobilization process of the youth in order to fight. Since the end of the 19th century, several Nuer prophets, following Ngundeng Bong, appeared among the Nuer people and spread well-remembered prophecies. As of June 2014, Dak Kueth, a native of the Yuai area in Jonglei, continues to be recognized as an active prophet and exercises considerable influence over the cattle camp youth.  View Tours

The Mundari are a small ethnic group of South Sudan. They are a part of the Karo people, one of the Karo ethnic Group
The group is composed of cattle-herders and agriculturalists and are part of Karo people which also includes Bari, Pojulu, Kakwa, Kuku and Nyangwara. Kutuk na Mundari is also the name of their language, which is similar to Kutuk na Kuku, Kutuk na Kakwa, Kutuk na Pojulu, Kutuk na Bari, and Kutuk na Nyangwara.
The traditional Mundari tribal lands are located roughly 75 kilometers north of Juba, the capital of South Sudan, and are centered on the town of Terekeka in the state of Central Equatoria. They are bordered to the north by the Bor Dinka at , Pariak, and to the south by the Bari of Juba 12 km at the Gwerkek north of Peiti Northern Bari of Juba base on 1956 British Colonial boundaries. Their lands are bounded on the east by the White Nile and extend west to Laka Ma’di in Western Equatoria state, an area roughly 100 by 75 kilometers in size.
The land, like much of South Sudan, is predominantly flat and marked by occasional isolated large hills. The low-lying land contains many rivers and lakes and is prone to flooding during the rainy season. The soil is predominantly clay-based, causing drainage and water retention problems, and provides a very fertile basis in support of cattle grazing.The Mundari, like other Nilotic tribes, are very cattle-oriented: cattle serves as a form of currency and a mark of status. Marriages are arranged by the prospective groom offering cattle to the bride’s family and husbands may take as many wives as they can support. The Mundari engage in perennial cattle raiding wars with the Bor Dinka during the dry season. Mundari men are known to bathe their hair in cow urine, giving it a yellow-orange color. The Mundari also cultivate sorghum and catch fish using nets and spears.
In common with other Nilotic tribes in Sudan, the Mundari practice ritual scarification as a rite of passage into adulthood for young men. The typical Mundari scar pattern consists of two sets of three parallel lines, each on either side of the forehead, extending in a downward slope and unconnected in the middle.  View Tours

The Toposa are an ethnic group in South Sudan, living in the Greater Kapoeta region of the erstwhile Eastern Equatoria state. They have traditionally lived by herding cattle, sheep and goats, and in the past were involved in the ivory trade. They have a tradition of constant low-level warfare, usually cattle raids, against their neighbors.
The Toposa people live in Greater Kapoeta, beside the Singaita and Lokalyen rivers, and have a ritual center at Loyooro River. For seasonal grazing they migrate to Moruangipi and sometimes east into the Ilemi Triangle.
The Toposa mainly rely on cattle, sheep and goats, from which they obtain milk, blood, meat and leather. During the wet season the animals graze near the villages. When the rains end, the men take the herds to dry season pasturage then slowly bring them back, grazing along the way, to arrive in the village when the next rainy season starts. Some areas of good pasturage cannot be used because of lack of drinking water.
The women also engage in limited agriculture in the river valleys.[5] The main crop is sorghum, grown on fertile clay soils. Depending on conditions there may be severe shortages or large surpluses. The Toposa country has low, unpredictable rainfall. The streams are torrential, flowing only in the rainy season.
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The Murle Tribe constitutes a relatively small (about 160 000 persons) ethnic group of pastoralists living in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (formerly Pibor County). Depending on the season, besides the cattle, they will get their food from the river (fishing), the forests (wild honey and herbs), agriculture (sorghum) of the game (the Kob migration). While the Dinkas and the Nuers share many linguistic and cultural similarities, the Murle speak a totally different language and have developed a unique culture due to their geographical isolation in the swamps of the eastern.
The Mundari Tribe
The Mundari are a small ethnic group of South Sudan. They are a part of the Karo people, one of the Karo ethnic Group
The group is composed of cattle-herders and agriculturalists and are part of Karo people which also includes Bari, Pojulu, Kakwa, Kuku and Nyangwara. Kutuk na Mundari is also the name of their language, which is similar to Kutuk na Kuku, Kutuk na Kakwa, Kutuk na Pojulu, Kutuk na Bari, and Kutuk na Nyangwara.
The traditional Mundari tribal lands are located roughly 75 kilometers north of Juba, the capital of South Sudan, and are centered on the town of Terekeka in the state of Central Equatoria. They are bordered to the north by the Bor Dinka at , Pariak, and to the south by the Bari of Juba 12 km at the Gwerkek north of Peiti Northern Bari of Juba base on 1956 British Colonial boundaries. Their lands are bounded on the east by the White Nile and extend west to Laka Ma’di in Western Equatoria state, an area roughly 100 by 75 kilometers in size.
The land, like much of South Sudan, is predominantly flat and marked by occasional isolated large hills. The low-lying land contains many rivers and lakes and is prone to flooding during the rainy season. The soil is predominantly clay-based, causing drainage and water retention problems, and provides a very fertile basis in support of cattle grazing.The Mundari, like other Nilotic tribes, are very cattle-oriented: cattle serves as a form of currency and a mark of status. Marriages are arranged by the prospective groom offering cattle to the bride’s family and husbands may take as many wives as they can support. The Mundari engage in perennial cattle raiding wars with the Bor Dinka during the dry season. Mundari men are known to bathe their hair in cow urine, giving it a yellow-orange color. The Mundari also cultivate sorghum and catch fish using nets and spears.
In common with other Nilotic tribes in Sudan, the Mundari practice ritual scarification as a rite of passage into adulthood for young men. The typical Mundari scar pattern consists of two sets of three parallel lines, each on either side of the forehead, extending in a downward slope and unconnected in the middle.  View Tours

Traditional South Sudanese wrestling is an energetic affair where the wrestlers are stripped to the waist and egged on by an enthusiastic crowd of spectators. Prizefights, some of them worth thousands of dollars, take place in Bor’s Freedom Square at weekends, and you may even be able to join in for a bout.
Bor’s tragic claim to fame is that it was the birthplace of the Second Civil War, when Sudanese army officer Kerubino Kuanyin led a revolt here in 1983. Built right on the eastern bank of the White Nile, it is the largest city in Jonglei, an historic centre for Christian missionary activity, and also the state’s capital. Bor is the best place in South Sudan to see the highly energetic Bor wrestling, as there are competitions here every weekend, and frequently you’ll have the opportunity to join in as well as spectate. If fighting isn’t your thing, you can also hire small canoes to paddle across the river to one of the many bustling Dinka cattle camps on the other side.  View Tours

One of Africa’s largest wildlife reserves is in Jonglei State and has a wildlife migration that compares in scale to that of the Serengeti. Between March and April and November to January you can see as many as two million animals on the move. The majority of these are kob, antelope and gazelle but you can also see some of the park’s 7,000 elephants, giraffes, oryx and baboons.
Boma National Park in northern Jonglei is one of the largest reserves in all of Africa: at 22,800km2 it is larger even than the many times more famous Kruger and Ruaha parks. The scale of the seasonal wildlife migrations is said to rival even that of the Serengeti, with as many as two million animals simultaneously on the move and with as many as 1.3 million of these antelope.
One of the largest reserves on the continent, this national park is home to some of the world’s most awe-inspiring wildlife migrations.
From March until June, the animals are moving south and east, from the floodplains of the Sudd and Bandingilo National Park across to Boma and into Ethiopia, keeping ahead of the rains. In the dry season months from November to January, the direction of the migrations is reversed. The animals return in search of pastures watered and made rich by the silt left behind by the flooding of the White Nile.  View Tours

South Sudan’s second city, Wau is home to a remarkable cathedral that can boast to be one of the largest solid structures in the country.
The domed Catholic cathedral in Wau dates from 1913 and is a symbol of the important role that Christian missionaries have played in developing the country since the late 19th century. It is one of the largest churches in Sudan and has some attractive stone carving as well as a stained-glass window.  View Tours

Nimule National Park was established under British rule in 1954, and the park extends 540km2 along the border with Uganda, with wildlife moving freely back and forth, and straddles the White Nile River. It is probably the most easily accessible of South Sudan’s national parks, due to the proximity of public transport and also the fact that, unlike Boma, it can be reached even during the rainy season.
Try to arrive at the park offices (on the right as you enter the park) when they open at 08.00 to get ahead of groups coming down from Juba, and also to maximise the time you have out and about before the day gets hot. At the offices you need to buy your park permit, which can also be prepaid at the Ministry of Tourism in Juba and also collect your ranger: having a guide is compulsory so that you do not get lost and stray into landmined areas.
The beautiful Fola Falls, turbulent rivers and huge elephant herds found within this national park make it an ideal spot for both adrenaline and animal lovers.
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South Sudan’s stunning birdlife is best appreciated with a boat trip on the Sudd, one of the largest wetlands in the world. More than 400 species of bird can be found here, including shoebills, great white pelicans and black-crowned cranes, and once you’ve had your fill of all things feathered, there’s also some excellent fishing.
Also known as the Bahr al Jabal (mysteriously meaning ‘Sea of the Mountain’ in Arabic), the Sudd stretches across an area approximately 30,000km2 which increases dramatically in the wet season to more than 130,000km2. The water level in Lake Victoria, which straddles Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania and is Africa’s largest lake, is largely responsible for dictating the water level downstream as rainfall in this region is in fact slightly lower than in neighbouring areas on the same latitude.
Known as ‘Sea of the Mountain’ in Arabic, the world’s largest wetland is home to a bewildering array of birdlife, with over 400 species to be spotted.
Owing to the vast surface area of the Sudd, however, as much as half of the river water fl owing into the swamp evaporates long before entering the northward flowing Nile. The water meanders through innumerable channels and streams, winding its way into stagnant lagoons, fields of papyrus and marshy reed beds. The Sudd supports what is probably the highest level of biodiversity anywhere in South Sudan. The five core ecosystems – lakes and rivers, floating plant matter, river-flooded grassland, rain-fed grassland and peripheral woodland – support more than 400 species of bird, the world’s largest population of kob antelope, and significant numbers of other large game. Patient tourists with a keen eye can hope to see hippopotamuses, crocodiles and the Nile lechwe waterbuck, and there are even reported sightings (though rare) of Lycaon pictus, the painted hunting dog. Birdlife is also diverse here and for bird-spotting possibilities. The Sudd is also rich in indigenous flora and much of the swamp is made up of naturally floating rafts of vegetable matter that can measure as much as 30km. View Tours

Off-the-beaten-track to Southern National Park Covering close to 7,800 square kilometers of land in the very heart of South Sudan, the seemingly endless swathes of patchwork woodlands and grassy savannah that form the Southern National Park, are amongst the largest protected game areas in the nation. At Southern National park, lion, the colobus monkey, bush babies, Marabou storks and Kobs are plenty
Curiously off-the-beaten-track for visitors to this part of Africa, the area has been little explored over the last 70 years.
Those who do come will get to see the likes of the Congo lion, the colobus monkey, bushbabies, marabou storks and kobs aplenty.  View Tours

The Kidepo Game Reserve is located in the southernmost depths of South Sudan.
Contiguous with the famous Kidepo National Park in Uganda across the border, it’s a sea of greenery that extends for more than 1,200 square kilometers across the savannah grasslands and gallery woods of the region.
One of the real pulls for would-be safari goers is the tame and human-friendly nature of the animals.
A closer encounters with elephants and defassa waterbuck, all of which wander right into the game lodges that pepper the boundaries of the reserve!
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nother great place to come and witness the breathtaking phenomenon of the annual migration of the white-eared kob, Bandingilo National Park is the natural jewel of the Equatoria region.
Spread out over the riparian grass plains that stretch eastwards from the White Nile River, it’s a surprisingly accessible place – thanks largely to that proximity to the capital at Juba; and surprising because stats show that still hardly anyone comes here! If you do decide to take the trip after the current Sudanese troubles reside, you can expect the likes of Nubian giraffes and elephants to pepper the vistas at Bandingilo.  View Tours