Discovering countries that no longer exist

Usually around this time of year you’ll find me scanning the holiday brochures in the search for new and exotic places we can travel to as a family, especially for next year when getting over this year’s holiday blues. One thing I did notice though was the fact that there isn’t much change in popular locations year on year, which got me thinking about what places you can visit away from the beaten track. 

Of course, there are plenty of luxury holiday website who offer the likes of African safari experiences and Caribbean spa retreats for example, but whilst I was searching I found out quite a lot about how you can visit countries that no longer exist, which sounds crazy right? Some of the places names I have seen you can’t exactly find in the usual holiday brochure, such as Rhodesia, which hasn’t been a place since 1979, and Gran Colombia, which is even older at 1831, but you can still visit if you know what places they are classed as now. 

These places are my favourites from the list: 

Champa 

There are still technically 400,000 people that live in Champa, but it is now found in parts of Vietnam and Cambodia, so you may well have visited it without even knowing. It eventually disappeared in the 17th Century after constant fighting in the Cham-Vietnamese war but there are still plenty of places to visit today for holidaymakers. 

The old town in Hoi-An is a UNESCO World Heritage site is basically a living museum filled with beautiful architecture, such as Chinese temples, old canals and pagodas. Another great place to visit is the Po Nagar Cham Towers, which is the main temple nearby the Cai River and it is absolutely stunning. 

Rhodesia 

This is definitely one I want to visit personally, Zimbabwe is a country full of history and there are plenty of places to visit. Part of that history is Rhodesia, which had a short time between 1965 and 1979 as an official country in South Africa for 14 years before becoming internationally known as Zimbabwe. 

The obvious highlight for me is the wonderful Victoria Falls National Park with its famous waterfalls and walkways through the rainforest. For me, it looks like nothing else on earth and would be a great place to go with the family if we ever get the chance. It’s not just views though, there’s an array of elephants, rhinos, antelope and hippos to feast your eyes on. 

Have a look at the infographic and let me know which place you’d most like to visit, or is there any on the list they haven’t picked up on?