Eritrea

Asmara is one of the great unvisited cities - an Art Deco capital built by Italian colonists in the 1930s and preserved, partly by isolation and partly by the sheer coherence of its streetscape, in a state that UNESCO has now recognised. The cafes serve macchiato with the seriousness of a country that adopted Italian coffee culture and improved on it. The road from Asmara down to Massawa on the Red Sea coast is one of the great drives in Africa, dropping 2,400 metres through escarpment and history.

Travel advisory Independent movement is restricted and visa requirements are complex. Check current entry requirements before planning travel.

Our guide is being written from the ground up, with the time this place deserves.

We are still gathering the notes that make a guide worth keeping: Asmara's Art Deco quarter, the Massawa road, Red Sea diving routes and the coffee ceremony timings that are not on any schedule but happen nonetheless.