• Time out has curated a list of beautiful places less popular but worth visiting.

• Two African locations are featured in this list.

• The locations promise privacy as people are not flooding it yet.

Most destinations are considered underrated because they do not regularly appear at the top of travel lists, they do not get their fair share of tourism, or offer great alternatives to popular spots in the same region.

These places are fabulous and provide a good holiday mood but for some reason, they do not pass the popularity test. Time Out has taken its time to curate these beautiful places that are less popular and worth visiting.

Eastern Highlands, also known as Manica Highlands and São Tomé and Príncipe made it to the list posted by Time Out. These are spectacular places located in the beauty that is Africa.

The Eastern Highlands is a mountain range on the border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It extends north and south for about 300 kilometers through Zimbabwe’s Manicaland Province and Mozambique’s Manica Province. This is the home to the Eastern Zimbabwe montane forest-grassland mosaic ecoregion. The ecoregion includes the portion of the highlands above 1000 meters in elevation, including the Inyangani Mountains, which is the holy grail for hikers, Bvumba Mountains, Chimanimani Mountains, Chipinge Uplands, and the isolated Mount Gorongosa further east in Mozambique. The highlands also have a cooler, moister climate. It is also home to Mutarazi Falls, which is Zimbabwe’s highest waterfall where you can try activities like ziplining and also attempt the dizzying skywalk.

São Tomé and Príncipe, located in the second-smallest country in Africa, remains one of the unsung beauties of African travel. This island has been declared by UNESCO a biosphere reserve. The lush rainforests tumble into clear tropical waters, offering a wealth of nature-based adventure. There’s also a rich cultural landscape to discover too, from the island’s history as the world’s largest cacao producer to charming overnight stays in traditional plantation rocas. In 2024, look out for the long-awaited reopening of Bom Bom Resort on the northern tip of Príncipe, a tropical haven that straddles forest and coast.

Asides from its beautiful environment and fabulous view, this location promises privacy as people have not started flooding it yet.