By CGTN's Maria Galang

When you think of African national parks, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana or South Africa immediately come to mind. 

But one unlikely contender is Dinder National Park, considered one of Sudan's most beautiful nature reserves. 

It is only in recent years that it has started to operate successfully as a popular tourism spot and important economic source.

Antelopes in Dinder National Park, Sennar state in Sudan. /VCG Photo

Established in 1935, Dinder National Park lies on the Sudanese border with Ethiopia, about 680 kilometers from Khartoum. It covers an area of 10,000 square kilometers.

It is also the only park located north of the equator where local communities still exist.

"We have to live with these communities in a way that does not harm the nature reserve and we guarantee they can live on the products of the nature reserve," said Colonel Adel Mohammed Abdullah, deputy manager of the Dinder National Park.

Due to the size and location of the park, which reaches the Ethiopian Plateau, there are many different environments which have earned it a rich biological diversity.

"This is the first time I've visited Dinder National Park, a very beautiful place, unspoiled nature full of wild animals," said a tourist.

"The nature reserve is one of the things I was hoping to visit most when I came to Sudan. The opportunity has finally arrived," another visitor said.

A number of private tourism companies have established themselves here, providing transport, accommodation and security, raking in as many tourists as possible and boosting the economy of a country long hampered by US sanctions.