Afrinkong
Nature & Landscapes
Pendjari and the Atakora
The Atakora hills in the northwest, and the Pendjari river running along the park.
West Africa · Afrinkong
Benin
Where vodun comes from, and the palaces of Dahomey.
Ouidah is the source of vodun and a departure point of the Atlantic slave trade, Abomey holds the earthen palaces of the kings of Dahomey, and Ganvie is a town of thirty thousand people on stilts in a lagoon.
Where it is
Africa · West Africa · Benin
The land in brief
- Spans
- 330 km E–W, 690 km N–S
- Latitude
- 12°N to 6°N
- Borders
- 4 countries
- Sea
- Has a coast
- Best time
- November to February, the main dry season. The Vodun festival is on 10 January.
Also in West Africa
Burkina FasoThe best cinema and the best masks in West AfricaCôte d'IvoireLagoons, forest and the AtlanticThe GambiaA river with a country around itGhanaThe forts, the forest and the highlifeGuinea-BissauThe Bijagos, and eighty-eight islands
Compare Benin with another countryAll fifty-four, worked through the same twenty-seven categories.When to come
JFMAMJJASOND
November to February, the main dry season. The Vodun festival is on 10 January.
01Highlights
What Benin is known for.
Six of the twenty-seven, and the ones most people come for. The rest are below — and none of them is filler.
Nature & Landscapes
Wildlife
Pendjari
Lion, elephant, buffalo and cheetah in one of the last strongholds of the West African lion.
Mountains
The Atakora Range
Six hundred metres of quartzite ridge in the northwest, with the Somba country under it.
Beaches & Coast
A Hundred Kilometres of Atlantic
Grand-Popo and Ouidah, with heavy surf and coconut palms right down to the sand.
Forests & Rainforest
The Sacred Forests
Kpasse at Ouidah and the groves around it, protected because they are vodun sites.
Where Vodun Comes From
Not a folk survival — a living religion with millions of followers, and a public holiday.
02Experiences
25 ways to spend the time.
Every country we cover works through the same twenty-seven categories, so you can hold two of them side by side and compare like with like rather than one brochure against another. Compare Benin with another → The two not listed here are the hero picture and the case for going, which has a section of its own below.
Landscapes
- Pendjari and the AtakoraThe Atakora hills in the northwest, and the Pendjari river running along the park.
- The Atakora RangeSix hundred metres of quartzite ridge in the northwest, with the Somba country under it.
- TanougouFalls off the Atakora into a deep pool, swimmable and cold.
- Lake Nokoue and the OuemeThe lagoon behind Cotonou, and the Oueme running down to it through the delta.
- A Hundred Kilometres of AtlanticGrand-Popo and Ouidah, with heavy surf and coconut palms right down to the sand.
- The Sacred ForestsKpasse at Ouidah and the groves around it, protected because they are vodun sites.
Wildlife
- PendjariLion, elephant, buffalo and cheetah in one of the last strongholds of the West African lion.
- The W-Arly-Pendjari ComplexThe largest intact ecosystem in West Africa, run across three countries.
- Pendjari, Community-RunManaged since 2017 by African Parks with the villages around it, and the lion count is up.
- Walking the AtakoraSomba villages, quartzite ridges and the Tanougou pool, on foot from Natitingou.
People and culture
- Where Vodun Comes FromNot a folk survival — a living religion with millions of followers, and a public holiday.
- Fon, Yoruba, Bariba, SombaThe Fon of Dahomey in the south, the Somba in the Atakora with their fortified houses.
- The Vodun Festival10 January at Ouidah, on the beach, and it is a religious event before it is a spectacle.
- Applique and BronzeThe Abomey applique banners that recorded the kings' reigns, and Fon bronze casting.
- Amiwo and Grilled FishAmiwo — maize with tomato and chicken — and fish straight off the Grand-Popo beach.
- Ganvie by PirogueA whole town on water, reached by boat, which no child has ever found boring.
- ZemidjanThe motorcycle taxis are the transport system, and their yellow shirts are the uniform.
Places
- Cotonou, Porto-Novo, AbomeyA port that never stops, a colonial capital, and the seat of a kingdom.
- Earth and Afro-BrazilianSomba tata towers in the north, and Afro-Brazilian merchant houses in Ouidah and Porto-Novo.
- The Royal Palaces of AbomeyTwelve palaces of the kings of Dahomey, in earth, with bas-reliefs telling the history.
- The Route of the SlavesFour kilometres from Ouidah's auction square to the Door of No Return on the beach.
Ways to travel
- Pirogue and PendjariPoling through Ganvie in the morning, and a game drive in the north two days later.
- A Few Good OnesLodges at Pendjari and on the coast at Grand-Popo, and good hotels in Cotonou.
- Stilts and ReflectionGanvie at first light, when the water is still and the houses double.
- Possotome and Lake AhemeA quiet lake west of Ouidah with fishing villages and hot springs on its shore.
03Why go
The case for Benin.
Why Visit This Country
Why Benin
Vodun at its source, the palaces of Dahomey, and West Africa's best-run national park.
Hidden Gems
Possotome and Lake Aheme
A quiet lake west of Ouidah with fishing villages and hot springs on its shore.
Eco Tourism
Pendjari, Community-Run
Managed since 2017 by African Parks with the villages around it, and the lion count is up.
Heritage
The Route of the Slaves
Four kilometres from Ouidah's auction square to the Door of No Return on the beach.
04Go deeper
All of Benin, four ways in.
Who would take youAfrinkong
The ground is ours right across Africa: your vehicle, your driver for the whole journey, and the days shaped around what you came for.
In Cameroon, Uganda and Namibia you travel with companies of our own as well.
Plan your journey →
Begin
Your Benin starts here.
Tell us the month, or simply the thing you want to see, and a guide who works there will answer.