Afrinkong
The Kloto Hills
Coffee and cocoa country in the southwest, forested and cool, around Kpalime.
West Africa · Afrinkong
Togo
Fifty kilometres wide, and a different country every hour north.
A narrow strip from the Atlantic to the Sahel: palm coast, the Kloto hills with the country's best walking, and the fortified Batammariba houses at Koutammakou that are a World Heritage site.
Where it is
Africa · West Africa · Togo
The land in brief
- Spans
- 180 km E–W, 570 km N–S
- Latitude
- 11°N to 6°N
- Borders
- 3 countries
- Sea
- Has a coast
- Best time
- November to February. The south has a second dry spell in August.
Also in West Africa
BeninWhere vodun comes from, and the palaces of DahomeyBurkina 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 highlife
Compare Togo with another countryAll fifty-four, worked through the same twenty-seven categories.When to come
JFMAMJJASOND
November to February. The south has a second dry spell in August.
01Highlights
What Togo 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.
Fazao-Malfakassa
Elephant, buffalo and a great many butterflies in the largest park in the country.
Mountains
Mont Agou
986 metres, the highest point, walkable in a morning from Kpalime.
Fifty Kilometres of Coast
Palm-backed Atlantic sand from Lome east to Aneho, with a heavy swell.
Forests & Rainforest
The Kloto Forest
Semi-deciduous forest above Kpalime, and one of the richest butterfly sites in West Africa.
Culture
Ewe, Kabye, Tem, Batammariba
Ewe in the south, Kabye in the centre, Batammariba in the far northwest.
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 Togo 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
- The Kloto HillsCoffee and cocoa country in the southwest, forested and cool, around Kpalime.
- Mont Agou986 metres, the highest point, walkable in a morning from Kpalime.
- Kpime and WoméTwo falls in the Kloto hills, both of them a short walk off the Kpalime road.
- Lake Togo and the MonoA shallow lagoon behind the coast, and the Mono river marking the Benin border.
- Fifty Kilometres of CoastPalm-backed Atlantic sand from Lome east to Aneho, with a heavy swell.
- The Kloto ForestSemi-deciduous forest above Kpalime, and one of the richest butterfly sites in West Africa.
Wildlife
- Fazao-MalfakassaElephant, buffalo and a great many butterflies in the largest park in the country.
- Small and RecoveringThe parks here are being rebuilt after decades of pressure, and the wildlife with them.
- Butterflies at KlotoOver five hundred species recorded in one forest, and a local guiding tradition around them.
- Mont Agou at DawnUp before six, and Ghana visible across the valley by seven.
People and culture
- Ewe, Kabye, Tem, BatammaribaEwe in the south, Kabye in the centre, Batammariba in the far northwest.
- The BatammaribaTheir name means 'those who shape the earth', and the houses are the argument.
- Evala and the Voodoo MarketKabye wrestling in July, and the Akodessewa fetish market in Lome all year.
- Batik and PotteryBatik and wood carving around Kpalime, and pottery from the north.
- Fufu and Gboma DessiFufu with groundnut sauce, and gboma dessi — spinach stew with fish.
- Beach and Waterfall in a DayTogo is narrow enough that the coast and the Kloto hills are the same short trip.
- The Grand Marche and the Nana BenzThe women who built the wax-print trade ran it from this market, and still do.
Places
- LomeThe only capital on a border, with the biggest market in the region behind the beach.
- Towers of MudTakienta houses with granaries on top, and German colonial stone in Lome and Aneho.
- Aneho and the Old CoastThe first colonial capital, with German and Afro-Brazilian buildings going quietly to seed.
- Koutammakou, ListedThe Batammariba landscape has been a World Heritage site since 2004, and is still lived in.
Ways to travel
- Walking Around KpalimeWaterfalls, coffee farms, Mont Agou and the butterfly forest, all within an hour.
- A HandfulBeach hotels at Lome and a few good places at Kpalime.
- Earth ArchitectureKoutammakou late in the day, when the mud goes gold and the granaries throw shadows.
- Aneho and Lake TogoAn hour east of Lome: a lagoon, a decayed colonial town, and no visitors.
03Why go
The case for Togo.
Why Visit This Country
Why Togo
A whole cross-section of West Africa in a country you can drive in a day.
Hidden Gems
Aneho and Lake Togo
An hour east of Lome: a lagoon, a decayed colonial town, and no visitors.
Eco Tourism
Butterflies at Kloto
Over five hundred species recorded in one forest, and a local guiding tradition around them.
Heritage
Koutammakou, Listed
The Batammariba landscape has been a World Heritage site since 2004, and is still lived in.
04Go deeper
All of Togo, 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 Togo starts here.
Tell us the month, or simply the thing you want to see, and a guide who works there will answer.