West Africa tour
| country: | Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso |
| trip type: | A small group adventure |
| departures: | 2009: 19 Dec 2010: 16 Jan, 23 Oct, 18 Dec 2011: 22 Jan, 26 Feb |
| price: | From £2395 - £2550 (17 days) including flights from the UK, from £1995 - £2150 excluding flights. Price includes accommodation, meals (15 breakfasts & lunches, 14 dinners), tour leader, local guides, driver(s), cook and transport |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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the amazing things you'll be doing
Discover the best of West Africa on a journey of extremes.
Travelling through three very different nations, we experience diverse cultures and religions, amazing natural attractions and unique architectural styles, welcoming people and vibrant music.
From the Gulf of Guinea to the remote nomadic lands in Burkina Faso, we visit fetish markets and python temples, spend a night in a stilt village, witness fire-dancing and mask ceremonies and have the chance to spot big game in northern Benin. We may even be granted an audience with King Maiga Belko at Arabinda.
Celestial churches, python temples and royal palaces: From Togo's vibrant capital Lome, dominated by an eclectic mix of traditional faiths and Christianity, we head east along the Atlantic coast into Benin. The old slave trade post of Ouidah is considered the spiritual capital of voodoo and we visit the python temple and Portuguese fort. At Lake Nokwe we take a boat to the stilt village of Ganvie and are privileged to spend a night in this traditional fishing community. Next it's onto the Royal Palace and UNESCO world heritage site at Abomey and the nearby village of cove where may be lucky enough to witness the remarkable spectacle of a Gelede mask ceremony.
Forests, fire dances and game-viewing: Returning to the lush landscapes of central Togo we travel to Kloto and spend time walking in its forests with a local entomologist. Then we head north through the varied territories of many local peoples including the Tem famous for their fire dance rituals and the Bassar whose striking conical roofed clay houses dominate the landscape. We enter the land of the Tamberma and Somba in northern Benin who live in fortified dwellings similar to medieval castles and spend a day trekking and discovering the many varied communities and ethnic groups of the area. Our time in Benin ends in the grasslands of Pendjari National Park where we may spot elephant, buffalo, antelope and even lion.
Savannah, desert and nomads: Crossing into Burkina Faso, we continue north through the Gourma and Mossi regions to reach Bani with its impressive adobe mosques. Gorom Gorom is our next stop with its weekly market providing lively trade between the nomad herders and sedentary farmers at a point where savannah meets the harshness of the Sahara desert to the north. We continue into this uncertain land to visit the nomad settlements of the Fulani, Songhay and Bella people. At Arabinda we may be received by King Maiga Belko before arriving in the Ouahigouya, the ancient capital of the Mossi kingdom of Yatenga. Our tour ends in Burkina Faso's lively and dusty capital, Ouagadougou.
Travelling through three very different nations, we experience diverse cultures and religions, amazing natural attractions and unique architectural styles, welcoming people and vibrant music.
From the Gulf of Guinea to the remote nomadic lands in Burkina Faso, we visit fetish markets and python temples, spend a night in a stilt village, witness fire-dancing and mask ceremonies and have the chance to spot big game in northern Benin. We may even be granted an audience with King Maiga Belko at Arabinda.
Celestial churches, python temples and royal palaces: From Togo's vibrant capital Lome, dominated by an eclectic mix of traditional faiths and Christianity, we head east along the Atlantic coast into Benin. The old slave trade post of Ouidah is considered the spiritual capital of voodoo and we visit the python temple and Portuguese fort. At Lake Nokwe we take a boat to the stilt village of Ganvie and are privileged to spend a night in this traditional fishing community. Next it's onto the Royal Palace and UNESCO world heritage site at Abomey and the nearby village of cove where may be lucky enough to witness the remarkable spectacle of a Gelede mask ceremony.
Forests, fire dances and game-viewing: Returning to the lush landscapes of central Togo we travel to Kloto and spend time walking in its forests with a local entomologist. Then we head north through the varied territories of many local peoples including the Tem famous for their fire dance rituals and the Bassar whose striking conical roofed clay houses dominate the landscape. We enter the land of the Tamberma and Somba in northern Benin who live in fortified dwellings similar to medieval castles and spend a day trekking and discovering the many varied communities and ethnic groups of the area. Our time in Benin ends in the grasslands of Pendjari National Park where we may spot elephant, buffalo, antelope and even lion.
Savannah, desert and nomads: Crossing into Burkina Faso, we continue north through the Gourma and Mossi regions to reach Bani with its impressive adobe mosques. Gorom Gorom is our next stop with its weekly market providing lively trade between the nomad herders and sedentary farmers at a point where savannah meets the harshness of the Sahara desert to the north. We continue into this uncertain land to visit the nomad settlements of the Fulani, Songhay and Bella people. At Arabinda we may be received by King Maiga Belko before arriving in the Ouahigouya, the ancient capital of the Mossi kingdom of Yatenga. Our tour ends in Burkina Faso's lively and dusty capital, Ouagadougou.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Fly London/Lome (Togo). |
| Day 2: | Drive Agbodrafo via voodoo villages. |
| Day 3: | Boat trip along Mono River (Benin); continue to Ouidah. |
| Day 4: | Visit Ouidah; pirogue to Ganvie stilt village. |
| Day 5: | Drive Abomey; visit Royal Palace. |
| Day 6: | Drive Kloto (Togo); afternoon forest walk. |
| Day 7: | Drive Sokode via Atakpame. |
| Day 8: | Drive Kara via Bassar; village and market visits. |
| Day 9: | Drive Boukoumbe (Benin) via Massif Kabye. |
| Day 10: | Walks in Somba area and visit communities. |
| Day 11: | Drive Gourma region (Burkina Faso); village visit. |
| Day 12: | Drive Bani via Mossi. |
| Day 13: | Drive Gorom Gorom via Dori; visit market. |
| Day 14: | Drive Aribinda via Oursi. |
| Day 15: | Visit archaeological sites; drive Ouahigouya. |
| Day 16: | Drive Ouagadougou. |
| Day 17: | Fly London. |
travellers' tales
I loved meeting the people and seeing remote villages that had never had a visitor. The markets were fun and the little goats and sheep were so cute, though not when they're strapped to the roof of the car, bleating in anticipation of being eaten for supper. (more)
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places. award winner
This tourism business won an Award in our 2008 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Daily Telegraph, World Travel Market, Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society and BBC World News.Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
how this holiday makes a difference
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We limit our group size to 12 passengers on this tour to 3 of Africa's least-known nations to limit our impact and allow us to visit and interract more intimately with remote communities. In addition to our UK leader, we work with a Togolese guide and Togolese drivers and throughout the tour we hire individual local guides for all the areas and sights we visit including a local entomologist in Kloto forest in Togo and Beninse wildlife guides in Pendjari National Park.
Additionally we rotate our community and village visits working closely with individual families and village leaders to ensure our visits do not impact negatively on the local communities and the income we bring is distributed fairly among each family. Our relationships with community leaders allow our groups to witness and gain an insight into various tribal ceremonies and events during each tour and we may adapt night-stops to take advantage of specific events happening in the region. Most of the accommodation we use is locally owned including the unique Chez M in Benin, owned and managed by the indomitable Madame 'M', built on stilts in the same style as the local houses in the traditional fishing community of Ganvie in Lake Nokoue. Visiting various daily and weekly local markets during the tour there is plenty of opportunity to buy produce and goods direct from the local people as well as pottery, cloth, woodwork and other artisans from the various communities we visit. As well as the above, we support a variety of charities and projects worldwide which support vulnerable communities and habitats including Friends of Conservation, Hope Worldwide and Send A Cow. We are also actively engaged with UK travel industry bodies which promote best practice in responsible tourism, such as Tourism Concern, The Travel Foundation and AITO. Our commitment to responsible tourism is not limited to our overseas operation and we have measures to ensure our UK office operates according to our responsible tourism policy. Carbon offsets for all flights booked with us are included in the tour cost. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |