DAY/DATE LOCATION ACCOMMODATION

Day 01, Jan 8th Lome, Togo Hotel Ibis
Day 02, Jan 9th Ouidah, Benin Casa del Papa
Day 03, Jan 10th Ouidah, Benin Casa del Papa
Day 04, Jan 11th Dassa, Benin The Inn
Day 05, Jan 12th Sokode, Togo Hotel Central
Day 06, Jan 13th Kara, Togo Hotel Kara
Day 07, Jan 14th Tamale, Ghana Gariba Lodge
Day 08, Jan 15th Techiman, Ghana Miklin Hotel
Day 09, Jan 16th Kumasi, Ghana Miklin Hotel
Day 10, Jan 17th Anomabu, Ghana Anomabu Beach Resort
Day 11, Jan 18th Anomabu, Ghana Anomabu Beach Resort
Day 12, Jan 19th Accra, Ghana Depart

All accommodation is in air-conditioned rooms with a private bathroom

ITINERARY: It is possible to follow the itinerary in reverse order. All visits are maintained.

DAY 01 - ARRIVE LOME, TOGO

You are met on arrival in Lome by a representative of dmAFRICA and transferred to your hotel for overnight.

DAY 02 LOME TO OUIDAH, BENIN

Lome, the capital city of Togo, is a neat and orderly city, with a well-defined diplomatic quarter, with its charming colonial style buildings on the one side and the lively commercial and trading quarter, which is dominated by the large Central Market, on the other side.

The famous Fetish Market, situated a little outside the main commercial quarter, is known for the sale of strange and macabre medicines and other ritual ingredients, which are used to perform voodoo sacrifices. This is where the skillful masters of the local followers of animism come to buy the necessary items to practice their cults. They will intrigue you with some of their home-made gris-gris, which will offer a cure for our everyday problems and ailments……or so they will claim!

From Lome you travel across Togo and into Benin to reach Ouidah, the Voodoo capital of Benin.

Dinner and overnight in the Hotel Casa del Papa or similar

DAY 03 - OUIDAH AND A VOODOO FESTIVAL

Every 10th of January in Benin is a national celebration day in honour of the traditional religion and of the cults associated with it. Ouidah is considered the “capital” of voodoo in Africa, and it is host to several ceremonies where thousands of masters, traditional chiefs and fetish priests all gather to practice their cult. The city was also one of the main slave trading ports, and even today it has an awesome air, even without the foreboding ties to the voodoo. With its decadent Afro-Portuguese architecture and within its narrow streets there is the ironic spectacle of the Temple of Pythons and the Catholic Basilica, which face each other in this awe inspiring atmosphere. The slowness of the people bathed in sunlight… the remote noise of the waves crashing against the sand… the rhythm of the drums… it all represents the whispering echo of the lines of thousands of slaves who were taken on board from those same beaches.

This ungodly atmosphere is perfectly described by Chatwin in his book “The Viceroy of Ouidah”. The tour of Ouidah includes The Temple of Pythons, where snakes are worshiped as voodoo fetishes protecting the entire city ; the Portuguese Fort, now a museum dedicated to the Slave-Trade ; and The Road of No Return, which enslaved prisoners would walk before stepping on board the ships bound for the New World.

Dinner and overnight at the Hotel Casa del Papa


DAY 04 - OUIDAH-DASSA, BENIN

Leave after breakfast and travel via Cotonou, the main city and port of Benin, to fascinating Ganvie in the Lake District. Ganvie is remarkable because its houses are built in the lake. They are constructed on large wooden stilts and are covered in makuti matting. We approach Ganvie on board a large pirogue. Not surprisingly, the Tofinou people of Ganvie eek out their living by fishing. Thanks to the remoteness of their settlement, the Tofinou have managed to preserve their traditions as well as their original way to build houses. Everyday life is dominated by the pirogue, guided so skillfully by men, women and children using long, elaborately decorated and coloured poles. They do everything on their pirogues; they fish, they move, they display the goods to sell on the floating market… always singing in rhythm with the movements of the poles...

Later there is a visit to the Royal Palace of Abomey, which has walls decorated with the symbols representing the former kings of the Kingdom of Dahomey, and is now a museum and resting place for the remains of former kings. There is also a temple built with a mixture of clay, gold dust and human blood.

The Kingdom of Dahomey established its power due to a permanent state of war, in which it managed to catch prisoners who were sold as slaves. The royal army also included a female battalion famous for its boldness and aggressive fighting spirit; they became known as the “Amazons of Africa”.

Historians focus on the “secular” aspect of the Kingdom, where the King was considered neither a god nor a priest. Nevertheless, many human sacrifices were performed on the kings’ graves on ceremonial occasions. The power of the Kingdom of Dahomey tended to be recognized and accepted without question in Europe, and especially in France.

Overnight accommodation in Dassa.

DAY 05 - DASSA - SOKODE, TOGO

On the way north, you stop at the Savalou Shrine, one of the main places where voodoo cults are performed. The many wooden sticks buried in the ground are a reminder of all the masters who have addressed the local deity in prayers to satisfy their everyday needs: a good harvest, a happy marriage, a healthy childbirth, a scholar promotion…

After leaving Savalou you cross back into Togo and arrive at the village of Tem

Fire Dance is a traditional ceremony of the Tem people.

In the heart of the village, a great fire lights up the faces of the dancers who start moving on the frenetic rhythm of the drums. The fire dancers, in a state of trance, throw themselves into the embers, grab them with their hands and put them in their mouths; they even run them over their bodies without showing any trace of injury or any sign of pain. Is it a matter of courage? Willpower? Magic? Such a performance is hard to explain. Maybe it really is the fetishes that protect them from fire. We would need to prove it to believe it… and believe it to prove it….

Overnight at the Hotel Central, Sokode

DAY 06 - SOKODE - TAMBERMA-KARA, TOGO

A track across the Atakora Mountains is the access to the mystical and ever-resourceful Tamberma people. For self-defence reasons, these people have been taking refuge for centuries in the heart of the Atakora, a land so difficult to access that they could flee from any kind of invasion or intrusion, especially slave traders coming from Muslim North Africa. According to specialists, their origins are close to the Dogon people of Mali. They share with them an absolute faith in their own animist traditions. Proof is the presence of big fetishes of a phallic form at the entrance of their houses. Those dwellings, amazingly beautiful, look just like tiny two-storey castles. Some avant-garde architects such as Le Corbusier were amazed by the strength and design of these fortified dwellings.

Continue to Kara for overnight

DAY 07 - KARA - THE DAGOMBA - TAMALE, GHANA

Soon after leaving Kara you cross the border into Ghana and the area of the Dagomba people. This ethnic group represents one eighth of the total Ghanaian population. Their villages are easily recognizable as they are made of plenty of round huts all covered with a makuti roof. The inhabitants, mainly farmers, settled here many years ago and share the land with the Konkomba and other ethnic groups.

Visits will be made to a Dagomba and a Kokomba village, the latter being inhabited by women who have been accused of being witches. Found guilty of causing serious events, such as the death of a child, an unexpected disease, a fruitless harvest…these women are exiled in specific villages home to a particular kind of fetish able to “control” them. The way they warmly and cheerfully welcome you contrasts with the extreme seriousness of the stories that justified their exile.

Continue to Tamale and stay at the Gariba Lodge


DAY 08 - TAMALE - KINTAMPO WATERFALLS - VILLAGE OF SACRED MONKEYS - TECHIMAN, GHANA

Moving on from Tamale you reach the Brong Afo region where you leave the highway and follow a track into the sacred forest of Fiema and Boabeng.

The inhabitants of Fiema and Boabeng consider the Mona and Columbus monkeys the reincarnations of their ancestors and so respect them as protective spirits. The Mona monkeys are small and of a greenish-brown colour. In this area, they are not afraid of human beings and always go in the villages and even into the houses where it is frequent to see them “steal” food.

The beautiful Columbus monkeys have a long black coat covering their whole body except for their white tail and their face surrounded by a white circle. Wanted for its fur and flesh, the Columbus is an endangered species in the rest of the African continent. They live at the top of the trees, far from being bothered by the presence of human beings. During your game walk in the forest with its gigantic trees you will be able to spot groups of Mona and Columbus monkeys.

At the entrance to the forest region, the Waterfalls at Kintampo, are spectacular. Here the air is cool and the fragrance is of the forest. However, within a few km. the environment changes entirely: different landscapes, different people… It is a whole new Africa you are about to discover…

Overnight at the Miklin Hotel, Techiman

DAY 09 - TECHIMAN - ASHANTI - KUMASI, GHANA

Arrive Kumasi late morning. Kumasi is a city that can be proud of both its past and its present. Its past was mainly influenced by the Ashanti kings who, from the end of the 17th century, have had a tenacious dedication to maintain their regal traditions. Its present is represented by some flourishing economic activities, including gold mining and innovative use of the surrounding forest and fertile fields.

A visit to the Ashanti museum, which is located at the heart of the bohemian arts district, offers the best possible insight of the Ashanti history, past and present, ancient and modern. Visit also the open air market which is one of the biggest in West Africa.

During the afternoon, you attend an Ashanti funeral, strangely a festive ceremony which takes place to honour the memory of the Ashanti dead. It is through this ceremony that the deceased becomes an ancestor in the eyes of the whole family. The guests are dressed in rich red and black fabric. The chiefs, seated in the shade of large brightly coloured umbrellas, take part in the celebrations surrounded by their entire court. Once traditional greetings are over, the guests take a seat and watch the young dancing as a way to perpetuate forever the extremely delicate steps of the Ashanti dance ritual.

Overnight at the Miklin Hotel or similar

DAY 10 - KUMASI - ANOMABU, GHANA

Kumasi wakes up slowly. The streets of the city, not too busy at first, become a tapestry to the traveller, curious to observe certain details which give the city its special, charming aspect: the colonial buildings around the market, the advertisement signs hand-painted in a very original style that some would not hesitate to compare with urban art, the railway that crosses the central market and sometimes stops in the middle of it!

You visit the Royal Palace and see its unique collection of Ashanti souvenirs.

Later you have the opportunity to visit an Ashanti Chief. Resplendent in his traditional ceremonial costume he will receive you in his court and spend time explaining Ashanti history and traditions. It begins as a very formal affair, probably much like meeting the Queen of England may be, but historically the atmosphere cools a little during the proceedings and the conversation usually becomes more topical and informal!

Afterwards drive through forests and arrive at the beach resort of Anomabu.

Overnight at the Anomabu Beach Resort

DAY 11 - ANOMABU WITH VISIT TO ELMINA CASTLE AND OLD TOWN

Elmina is a name linked to the history of Africa. In 1482 Christopher Columbus and Bartolommeo Diaz arrived here with ten caravels in order to build a castle under Portuguese authority. This place had been chosen following the discovery of gold mines in the area.

This is how the story of Elmina began: a castle, a port, a village, all in contact with European populations for more than five centuries. The castle that you visit today is the result of successive extension works made by Portuguese, Dutch, English, and local authorities. Over the centuries, the castle has served as a warehouse for gold, ivory, precious wood and also for slaves. Today, the castle is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The small town of Elmina is a typical fishing port from where hundreds of large, colourful pirogues leave every day to face the Atlantic Ocean. Its historic buildings, formerly occupied by the Portuguese, are today inhabited by the locals, and are located next to the temples of the "Asafo", where warriors still leave their offerings on imposing colourful statues.

There is also a visit to the Salt Mines, the Catholic Basilica and the old Dutch Cemetery

DAY 12 - ANOMABU - ACCRA, GHANA - CITY TOUR

Drive from Anomabu to Accra.

Accra, the capital of Ghana, is an interesting city because, despite rapid change, it has kept its own identity, evident in both the modern and the ancient areas of the city, where traditional activities are maintained while new skills are imported.

The luxuriant and flamboyant diplomatic quarter has typically elegant villas which were built during the first half of the 19th century and are a reminder that Ghana was one of the most flourishing British colonies in West Africa.

Entering the city, you come across the area of the coffin makers, with their elaborately shaped coffins representing fruits, fish, planes, animals... such artefacts could just as well be displayed in any modern art centre.

The museum is particularly interesting, as it was created to preserve African art in general, as well as to promote modern art.

Venture down to the harbour side and the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and you will witness a more native and ethnic experience than the elegance of the diplomatic and business areas, which remain only a few hundred metres away. Here is African village life, a hive of hustle and bustle as fisherman and street traders, craftsmen and artisans, market their wares, in what is effectively, a village surrounded by the modern city.

You now have the choice to continue with other arrangements through dmAFRICA or transfer to the airport for your onward flight.

This tour is normally arranged by car or minibus with a driver guide (various languages available) and would include all meals, normally taken in the hotels on a table d’hote basis, with some picnic lunches. It is a fixed departure tour based on a minimum of 4 persons and a maximum of 16 persons.

As a guide only, the price for the above arrangements based on four persons travelling together in two double rooms, would be approximately €175 per person per day. An actual price will be confirmed at the time of booking.

Please note dmAFRICA arrangements are normally based on individual quotations with services provided to suit each person’s individual requirements and taste. For example, we are also able to arrange a similar tour to the above departing on different dates and with variable party sizes from two persons upwards