Suggested travel Activities in Benin
Benin is a perfect destination for those seeking a facinating glimpse into a complex culture. As far as organised tourist programs are concerned, though, it’s pretty light-on. For a low-key safari experience, head to the far-north to Pendjari Park and W Park. Pendjari is more developed for tourists than W, and is only open between mid-December and mid-May. The park contains elephants, hippos, buffalo and lions, but you’ll be lucky if you see more than a few forlorn-looking antelope, a couple of wart hogs and maybe a monkey or three.
The coastline is spectacular, and especially well suited to swimming. Four km (2.5mi) east from the centre of Cotonou is the best urban beach. It’s safe, clean and regularly crowded. Head west for 40km (25mi) and you’ll find the absolutely perfect beach at Ouidah (which just happens to be the voodoo capital of Benin). Just a little better than perfect, and a mere 40km (25mi) further along the road, is Grand Popo. The beaches are quite safe, the sand is a spectacular white and the water clear and clean.
Related Travel Information
Ouidah : Benin
Made famous by Chatwin's "The Viceroy of Ouidah" the city of OUidah in Benin is a major voodoo centre and a nice city to visit. The old slave port still has many historical sites and museums. Oudiah is only 40 km form Cotonou and can be seen as a day trip.
Ouidah Attractions
- Musee d'Histoire
- Musee des Artes et Cultures Vodun
- Musee des Tapisseries et des Tentures
Abomey : Benin
Abomey is the trade center for an agricultural region where grain, peanuts, and palm products are processed. The town is linked by railroad with Cotonou. Abomey was the capital of the kingdom of Dahomey (see Benin, founded in the early 17th cent. It dominated production and trade with European companies on the Slave Coast until the late 19th cent. Abomey was conquered by the French between 1892 and 1894. Ruins of the palaces of former Dahomey kings remain, and there is a museum.
Cotonou : Benin
Cotonou is the most important city of Benin. Porto novo is the official capital, but in economic activity Cotonou takes the first place. It is the place to arrange your visa and onward transport. Cotonou was originally dominated by the Kingdom of Dahomey from the 18th century. In 1851 the French made a treaty with the Dahomean King Gezo that allowed them to establish a trading post at Cotonou. In 1883 the French navy occupied the city to prevent British conquest of the area.
Although the city itself doesn't boast too many sights it is a lively place and
Porto Novo : Benin
Porto Novo is the capital city and one of the most interesting towns in Benin. It has a number of buildings dating from the period when the Portuguese used it as a base for buying slaves which were shipped off to the New World.
Other sights in town include the Musee Ethnographique which retraces the history of Porto Novo and has a good collection of Yoruba masks, the Palais Royal of King Toffa now a museum which gives you a good impression of how African royalty lived before Colonial times.
Just outside of town is the Grand
South of Savalou, especially in the west, the climate is typically equatorial - hot and humid, with a long dry season from December to March, in which the dry harmattan blows in the northeasterly to southwesterly direction.
The great rains fall from March to July; there is a short dry season from July to September and a short wet season from September to November. In the southwest, average rainfall is considerably lower and the dry season longer; at Grand Pope, for example, average rainfall is about 32.4 inches as compared with 40 inches further east and north, Northern Benin has
