Benin, Togo and Ghana Odyssey

Arrival in the evening at Cotonou International Airport, the economic capital of Benin.

Welcome by an Eco Benin member. Transfer to the BTA Centre (Business & Tourism Academy) in an air-conditioned room with shower and internal toilet, dinner and overnight on site.

Overnight in Cotonou.

Distance: 40 Km/ 1h00

Breakfast. We start with cultural immersion.

Transfer to Ganvié, the Venice of Africa. We visit the famous lake market in canoes, where the inhabitants sell or exchange their products. We walk in the village where we discover the schools on stilts, for which children must learn to swim from the age of 5 years. We compare the different fishing methods used by locals, including the banned fish parks called akadja.

Lunch.

Departure for Ouidah, the historic city. Visit of the Ouidah History Museum housed in the former Portuguese fort. The museum is located within the Portuguese Fort in Ouidah.

Originally, it was where the Portuguese traded slaves, and throughout its history until it was captured by the Dahomey kingdom, the fort served as a Portuguese diplomatic site in the area. After it became the property of Dahomey in 1961, the government began its restoration, and in 1967 the fort became the Museum of Ouidah History.

Route from the Slave Route to the Non-Retour Gate, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From the place at the auction from which the slaves were sold, to the tree of oblivion, whose usefulness was to make a ritual intended to make lose all reference and forget their homeland, their past, their culture; the great square of Zungbodji, new ritual around another tree that of the return, planted there by another king of Abomey Agadja, and still standing today, the tree of the return was the point of the final farewell, but also of hope.

Dinner and overnight at Le Jardin Brésilien hotel in an air-conditioned bungalow with shower and private bathroom.

Distance: 46 Km/ 1h10

Breakfast. Visit the temple of pythons dedicated to voodoo worship and the Zinsou Foundation, a museum of contemporary art.

Head for Possotomè on the shores of Lake Ahémé.

Arrival and check-in at the cottage of Possotomè whose rooms are simply equipped with shower and internal toilet.

Lunch at Chez Préfet campsite, a restaurant located on Lake Ahémé.

In the afternoon programme, we will discover the picturesque villages bordering the lake in order to meet the local people and discover their voodoo traditions and cultures, as well as the barter market of Séhomi, which takes place every afternoon.

Dinner and night at the cottage in bathroom and private shower.

Distance: 47 Km/ 1h20

Breakfast then we board for the circuit “Au fil de l’eau”.

During this boat ride on Lake Ahémé, the ecoguide explains the different fishing techniques used by the villagers, and what types of fish they are allowed to catch, He also talks about vodoun water deities and the role of protected areas dedicated to the Avlékété fetish, as well as the history of the lake’s only hippopotamus.

Lunch at the Prefect’s.

Transfer to Avlo, village between river and sea.

Arrival and check-in at the Avlo beach lodge whose rooms are simply equipped with internal shower and external toilet.

Dinner and night at the Avlo beach lodge where we sleep rocked by the sound of the waves.

Breakfast at the lodge.

We will take a motorized boat for the discovery of the Mono MAB UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in its fluvio-marin site la Bouche du Roy, we participate in the socio-economic activities of the women of the reserve such as the preparation of toffi, a caramel based on coconut milk; preparation of coconut oil, traditional salt and many others.

The visit of the reserve will be punctuated by the discovery of the Bouche du Roy, place where the river Mono flows into the Atlantic Ocean. From the island’s unique bird sightings to the release of baby sea turtles to the discovery and planting of mangroves, we will be in a revitalizing and idyllic natural space.

Lunch is served as a picnic at the mouth of the Mono River.

We were enjoying the afternoon to relax.

Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Distance: 94 Km/ 1h30 (without formalities at the border)

Breakfast. Departure for Lomé.

After passing the formalities of the border, departure for Togoville. Visit of the palace of King M’lapa.

Lunch in the village.

Transfer to Lomé. Visit to the Assiganmé market and the Lomé fetish market. Located in the district of Akodessewa, it is renowned throughout the sub-region for the choice it offers to customers who come to seek prescriptions of sorcerers. It contains everything traditional healers and other sorcerers need to prepare their decoctions.

Lunch.

Visit the big market Assiganmè says Benz chicks who are rich business woman. 

Dinner and accommodation at the Novelas star hotel in an air-conditioned room with private bathroom.

Distance: 95 Km/ 1h45 (without formalities at the border)

Breakfast. Transfer to Kéta in Ghana.

Arrival and check-in at African Home Lodge.

Lunch.

If it is market day, Local markets. Markets follow each other and take place in different villages on specific days. They all have a special character and play a very important role in local life. We get most of what we need for MMT (Meet Me There) in these markets and all our visitors love to explore these lively, colorful and animated markets.

In case it will not be market day, in front of the lodge, there is a large saltwater lagoon ideal for swimming. Most visitors spend a lot of time in the lagoon to cool off and play in the sun.

Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Breakfast.

The boat trip from the Volta to the sea is really fun.

Members of the MMT staff, accompanied by some cold drinks, head for the boat on the Volta. We go down the river towards the sea, where we go down from the boat and look around the land where the river and the sea meet.

We can spend some time here exploring, looking for shells, playing football, eating and spoiling each other. Or we will visit the famous “rum island” where we will taste the local rum.

From here, we go around the lagoon behind Ada, then up the river.

Return to the Lodge, dinner and night.

Distance: 143 Km/ 2h00

Breakfast. Transfer to Densu River by car.

Installation at the Kasappa Center.

Lunch.

A “village tour” of the locally located fishing community of Nyanyano, accompanied by a local KASAPA staff member, who can tell you all about everyday life in his hometown: schools and health post, the picturesque gate with colorful fishing canoes, salt ponds at the lagoon, pubs and the very old tree at the canoe landing which relates to the founding myth of the community.

Dinner and overnight at the Lodge.

Distance: 197 Km/ 2h30

Breakfast.

Transfer to Elmina.Visit of the Castle Saint-Georges of Elmina.

The Ghanaian coast, along the Gulf of Guinea, is unique in Africa for its number of forts and ancient castles built by various European countries; first by the Portuguese and later by the Swedes, the Dutch, the Danes, the English and the Germans. They often changed hands. There are remains of twenty of these castles in Ghana.

The oldest one built in sub-Saharan Africa is in Elmina. It is Saint George’s Castle (Sao Jorge). It was built by the Portuguese in 1482, was extended several times until the nineteenth century. It was built after the arrival of an expedition of six hundred men comprising one hundred masons and one hundred framers. The Dutch took it from the Portuguese in 1637. It is located in the center of Elmina. It is the best preserved and most photographed Ghanaian castle. Lunch. Departure for Cape Coast. Visit of Cape Coast Castle. A must-see place in Ghana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With more than 4,000 visitors a year, the castle is one of the most popular sights in the country. Construction of the fort began in 1653, with the Swedes (he was then called Carolusborg). The castle was then enlarged according to the owners of the place, until 1665, when the English definitively transformed it into a castle. The building, whose dimensions and solidity are very impressive, served as the seat of the British government until 1877. The slaves were locked up there in terrible conditions. The governor had sumptuous apartments with views of the sea. An almost frightening discrepancy between the conditions of men living at the same time.

The castle houses a museum that presents a history of slavery as well as the history of the country, and more particularly that of the Central Region. A plaque commemorates the visit of the Obama presidential couple to this memorial pilgrimage site of the descendants of American slaves.

Dinner and night at the hotel Loreto in air-conditioned room with bathroom and private toilet.

Distance 23 km round trip/ 15 min

Breakfast.

Transfer to Kakum. Visit to Kakum Forest.

This is the unmissable of the unmissable!

Kakum National Park is probably the most valuable in Ghana. The most beautiful. It is actually a rainforest in which a team of Canadian scientists has built bridges suspended in the trees, from which one can observe the jungle, following a guided route from bridge to bridge. The suspension bridge 30m above the ground is an attraction that allows to have an interesting view of the rainforest. The path of the canopy (in the trees) is the classic; it lasts one hour.

A regret: because of the intensive hunting, the species of large animals are discreet in the park, and we will have little chance to see monkeys jumping from branch to branch. However, it is possible to see butterflies, ants and birds. This chance increases with the visits at sunrise or sunset, which correspond to the periods of activity of the animals. Lunch.

Transfer to Accra. Visit to the city of Accra.

Dinner and transfer to the airport.