Get the opportunity to discover more about different cultures of Benin people. You will also visit Porto Novo, the political capital of Benin and where there is history everywhere. Go for game drives at Pendjari National Park a UNESCO heritage.
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Cotonou
8:30am
Upon arrival in Benin, you will meet our staff for a warm reception. Later transferred to Hotel du Lac in Cotonou for Overnight.
After breakfast, meet the guide at the hotel lobby, today you will explore the city. Cotonou is a port city with remains of the communist period that have decided the appearance of the city. Explore the Dantokpa’s market one of the largest in the Guinea Gulf. We will visit the fetish stores that will bring Voodoo world feeling to you. After the visit, we will continue to Ganvie the famous “African Venice” a great concentration of Tofí fishermen families who hide in Lake Nokoué escaping from slavery in the
18th century. Tour along the ‘water channels’, meet the people, learn about Tofí culture. After the visit, return Hotel du Lac for overnight.
Today after your breakfast, you will drive to the mythical city of Ouidah capital of the African Voodoo. A Voodoo devotee will guide us through the festival where people come from all over the world. Some groups stop to dance, salute the people, or make offerings. Mothers carry their babies tied on the back. Men bang drums. Nobles are easy to spot because they are covered with giant and historical umbrellas. Seated in precarious platforms they enjoy dances and music in their honor after long and bombastic presentation speeches. On a central stage, the griots (jongleurs) entertain dancing and making acrobatics on the top of a high post. Later the fetish (gods representations) made of stalk go through the arena spinning around. But the main entertainment is drum men. The devotees come around them dressing colorful African clothes and dancing compulsively. In the evening, alcohol effects are visible and join the euphoria of several hours of dance, sun and spirituality Dinner and overnight at Hotel Diaspora Hotel.
After breakfast, visits and mystic experiences in this city “taken” by thousands of devotees from Africa, America, and the Caribbean. Farewell from Ouidah and we will continue to Benin’s Voodoo sacred lake. Lake Ahemé, beautiful, inhabited by communities that have kept the animistic traditions that slavery brought to Brazil, the Caribbean, and the south USA. We will be able to experiment Voodoo at its high. Hens sacrifice to feed the ancestors and ritual dances to dance with the dead. Our attitude must be curiosity and respect. The guide is key to this. We will visit the High Priest of Bopa and his skulls temple and aspects of this ancient culture usually stereotyped by the West. Vistit The Route of the Slaves incorporates the slave auction plaza, the Tree of Forgetfulness (where slaves were marked with their possessor’s signs and, to make them fail to recall where they appeared from, compelled to stroll around the tree in circle) and the Tree of Return, another tree the bondsmen frequently rotated with the view that their spirits would go back to abode after demise. There is a touching monument on the shore, Gate of No Return, with a low relief delineating bondmen in shackles.
Overnight at Hotel Chez Theo.
Breakfast and visit to the cultural and spiritual center of Benin: Abomey. The only UNESCO heritage in the whole country. On route, we will stop at the fetish market of Bohicon. Visit the Royal Palace and the art museum (optional) the cool thing is to get into the market and watch some traditional dance that takes place in the neighborhoods. The guide knows well the city and you will be able to discover the essence of Abomey with no problem.
Overnight at sun city hotel.
In the morning we will drive to Holli villages; It is a tribe close to Yoruba and Nago people but has some different scarification and tattoo. They used to live in a group but alone. Their main activity is agriculture. From Holli we will drive to Abomey. On the way we will in Agongointo to visit the underground house used by the warriors of Abomey kingdom.
Overnight stay in Nifur Hotel
In the morning we will drive to Lokossa for Zangbeto dance performance on the way we will stop to visit Kinkinhoue regional museum. From here we will visit the twins in Grand Popo and if it is Friday, we will see twins’ ceremony.
Overnight stay in Lokossa
In the morning we will head to Grand Popo where we will take the motorboat to “La bouche du roi” It is a place the river join the ocean. On the way we will visit Heve village. It is a small village with many voodoo temples. We will also have a voodoo ceremony. Late in the afternoon you will relax on the beach. We will also see voodoo ceremony here, specially how to become an adept.
Overnight stay in Grand Popo Millenium Popo beach hotel.
In the morning we will head to Allada. In this city of Benin we will visit a King and make sacrifices for divinities. This king will tell us about everything about Voodoo religion. He is a king and Voodoo priest and the president of Traditional doctors in the department. Here we will have the ceremony of Sakpata voodoo. It is the divinity of the earth.
Overnight stay in Allada
Today we will try the divination called Fa. It is an African oracle used to know about the future and anything hiding. In the afternoon we will relax on the beach take an option activity such shooting ranges, slopes, volcanoes, jet skiing, parachute, countryside, off-road trails, fountains, bridges, geological formations, islands, biking, mountains, valleys, paddle, skateboard, rivers, water sports, climbing, events, forest, mines, boat rides, music, festival, theme parks, wildlife, parks, walkways, lakes, castles, religious sites, water parks, farms, running in all Benin.
Overnight stay in Allada
Breakfast. The route through a red soil path to the Agonlin Mounts inhabited by Fon farmers and nomads Fulani who keep their traditional tattoos and make complex hairstyles. Pic-nick with them and excursion on foot to discover the villages and landscapes of the region.
Dinner and overnight at Hotel TG. HB (family dinner)
Breakfast at 7h. We continue to the Holi tribal region (Yoruba subgroup). Exploration of these Animistic villages that still tattooing their faces. Depending on the day, we will be able to visit some markets where products from neighbor Nigeria are sold. Pic nic (sandwich) at some village. Day to talk with people and enjoy the rural experience. After the visit, farewell from our hosts and continue to Porto Novo, the political capital of Benin and a great city for getting lost. There is history everywhere. Morning walk through the Afro-Brazilian neighborhood. Visit some house of the descendants of the Portuguese traders who discover the Guinea Gulf in the XV century. This city is an incredible fusion of the original Yoruba culture with the Portuguese legacy and the French and English colonial influences of the XIX century. Walk through its narrow streets, visit the central mosque, and salute to His Majesty Toffa King, the traditional ruler of Porto Novo. Accommodation at Songhay Hotel.
After breakfast, visit the drum market and the Black River on the outskirts of the city. Visit Yoruba villages and introduction to the Nigerian rhythms (Yoruba are the main group in this part of Africa and possess a millenary culture that transmits through dance and music). Visit the Yoruba dance master and talk to him. Accommodation at Songhay Hotel. BB
After breakfast, meet the guide at the hotel lobby, today you will visit Gnanhouizounmè sacred forest, a dense flooded forest that is the refuge of a variety of wildlife species. Here you will have an up-close with a Red-bellied monkey, Tantalus Monkey, and Mona monkey. You’ll have the chance to discover the circuit “Wogboto”, the culture of Wémènou, the village history, and daily activities of the locals such as fishing, basket weaving, and agriculture. You will have a chance at the amazing architecture of
the houses in Gnanhouizounmè. Dinner and night Gnanhouizounmè hotel or similar.
Today after your breakfast, you will visit the forest to watch the dining routine of the Monkey as you get entertained. You will brag a quick lunch before proceeding to Kikélé located in west Benin. You will have a detour at the sacred forest where you will see different species of wildlife. Continue with the drive arriving at Kikélé in the late evening. Overnight at Kikélé Guest House.
After breakfast, we’ll explore the village to learn about its history and culture. We will immerse the green forest to admire the rich fauna and flora where you will have an opportunity to observe the tame White thighed colobus, a majestic monkey where the local people consider as their ancestors. The Mona monkey could be also seen in the forest if we are lucky. You will also learn will learn about several plants used by the locals as traditional medicine. Dinner and Overnight at Kekeli Guest House.
After the breakfast we will drive Dassa zoumey to the Marial cave and walk in the mountain, we will visit Dankoli Voodoo temple and Fa museum in Savalou. We will also visit the slavery monument. It is a place they used to keep the slaves and they used to give them the water from the ground, till today that water still there.
Overnight in Savalou
After breakfast depart to Natitingou located in the northwest of Benin. This a long way of driving but with several detours and beautiful vegetation on the road. You will stop at Fulani villages to learn about the culture and history of the Fula people and to have a quick lunch. In the afternoon we will arrive at Natitingou and visit the regional museum. Overnight at the hotel ToTora.
After breakfast drive to Pendjari National Park, one of the most important animal reserves in WestAfrica and a Unesco heritage. Upon arrival, you will have a game to have an up-close with lions, elephants, antelopes, warthogs, buffalos, and much more. Dinner and overnight will be at Pendjari camp.
Today after breakfast you will have an early game drive for another animal experience and back to the camp for launch. In the afternoon you will visit the waterfall where you can swim and relax.
Departure in the morning to Boukombe to visit the Tata somba of Otammari people. This community has scarification in all the face.In this community young girls have to pass through some ceremonies before becoming adult. We will spend the day to learn about their different activities and lifestyles.Overnight stay in Otammari Logde Koussoukoingou.before the sunset, you will leave the wild and back to Natitingou.
Overnight at Hotel Totora
After breakfast, l drive to Boukombe to visit Tata Somba and Otammari people that have a very interesting culture. when a member of the group turns 10, they make hundreds of scars on their face called “tchoudanfas” using a thin blade. You will have lunch as you learn about their culture and history. In the afternoon we will drive to Taneka for the traditional dance of excision. Overnight at Teneka hotel
Today in the morning you will embark on a hiking adventure to discover old Taneka villages located on a mountain. The villages are made of roundhouses covered with conical roofs protected at their top by terra cotta pots. You will learn the history and culture of this ethnic group. In the mid-morning will go back to the hotel for early breakfast. We will drive back to Cotonou where you will be dropped at the hotel or at the airport.
