Voodoo Festivals and culture 9Days / 8Nights

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. 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

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, you will check out at the hotel and drive Cotonou. You will stop at various markets and shopping malls to get your best souvenir. The guide will organize a traditional dinner at the hotel that will be booked on a day-use basis. Later you will drop t the airport to catch your next flight