Transfer from Lome airport to hotel.

Day two begins with an exploration of Lome, the vibrant capital of Togo. We will visit the central market of Lome with its famous Mercedes Mama’s (Nana-Benz), the colonial buildings in the administrative quarter, and the fetish market- where an eclectic assortment of all the necessary ingredients for love potions and magical concoctions are sold.

Afterwards we travel north to Atakpame a wonderful city surrounded by hills, in order to visit the weavers of kente, a fabric worn by kings and queens on ceremonial occasions.

Traveling to central Togo we visit villages inhabited by people indigenous to northern Togo. Their ancestors were forced to settle in central Togo by the colonial government many generations ago. Despite the passage of time the indigenous northerners practice their ancient traditions in order to maintain a symbolic link to the land of their origins.

In the evening we are invited to witness a fire-dance, which is an animist tradition still practiced today despite the century long presence of Islam. Trusting the power transmitted from father to son, the dancers throw themselves fearless into the fire. Not only do they walk on the burning embers, they also hold fire red coals in their hands and pass them over their body without leaving any burn marks on their skin.

Leaving Sokode we head towards the mountains of Malfakassa-Fasao. Here we visit the pioneers of iron-civilization in this part of Africa, the Bassar, who live in huts of clay and conical roofs.

We visit the region around the Massif Kabyé, populated by the homonym population. Their house are called 'Soukala' a group of huts joined together with a wall. Within each house lives only one patriarchal family.

Very interesting facts: blacksmiths still using stones instead of hammer and women making traditional pottery and old style floors made up with pieces of potteries.
 

We enter the land of the Tamberma and Betammaribe, also known as the Somba that live in fortified dwellings. Similar in form to medieval castles, they are one of the most beautiful examples of ancient African architecture. With the permission granted us by the inhabitants we will enter their homes so we can better understand their way of life. In order to defend themselves, as well as a desire to escape all external influences, these people have for centuries sought refuge in the hard to access Atakora mountain chain.

After visiting these wonderful people we cross the border to Benin, where we dine and sleep in a quaint hotel.

We discover the ancient villages of the Yom situated on the homonymous mountain. These villages are composed of round huts covered with conical roofs and protected at the top by terracotta vases.

The upper part of the village is inhabited by the fetish priests, dressed in a goatskin, and their young initiates. This population has for centuries lived on an archaeological site. It seems the first inhabitants, of Kabye origins from Togo, occupied the mountain in the 9th century A.D. Afterwards, other populations joined the Kabye to form a kind of melting; each group has maintained its own culture and its own rites of initiation, and at the same time the entire population shares common institutions of power and cult practices.

We travel south along a road used by the herds of zebus and their nomadic shepherds, the Fulani. At Savalou we visit an ancient shine of the occult. On this mysterious site people travel hundreds of miles to invoke the fetish. This site is one of the most important animist sites in the region. After the days exploration we dine and sleep in a charming hotel. 

Visit to the Royal Palace in Abomey. The walls of the palace are decorated with symbols of the ancient Dahomey kings. Now a museum, the palace displays the items belonging to the ancient kings: thrones, ancient cult alters, statues, costumes and arms. The economy of the Dahomey kingdom was based on war and the slave trade. In the middle of the royal courtyard is a temple build with a mixture of clay and human blood. At the height of their power there were up to 4.000 women in the palace harem.
 

Crossing Lake Nokwe by boat we reach Ganvie, the largest and most beautiful African stilt village. The approximately 18,000 inhabitants, of the Tofinou ethnic group, build their huts on teak stilts and cover the roofs with a thick layer of leaves. Fishing is the principal activity of the village which, because of their isolation, has preserved their particular customs. Life unfolds each day within the canoes that men, women and children, thanks to the brightly colored poles, guide with ease. It is with these canoes that one fishes, that one gets about, and that one delivers goods to the market.

Traveling from Ganvie we arrive in Ouidah. Ouidah is considered the spiritual capital of voodoo. In this old slave trading post, with its Afro-Portuguese architecture, we find sitting face to face the python temple and the Catholic Cathedral. The laid back attitude of the locals mixes with the thunder of the distant waves on the beach and the rhythm of the Tom-Tom to create an atmosphere outside of time and very well described by Bruce Chatwin in his book, "The Vice-Roi of Ouidah".

Walking the streets we visit the python temple and the Portuguese fort, now transformed into a museum, where the history of Ouidah is displayed. Afterwards, we finish our tour of the city by following the “slave route” to the beach where the slaves embarked.
In this wonderful city we spend the night in a cozy hotel.
 

Every year, in Benin, the 10 of January is a special day honouring the traditional cults. Special voodoo celebrations take place in Ouidah. We will spend most of the day in this town to attend the gathering of hundreds voodoo adepts in their traditional dresses, performing sacrifices and libations. Afterwards we cross the border and head to Lome. 

In Lome transportation will be provided, as well as some rooms for day-use. In the evening we leave for the airport.