Itinerary

1. Day 1: Cotonou

   • Pick-up from the airport and transfer to hotel for dinner and night stay.

2. Day 2: Cotonou - Dassa

   • Depart to Dassa- the town of 41 hills. 

   • Have lunch and stop at OKUTA, a natural granite site offering a great place where artists from Africa and beyond express themselves on the local rock.

   • Transfer to CPN (nature study and protection centre) ‘Les Papillons’. Created in 1995, this association aims at public environmental education with particular reference to ecotourism.

   Have dinner and night stay at CPN.

3. Day 3: Dassa - Natitingou

   • Depart to Natitingou, in local language meaning ‘The village of Nanto’. 

   • Have lunch along the way.

   • Visit the regional museum of Natitingou and the village of the local artists. 

   Have dinner and a night stay at the hotel.

4. Day 4: Natitingou - Pendjari Park

   • Depart to Tanguiéta. 

   • Discover the local fauna and spot many species of antelopes, elephants, buffaloes and lions or cheetahs.

   • Have lunch in the park.

   Stay overnight at the hotel in the park.

5. Day 5: Pendjari Park - Tanongou - Koussoucoingou

   • Transfer to Tanongou and visit the waterfalls to bathe.

   • Have lunch, made by one of the TINFI restorers.

   • Proceed to Koussoukoingou. 

   • Visit the small fortified huts called 'Tata', which are the ingenious habitat of the Bètammaribè tribe.

   Stay overnight at the Otammari lodge.

6. Day 6: Koussoucoingou

   • Hike to discover the hidden beauties in the valley near Koussou- the river where women come to fetch water. (3-hour hike).

   • Have lunch made from local ingredients by the caterers of the local association ‘Pearl of Atacora’.

   Afternoon at leisure. 

   Enjoy your dinner and night stay at the Otammari lodge or in the Tata.

7. Day 7: Koussoukoingou - Natitingou -Abomey

   • Depart to Abomey, the city of Kings and the hotspot of the voodoo culture.

   • Have lunch along the way. 

   • Visit Abomey's historical museum in the former royal palace listed as UNESCO world cultural heritage. 

   • Return to Bohicon and stay in the hotel.

8. Day 8: Bohicon - Ganvié - Possotomè

   • Transfer by car and canoe to the marshlands of Sô Ava and Ganvié, the ‘Venice of Africa’. 

   • Discover the local birdlife. 

   • Have lunch and depart to possotomè. 

   Enjoy your dinner and night stay at the hotel.

9. Day 9: Possotomè

   • ‘‘Way of the water’’. Have breakfast and go on a boat trip.  

   • Learn about the different fishing techniques used by the villagers and the kind of fish they can catch with it.

   • Get to know about the voodoo water spirits and the function of the protected places that are consecrated.

   • Listen to the history of the lonely hippo of the lake. 

   • Take a swim.

   • Have lunch at Prefet’s place. 

   Afternoon at leisure. 

   Enjoy your dinner at Prefet’s place and stay overnight at the guesthouse.

10. Day 10: Possotomè

    • Discover the use of medicinal plants in community life during the hike.

    • Have lunch in the afternoon.

    • Go on a ‘tradition and culture’ walkthrough Possotomé and the villages Okomè and Séhomi. 

    • Learn about the voodoo deities and their shrines, the role of the Tolegba, the rituals and ceremonies, and the importance of the sacred forest. 

    • See the bartering market of Séhomi, where the women meet by the end of the afternoon to exchange their products. 

    Have dinner at Prefet’s place.

    Sleep at the eco-guesthouse. 

11. Day 11: Possotomè - Kpétou - Possotomè

    • Have breakfast and get transferred to Kpétou. 

    • Spend the morning in the sacred forest to find the colony of Mona monkeys. 

    • Enjoy your lunch in a village house. 

    • Return to Possotomé. 

    • Dance around the fire or dance party at the bar 'laBoussole'. 

    Stay overnight at the guesthouse.

12. Day 12: Possotomè - Avlo ( Grand Popo )

    • Have breakfast and go to Avlo beach.

    • Enjoy your lunch and take a 1-hour walk to discover the village, the history, the traditions, cultures and the characteristic voodoo cult of the Plah and Pédah people.

    Have dinner and a night stay at the Avlo beach ecolodge. 

13. Day 13: Avlo

    • Departure for “La bouche du Roy”, the place where the river meets the ocean. 

    • Have lunch under the sunshades of the ecolodge.

    Spend your afternoon in leisure at the beach. 

    Have dinner and a night stay at the Avlo ecolodge. 

14. Day 14: Avlo - Ouidah - Cotonou

    • Depart to Ouidah, which was one of the essential slave trade centres during the 18th Century. 

    • Visit the museum in the old Portuguese fort and walk the Slave Road to the Gate of No Return- a monument on the UNESCO world cultural heritage list. 

    • Have lunch and return to Cotonou. 

    • Visit the Zinsou foundation of contemporary African art or the Centre of Artisan Promotion to get some souvenirs. 

    • Have dinner and get transferred to the airport.