West Africa

Music, markets and forts along the Atlantic.

Photo: Gregor Rom · CC BY-SA 4.0

Countries

Benin

The cradle of Vodun.

Burkina Faso

West Africa's film capital.

Cape Verde

Atlantic islands of morna and volcanoes.

Côte d'Ivoire

A giant basilica and ocean surf.

Ghana

Slave forts and a warm welcome.

Guinea

Waterfalls in the Fouta Djallon.

Guinea-Bissau

Bijagós: saltwater hippos and turtles.

Liberia

Surf and rainforest.

Mali

Timbuktu and Djenné: long hard to reach.

Mauritania

The Iron Ore Train and ancient desert towns.

Niger

Sahara and Tuareg culture.

Nigeria

Africa's largest nation and cultural giant.

Saint Helena

Napoleon's last island.

Senegal

Teranga and music.

Sierra Leone

Beaches and chimpanzees.

The Gambia

A river in the heart of West Africa.

Togo

A small country with mud tower-houses.

The Short List

Worth a Detour

Cities · Stilt villages

Ganvié and Ouidah

Benin

A lake village on stilts, and the Route of Slaves.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Festivals & Seasons · Film

FESPACO

Burkina Faso

Africa's largest film festival, every two years.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Mountains · Hiking

Santo Antão

Cape Verde

Green valleys and sharp ridges.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Beaches · Kitesurfing

Sal and Boa Vista

Cape Verde

Long beaches and steady winds.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Spiritual · Basilicas

Yamoussoukro

Côte d'Ivoire

A basilica bigger than St. Peter's, in the savanna.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Mountains · Waterfalls

Fouta Djallon

Guinea

Green highlands and waterfalls.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Nature · UNESCO

Bijagós Islands

Guinea-Bissau

A wild archipelago with saltwater hippos.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Beaches · Surfing

Robertsport

Liberia

Surf breaks on a pretty, empty beach.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Heritage · UNESCO

Chinguetti and Ouadane

Mauritania

Old libraries buried in sand.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Heritage · Trains

Iron Ore Train

Mauritania

Ride a train, one of the world's longest, across the Sahara.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Heritage · UNESCO

Agadez and the Aïr

Niger

A mud minaret city.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Cities · Music

Lagos

Nigeria

Afrobeats, art and huge energy.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Heritage · Napoleon

Longwood House

Saint Helena

Napoleon's final home, on one of the world's most remote islands.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Heritage · UNESCO

Gorée Island and Dakar

Senegal

A memorial to the Atlantic slave trade, off a lively capital.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Beaches · Beaches

Freetown Peninsula

Sierra Leone

Beaches beside the capital, with Tacugama's chimps.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Nature · Birds

River Gambia

The Gambia

Boat trips for birds and chimps.

Guide Coming Soon

Worth a Detour

Heritage · UNESCO

Koutammakou

Togo

Two-story mud houses of the Batammariba.

Guide Coming Soon

If You're Nearby

Heritage · UNESCO

Abomey

Benin

Mud palaces of Dahomey's kings.

Guide Coming Soon

If You're Nearby

Nature · UNESCO

Pendjari

Benin

West Africa's top park.

Guide Coming Soon

If You're Nearby

Heritage · UNESCO

Ruins of Loropéni

Burkina Faso

A stone-walled fortress.

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If You're Nearby

Mountains · Volcanoes

Fogo

Cape Verde

Climb a volcano, with wine in its crater.

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If You're Nearby

Heritage · UNESCO

Cidade Velha

Cape Verde

An old colonial port.

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If You're Nearby

Cities · UNESCO

Grand-Bassam and Abidjan

Côte d'Ivoire

An old French capital, and a modern lagoon city.

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If You're Nearby

Nature · UNESCO

Taï National Park

Côte d'Ivoire

A rainforest with tool-using chimps.

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If You're Nearby

Heritage · UNESCO

Cape Coast and Elmina

Ghana

Moving castles of the slave trade, by the sea.

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Cities · Music

Accra

Ghana

A lively capital, with hand-painted fantasy coffins.

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Nature · Canopy walks

Kakum

Ghana

A canopy walkway through rainforest.

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If You're Nearby

Nature · Elephants

Mole

Ghana

Walk with elephants in the north.

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Cities · Ashanti

Kumasi

Ghana

The Ashanti kingdom's capital.

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Nature · Rainforest

Sapo

Liberia

A wild forest.

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If You're Nearby

Spiritual · UNESCO

Djenné

Mali

The world's largest mud-brick building.

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If You're Nearby

Heritage · UNESCO

Timbuktu

Mali

A legendary desert seat of Islamic learning.

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If You're Nearby

Heritage · UNESCO

Dogon Country

Mali

Villages built into a great cliff.

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Nature · UNESCO

Banc d'Arguin

Mauritania

Vast flocks of migratory birds.

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Spiritual · UNESCO

Osun-Osogbo

Nigeria

A Yoruba sacred grove.

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Heritage · Bronzes

Benin City

Nigeria

The old kingdom of the bronzes.

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Heritage · UNESCO

Sukur

Nigeria

A hilltop palace and terraces.

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Cities · UNESCO

Saint-Louis

Senegal

A faded colonial island, and a jazz festival.

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Nature · UNESCO

Sine-Saloum Delta

Senegal

Mangroves and birdlife.

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If You're Nearby

Nature · Pink lake

Lake Retba

Senegal

A strawberry-pink lake.

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If You're Nearby

Nature · Primates

Tiwai Island

Sierra Leone

Primates in a river forest.

Guide Coming Soon

If You're Nearby

Heritage · UNESCO

Kunta Kinteh Island

The Gambia

A slave-trading site made famous in Roots.

Guide Coming Soon

On the Map

Grey pins: guides still being written.