Benin & Togo Voodoo Discovery — Self-Launched

Land at Lomé Gnassingbé Eyadéma International (LFW) and take a green-and-yellow shared taxi into town (~£2-3, or ~£6 private). Base yourself in the Tokoin/Be-Kpota area. Afternoon wander: the Grand Marché, the Palais de Lomé (Museum of Arts, ~£4 entry) and a sundowner at a beach bar on the Boulevard du Mono. Pick up a local SIM (Togocom or Moov, ~£5 for data) — essential for arranging taxis and guides.

🚌Shared taxi from airport ~£2-3

🛏Budget hotel in Tokoin (e.g. small independents around Boulevard du 13 Janvier), double room ~£25-30/night

• →Walk central Lomé
• →Palais de Lomé Museum of the Arts
• →Boulevard du Mono beach bars

Morning at the Akodessewa Fetish Market — the largest voodoo market in West Africa. Entry is a few pounds but you'll be asked for a 'guide fee'; agree ~£4-5 upfront for a guide who explains the stalls. Then the gothic-style Lomé Cathedral and the village artisan centre. After lunch take a shared taxi or minibus from the Gare Routière to Kpalimé (roughly 2 hours, ~£3-4). Kpalimé is a friendly coffee-and-cocoa town at the foot of the mountains; the Centre Artisanal is excellent for batik.

🚌Shared taxi/minibus Lomé → Kpalimé ~£3-4

🛏Guesthouse in Kpalimé (e.g. Auberge JP Nectar style family guesthouse), double ~£20-25

• →Akodessewa Fetish Market
• →Lomé Cathedral
• →Centre Artisanal Kpalimé

Early guided walk into the forested hills above Kpalimé — the butterfly and birdlife trail is ~2 hours and easy to arrange through any guesthouse or the local guides' association for ~£8-10. Stop at a village on the way down. Then a long travel day north: Kpalimé → Atakpamé shared taxi (~2 hrs, ~£4), Atakpamé market stop, then Atakpamé → Sokodé (~2.5 hrs, ~£4). Sokodé is a conservative Muslim town; dress accordingly. Ask your guesthouse whether a fire dance (danse du feu) can be arranged — it is a real ceremony, not a show, and needs guest etiquette.

🚌Shared taxis Kpalimé → Atakpamé → Sokodé ~£8-10 total

🛏Hotel in Sokodé (e.g. Hotel La Mirell equivalent), double ~£22-28

• →Guided butterfly/forest hike
• →Atakpamé market
• →Traditional fire dance (arranged locally)

Day trip west towards Bassar to meet the Bassar people, known for centuries of iron smelting — pre-arrange a local guide in Sokodé or Bassar (~£10-15) rather than turning up. Optional visit to a traditional chief (bring a small gift; ask your guide what's appropriate — kola nuts are traditional, never cash with the left hand). Continue north to Kara in the afternoon (~2 hrs, ~£3-4).

🚌Private-hire day trip to Bassar ~£15-20 split + shared taxi to Kara ~£3-4

🛏Hotel in Kara (e.g. Hotel Kara), double ~£22-28

• →Bassar villages & iron production
• →Meeting with a traditional chief (if permitted)

The highlight of northern Togo. Hire a car and driver for the day (~£35-45 total, shareable) to reach Koutammakou, the UNESCO-listed Tamberma landscape. The takienta mud tower houses are lived-in homes — entry is by arrangement through the village chief and a local guide, typically ~£5-8 per person. Learn about Tamberma cosmology and the two-storey granary/house layout. On the way back, stop with Kabye blacksmiths. Pack a picnic — options up here are minimal.

🚌Private car + driver day hire ~£35-45 (split)

🛏Hotel in Kara, double ~£22-28

• →Tamberma fortified dwellings (Koutammakou)
• →Kabye blacksmiths
• →Atakora mountain scenery

Cross the border at Koutammakou/Nadoba (Togo exit + Benin entry — check current visa rules for your passport; UK nationals have previously used the Benin e-visa, ~£40-70). Continue to the Taneka hills near Djougou. The Taneka villages are unusually open to visitors through local guides: a 2-3 hour walk up the hillside, the taneka houses with their ancestor shrines, and an explanation of the rites of passage (scarification, initiation) from a village elder, ~£8-10 guide fee plus a gift for the elder. Overnight in a simple hotel near Djougou or Boukoumbé.

🚌Shared taxi/bush taxi Kara → border → Djougou ~£6-8; occasional motorcycle-taxi transfers ~£2

🛏Small hotel near Djougou (e.g. Hotel de la Donga), double ~£22-28

• →Guided walk through Taneka village (2-3 hrs)
• →Meeting with village elders and learning about rites of passage

Morning visit to a Fulani (Peul) settlement with a local guide — Fulani camps are semi-nomadic and visits must be invited, so arrange this through your hotel or a Djougou guide (~£8-12). Then a travel day: Djougou → Parakou → Dassa by bush taxi/minibus (~5-6 hrs total, ~£8-10). En route, stop at the Dankoli fetish shrine near Savalou — the giant wooden post where people drive in nails and make vows. It's a shrine, not a sight: no photos of people praying, and a small offering is expected.

🚌Bush taxi/minibus Djogou → Parakou → Dassa ~£8-10

🛏Hotel in Dassa-Zoumé (e.g. Hotel Jeko), double ~£20-26

• →Fulani settlement visit
• →Dankoli fetish shrine

Morning climb of the Sacred Hill above Dassa (free or ~£2 with a local guide) — the pilgrimage site with grottos and stations of the cross, with huge valley views. Then bush taxi Dassa → Bohicon → Abomey (~2 hrs, ~£3-4). Afternoon at the UNESCO-listed Royal Palaces of Abomey — the Fon kingdom's throne halls and bas-reliefs, entry ~£4-6 with a compulsory local guide. Optional: the House of Pearls (Maison des Perles) temple if you can find it open; ask locally.

🚌Shared taxi Dassa → Bohicon → Abomey ~£3-4

🛏Hotel in Abomey (e.g. Bis Hotel), double ~£20-26

• →Sacred Hill of Dassa
• →Royal Palaces of Abomey (UNESCO)
• →House of Pearls temple (if open)

Day of living voodoo culture. Head to Covè (~45 min from Abomey by shared taxi, ~£2) where Egun (Egungun) mask performances are part of funeral and festival life — you cannot simply buy a ticket; ask your Abomey hotel or a licensed local guide to make contact with the mask society, expecting ~£10-15 per person in contribution and gifts. In the afternoon, a hands-on Fon cookery class can be arranged with a local restaurant or women's cooperative in Abomey for ~£10-12 (market shopping included), cooking pâte, sauce arachide and akassa. If you're lucky, a Gelede mask ceremony will be running in Abomey — check with the palace guides.

🚌Shared taxi Abomey ↔ Covè ~£2 each way

🛏Hotel in Abomey, double ~£20-26

• →Egun/Egungun mask performance at Covè
• →Gelede mask ceremony (seasonal)
• →Fon cookery class

Travel Abomey → Ouidah by bush taxi (~2 hrs, ~£4), then walk the Route des Esclaves from the old Portuguese fort (now the Musée d'Histoire, ~£4) down to the Point of No Return beach memorial — a sombre, essential half-day. The Temple of Pythons is a small, cheap visit (~£2); expect to be invited to drape a python around your neck for a photo fee. Cross by shared taxi and then a moto-taxi to the lakeside pier (~£4 total) and take a pirogue out to Ganvié, the stilt village on Lake Nokoué. Boat transfers are ~£8-12 return; arrange accommodation and boat with a guesthouse in advance.

🚌Bush taxi to Ouidah ~£4, shared taxi + moto to pier ~£4, pirogue ~£8-12

🛏Guesthouse in Ganvié stilt village (e.g. Auberge Carrefour Ganvié), double ~£18-25

• →Old Portuguese Fort / Musée d'Histoire
• →Route des Esclaves to the beach
• →Python Temple

Full day on the water. A guided pirogue tour of the stilt village (~£10-15 with a local guide) takes in the floating market, the school on stilts and the lagoon-side life — Ganvié is genuinely busy with tourists by midday, so go early. If a meeting with a bokono (voodoo soothsayer/oracle) is offered through your guide, treat it seriously: consultation involves a fee and an offering, agreed in advance (typically ~£10-20). Afternoon: canoe into the quieter mangrove channels (extra ~£8-10).

🚌Pirogue transfers and guided boat ~£15-25

🛏Guesthouse in Ganvié, double ~£18-25

• →Ganvié stilt village tour by pirogue
• →Bokono oracle consultation (by arrangement)
• →Mangrove channels by canoe

Return by pirogue, then bush taxi along the coast to Grand-Popo (~3 hrs via Cotonou or the coastal road, ~£6-8). Base yourself at a beach guesthouse — this stretch is laid-back, with the ocean on one side and the Mono river on the other. Arrange a motorboat tour of the Mono river estuary (~£15-20 per boat, split between two or three) and a visit to the traditional salt-extraction villages along the lagoon. In the evening, ask your guesthouse to help arrange a Zangbeto — the whirling raffia 'guardian of the night' masks. These are community ceremonies; expect a contribution of ~£10-15.

🚌Shared taxi Ganvié → Cotonou → Grand-Popo ~£6-8

🛏Beach hotel in Grand-Popo (e.g. Hotel Awale Plage), double ~£22-30

• →Mono river estuary motorboat tour
• →Salt extraction villages
• →Zangbeto mask ceremony

Cross back into Togo at the Aneho/Hilla border (walk-across, small fees both sides; bring CFA — both countries use the same currency, which helps). Explore the Aneho region — the old colonial town, Lake Togo and the Glidji area — by moto-taxi or a hired car (~£10-15). This area is where the trance dance ceremonies travellers rave about happen; a local guide or your Lomé guesthouse can help find one, and it's worth being flexible on timing (they often run late, on community schedules). Alternatively, meet a traditional healer (~£8-10). Continue to Lomé (~1.5 hrs, ~£3-5).

🚌Shared taxi/moto-taxi in Aneho ~£10-15; shared taxi Aneho → Lomé ~£3-5

🛏Budget hotel in Lomé, double ~£25-30

• →Aneho region lakes and villages
• →Voodoo trance ceremony (if scheduled)
• →Traditional healer meeting

Breakfast, then a final wander through the market for wax prints, batiks and small carvings before heading to the airport. If you have a late flight, most Lomé hotels offer a day room for around £20-25 — negotiate direct. Shared taxi to the airport ~£2-3.

🚌Shared taxi to airport ~£2-3

🛏N/A (or day room ~£20-25)

• →Grand Marché shopping
• →Departure transfer