Day 1 – 7.9.2024

Arrival in Lomé, the capital of Togo. Accommodation in Lomé.

Due to flight schedules, you may have to arrive in Lomé as early as 6 September, which means that the first day is free. If you wish, we can arrange a private programme in Togo for you before the start of the tour.

Day 2 – 8.9.2024

Welcome to Lomé, a city of 1.3 million inhabitants on the shores of the Gulf of Guinea. We will visit the Akodessewa fetish market, which sells the ritual items needed in the Voodoo religion (also known as Vodun). We will learn about the religion itself and see a wide range of dead animals from crocodiles to monkeys and dogs. Dead animals, or fetishes, are used in the religion's rituals. Other places to visit in Lomé include the Grand Marché, a large market in the city centre, and the Cathédrale du Sacré-Cœur (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart). The Catholic Cathedral is the main church of the Archdiocese of Lomé and was built in 1902, when Togo was a German colony.

From Lomé, we drive about 45 minutes to the coastal village of Agbodrafo, known for its slave trade. There we cross Lake Togo and visit the historic village of Togoville. In 1884, a local tribal chief signed a treaty with the German Gustav Nachtigal, which led to Togo becoming a German colony. The village has also given its name to the whole country. We visit a Voodoo shrine and the cathedral, which was completed in 1910. We will stay overnight either in Togoville or in nearby Aného.

Day 3 – 9.9.2024

Today we enter a new country! We will drive a few minutes to the border of Benin, from where it will take about an hour to the city of Ouidah, famous for its slave trade. We will start our exploration of the historic centre of the city on foot. We will see a python temple, the city's beautiful cathedral and, time permitting, Brazilian houses. We walk to the sacred forest of Kpassé, with centuries-old trees and a temple of the Voodoo religion. A visit to Ouidah is not complete without a tour along the "slave road", the road along which slaves used to travel on their way to the slave ships waiting on the Atlantic shore. The ships took the slaves out of Africa, and these people never saw their homeland again.

From Ouidah we continue our journey to the town of Abomey. It is about a two-hour drive. Abomey was once the capital of the Kingdom of Dahomey and Dahomey was one of the most powerful kingdoms in West Africa. It covered the southern part of what is now Benin. Between 1625 and 1900, Dahomey was ruled by a total of 12 kings. Then France subjugated the Kingdom of Dahomey and stripped the king of his power. We will explore several of the royal castles on the UNESCO World Heritage List. We will also visit a historical museum. We stay overnight at the Auberge d'Abomey in Abomey.

Day 4 – 10.9.2024

In the morning, we drive about 2.5 hours to the town of Abomey-Calavi, north of Cotonou. We board a wooden boat known as a pirogue at the town harbour, which takes us to the village of Ganvié, in the middle of the lake. Ganvié is built on stilts and is navigated by boat. People originally moved to the middle of the lake about 400 years ago to escape slave traders.

From Ganvié we continue to Cotonou, the business hub of Benin and home to some 700 000 Beninese. Although the metropolitan area is home to two million people, Cotonou is not the capital: it is the smaller Porto-Novo to the east of Cotonou. Cotonou itself is not a particularly interesting city, so we will only explore it briefly if time permits.

From Cotonou, the journey continues to the Nigerian border and beyond. We drive about 20 kilometres from the border to the coastal village of Badagry. We will stay overnight in Badagry.

Day 5 – 11.9.2024

Badagry is famous for the slave trade and thousands of slaves were once shipped across the sea from the village to the Americas. In the village we also see Nigeria's first two-storey house, built in the 1840s, and the first Bible translated into Yoruba.

Next, we welcome you to Lagos, the fourth largest city in the world and the largest in Africa, a megalopolis of 26 million people! Lagos is built on the shores of the Gulf of Guinea along lagoons and islands – uncontrolled, which led to the city losing its capital status to Abuja.

Lagos traffic is always more or less congested due to its "failed" location and especially its massive population. During the day we visit the "floating slum" of Makoko, also known as the "Venice of Africa" because it is partly built on stilts in the middle of the lagoon and the slum is mainly navigated by boat. We will also visit the Nike Art Gallery, founded by Nike Davies-Okundaye, the largest art gallery in West Africa and one of the highlights of Lagos. We will stay overnight in Lagos in the Ikeja area.

Day 6 – 12.9.2024

After breakfast, we drive about two hours to Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, home town of President Obasanjo, who led Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, where we visit the Presidential Library, whose mission is to "deepen democracy". The former president got the idea from the United States. We learn about the history of Nigeria and the life of President Obasanjo.

In Abeokuta, we also visit Olumo Rock, a high rock formation. In the 19th century, it served as a fortress during inter-tribal wars. We will also see colonial architecture in the centre of Abeokuta, including a beautiful red 1920s mosque.

During the day we drive another four hours to the city of Osogbo, where we visit the Osun-Osogbo sacred grove on the Osun River in Osogbo. The grove is part of an ancient forest, of which there is not much left in Nigeria. The grove is home to Osun, the Yoruba god of fertility. The grove is home to numerous shrines, altars, sculptures and other works of art dedicated to Osun and other Yoruba gods. We will also meet the priests and priestesses of the Yoruba religion, who act as intermediaries between the gods and living people. The priests and priestesses are able to cure diseases, help women suffering from infertility and even predict the future. Susanne Wenger, an Austrian woman who died in 2009 and lived in Nigeria for decades, was one of the priestesses of the Yoruba religion and we will visit her house.

The sacred grove is an important part of the Yoruba identity. With a population of 49 million, the Yoruba are the largest ethnic group in Nigeria. Every year in August, a festival brings thousands of people together in the sacred groove.

Accommodation in a three or four-star hotel in Osogbo.

Day 7 – 13.9.2024

In the morning, we drive about 2.5 hours to the Idanre Hills, one of Nigeria's most beautiful landscapes and a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its cultural values – there are several shrines, burial mounds and the palace of the Owa, the local king.

After the hills, we return back to Lagos. The day's drive will take about seven hours in total. We will stay overnight in Lagos in the Ikeja area.

Day 8 – 14.9.2024

We'll take you to the airport and your journey home begins.