| Page Views: 3,317 Last Visit to Benin: March, 2009 I Visit Here Frequently | BENIN by janiebaxter - last update: Jul 13, 2009 |
Beautiful Benin | Young Voodoo Priestess in a Village near Abomey |
Benin is the nicest country I have visited in Africa – and I have been to 31.
I have just returned from my second visit and am now in the process of adding new and updating pages. If you have visited my Benin pages before and want to go straight to the new places I visited concentrating on the North of the country follow the links -
Pendjari National Park
The Tata Sombas
Dassa Zoume
You can also follow the links in the Highlights section below to see the pages for all the places I have visited in Benin.
Benin is a small country on the West Coast of Africa between Nigeria and Togo with a tropical climate in the South and savannah in the North.
It has a fascinating religious culture and interesting history dating back to the early 17th century, colourful and vibrant towns and many lakes and rivers as well as a lovely coastline.
The hotels and restaurants have a good standard of facilities with excellent fresh food and plenty of cold beer! The people are extremely friendly and welcoming, making it an easy and pleasant country to visit. Benin is all that is positive about Africa. I left with such a favourable impression and with a smile on my face.
If you like Africa you will love Benin! |
|  | History and Culture Benin’s history centres around the slave trade and the powerful kingdom of Dahomey which was established in the 1600’s and expanded by conquering the surrounding areas and selling the captured people to the Europeans as slaves. The history is well documented in the many museums and monuments.
Religion
There are many Christians in Benin as well as some Muslims. However, Benin is best known for its voodoo religion which is still practised by many people in this part of Africa as well as in the Caribbean and many parts of the American continent where the slaves were transported to.
The origin of the voodoo religion goes back thousands of years and although it is believed to be about spells and evil this is not the case at all. The main basis of Voodoo is the belief in a supreme being who created the world, with a system of lesser spirits and gods, and the power of the natural forces of the earth. It is a very complex belief system |
Landscape, Lakes and Rivers The South where most of my first trip was taken is very tropical and green with pineapple and banana trees, market gardens and smallholdings growing all types of fruit and vegetables. There are many lakes and rivers with fishing villages and the Atlantic coastline has vast stretches of wide sandy beach.
The North is drier with more of a Savannah type terrain but still with plenty of greenery and hills.
Highlights
The laid back coastal town of Grand Popo where you can take a boat down the Mono River or relax on the beach under the palm trees.
The sacred forest of Ouidah the site of the annual voodoo festival, and the centre of the slave trade.
The lake village of Ganvie, built in the middle of Lac Nakoue and home to 25,000 people who live completely in and on the water.
Abomey the city of the 12 Kings of Dahomey, where the palace is a UNESCO world heritage centre.
Pendjari National Park One of the best places to see wildlife in West Africa.
The Tata Sombas The unique 3 storey houses built by the Somba tribe in the Atakora mountains.
I also travelled to -
Porto Novo, the official capital for a day trip to the museums and the Songhai centre and stayed in Cotonou, the commercial capital.
Dassa Zoume The town in the hills which is the most important Catholic pilgrimage site in West Africa.
I travelled to Benin with UK company Fulani Travel who specialise in West Africa and who organised a wonderful tailor made trip to suit my requirements. I had a lovely guide Alex (Thank You Alex!) and a driver. If you would like contact details, email me and I'll pass them on. | | |
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| Pros: | "Lots to see, happy and welcoming, good facilities & food" | | Cons: | "Absolutely None!" | | In A Nutshell: | "If you like Africa you will love Benin" |
janiebaxter's Benin Travel Tips
 janiebaxter's Benin Travelogues | | | |
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 Comments for janiebaxter about Benin | | | | |
angiebabe Sun Aug 30, 2009 18:01 UTC
excellent page of excellent travels Janie - very motivational and informational to head off to see a bit more of AFrica! Thanks for yr visit to my Ouarzazate page! | lynnehamman Fri Jun 5, 2009 15:46 UTC
Thanks for this amazing insight into the country & culture of Benin. The tip Ouidah - Slavery, Voodoo and Pythons I found fascinating. I would hate the Fetish thing- I am vegetarian. Good photos. I will return to finish reading tips soon. | hunterV Sat May 9, 2009 17:20 UTC
Hello, Jane! It's a wonderful page, thanks a lot! | SLLiew Wed Feb 18, 2009 02:36 UTC
Incredible page of Benin. Enjoyed reading your excellent tips of the local culture, vodoo ceremony, etc and airport corruption. |
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