Departure from Cotonou to Grand Popo (110 km - 3 hours) - BENIN
A trip to Lake Nokwe, and then by boat an acquaintance with Ganvie, the largest and most beautiful African village on stilts. The approximately 25,000 Tofinu ethnic group build their wooden huts on teak stilts. Fishing is their main activity. Everyday life unfolds in dugout canoes, easily rowed by adults and children with brightly colored oars. On board these canoes, men fish, women display goods in the "floating market", children go to school and play.
We will cross the outskirts of Cotonou and join the coastal road that leads us to Ouidah. In a few minutes we'll ditch the car and take a small motorboat excursion along the Mono River to discover tiny villages where the old method of salt extraction is still practiced. Our journey will take us to a wonderful estuary where the waters of the river and the ocean meet and give rise to contrasting forces that play with each other... Crossing lagoons bordered by small mangrove forests... Along the coast live fishermen in villages built from palm branches.
We continue by car to our hotel.

Food B – L – D
Accommodation Ganna or similar hotel (all rooms with private bathrooms and air conditioning)

Ouidah - BENIN
Every January 10th, Benin celebrates a national holiday dedicated to traditional religion and the voodoo cults associated with it. At the festival we will be able to see the dances of Sacred Masks, followers of Voodoo in bright costumes and red feathers, and high animistic priests. Initiations, drumming, dancing and active participation from villagers from all over the region. 
Later we go to Ouidah and the country's most famous festival. Here, in particular, dozens of voodoo ceremonies are held, convening thousands of adherents, traditional leaders and fetish priests. We will also see different masks. High-ranking Voodoo leaders will be there in traditional costumes. 
Since 2024, this official Voodoo festival is organized by a committee and usually the festival schedule is announced closer to the festival date.
Return to Grand Popo.

Food B – L – D
Accommodation Ganna Hotel or similar (all rooms with private bathrooms and air conditioning)

Departure from Grand Popo to Dassa (240 km - travel time 4 hours) - BENIN
This morning we will head north.
Abomey is home to the Royal Palace (currently closed for renovation). We will meet a community of "forgers" who have served the kings of Dahomey for centuries in the production of weapons and other tools.
We will see the dance of the adept Sakpata, covered with a necklace of cowrie shells.
We continue our journey to Dassa.
Dassa is the seat of the old kingdom founded by Olofin in 1385, and in the city you can still see places that testify to the passing of this long-standing dynasty. A walk through the hills will lead us to a sacred place where kings used to be buried - it is still guarded by several voodoo.

FoodB – L – D
AccommodationJeko or similar hotel (all rooms with private bathrooms and air conditioning)

We stop at the Dancoli fetish, an important site for the Voodoo cult: thousands of small sticks are inserted into the idol as evidence of countless prayers for a good harvest, a happy wedding, easy delivery, success in school, etc. After the prayers have been answered , people return to sacrifice what they promised - a goat, a chicken or a cow, depending on the nature of the prayer. Traces of blood, jaggery or oil on the idol are proof that many prayers have been answered.   
In the afternoon we discover the old villages of Taneka, located on the mountain of the same name. The villages consist of round houses covered with a conical roof protected on top by a terracotta pot. The upper part of the village is inhabited by young initiates and fetish priests who cover themselves with goatskin and always carry a long pipe with them. This tribe has lived on the archaeological site for centuries, in fact it looks as if the first inhabitants (from the Kabye lineage) moved to the mountain in the 9th century. Since then, other populations have come together to form a melting pot of sorts, where, although each group retained its own cults and initiation rites, common religious and political institutions were defined. Wandering along the alleys bordered by smooth stones, we may stumble upon half-naked men. The people of Tanek believe that in order to “become” human, it is necessary to combine time, patience and a lot of... blood from sacrificed animals. In fact, it is a process of life in the sense that life itself becomes a rite of passage, so life should not be determined by a before and an after, but rather follows a continuous path.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation:Hotel Tata Somba (rooms with private bathroom and air conditioning)
 

Natitingou and surroundings (60 km approximately 2 hours) – BENIN
The Betammaribe (alias Somba) live in the same natural environment of the Atakora Mountains as theTambermas. In the same way they build beautiful clay castles, however, unlike the Tamberma, they follow a series of very demonstrative initiation rites. Young men between 18 and 20 years old have their bellies marked with subtle and complex geometric patterns, deeply convinced that these scars are the only way to become “real” men. We will meet with some of these young people to hear from them what they remember about their initiation. Girls also undergo the scarification ritual, but in their case, scars on the stomach and back are made at the age of 20-22. If the baby is conceived before this, scarification is carried out early in the pregnancy, since the lack of scarring can be harmful during the birth process. All these initiation rites form a cycle that begins at weaning (when the child's face is scarred) and whose completion symbolizes the official birth as a member of the group.  The endless number of very thin scars on their faces forever remind people that they are Betammaribe. If we are lucky, we will also be able to meet the Fulani. TheFulaniare mainly herders. The men move with their herds, while the women take care of the camp, as well as milking the cows and producing butter to sell at the market.
The Fulanis are famous for their beauty. “Fulani” actually means “beauty”: beautiful face tattoos send messages to people who understand the language; beautiful slender bodies, looking at their herds, stand as a dot on the horizon; beautiful eyes that can accommodate so many landscapes beheld during their migrations in search of pastures. Their beauty is proportional to their slowness. Mysterious figures: they seem to be the slowest of all and at the same time move the most. This is the secret of a people who have learned to tame time and space, history and geography.
We return to Natitinga.
The rest of the day is a visit to the museum and market. Relax in the pool.

Food B – L – D
Accommodation Tata Somba or similar hotel (all rooms have private bathroom and air conditioning)

Departure from Natitingou to Sokode (230 km, 5 hours) – BENIN AND TOGO
Today we are driving south and crossing the border into Togo.
We will meet the Kabye who live on the mountain tops to experience a relaxed and friendly welcome.  Kabye dwellings called “Sukala” consist of several adobe huts connected by a wall - each dwelling is the fiefdom of a patriarchal family. In mountaintop villages, women work as potters, using the ancient wheelless technique, while men are blacksmiths, still working iron with heavy stones instead of hammers and anvils as in the early Iron Age. We follow the process of forming the hoe.
In the evening we will arrive at the villages of the Tem tribe to discover thefire dance. In the center of the village, a large fire illuminates the silhouettes of the participants. They dance to the hypnotic beat of drums, eventually jumping into the embers, picking up the burning coals, running them over their bodies, and even putting them in their mouths and swallowing them. and all this without hurting yourself or showing any signs of pain. It's hard to explain this performance. Is it a matter of courage? Self-hypnosis? Magic? Maybe fetishes really protect them from fire.

FoodB – L – D
AccommodationCentral or similar (all rooms with private bathrooms and air conditioning, very basic)

Departure from Sokode to Tamale (290 km - travel time 6 hours) - TOGO - GHANA
Ghana border. The Dagomba tribe lives in this savannah region. They build round mud huts with thatched roofs. The village chief's house at the entrance to the site is a large hut with a central pillar supporting the roof. The council of elders meets here. The entrance is framed with pieces of baked colored clay.
In one of these villages we meet a very large settlement... of witches expelled from their villages. We will talk to them about their life in the village and how they are protected by a special shrine responsible for “cleansing” their spirits of bad will.

Food B – L – D
Accommodation Gariba Lodge or similar (all rooms with en-suite bathrooms and air conditioning)

Departure from Tamale to Techiman (270 km - travel time 5 hours) - GHANA
Moving to the south.
In the Brong Apho area we will turn off the main road and follow the path to the sacred forest. The population living there considers the Monas and Colobus monkeys to be their totems. As a result, we have the largest community of these species in the world.
Walk through the forest among giant trees and emerald green light. We will meet many sacred monkeys.

Food B – L – D
Accommodation Encom or similar hotel (all rooms with private bathrooms and air conditioning)

Departure from Techiman to Kumasi (130 km - travel time 4 hours) - GHANA
Kumasiis the historical and spiritual capital of the ancient Ashanti Empire. Ashanti was one of the most powerful empires and kingdoms in Africa from 1670 to 1957, when the British Gold Coast became independent Ghana. With a population of almost two million, Kumasi is a sprawling city with a unique central market, one of the largest in Africa. All types of Ashanti crafts (leather goods, pottery, beads, textiles called Kente cloth, etc.) can be found here, as well as almost all types of tropical fruits and vegetables. 
The program includes a visit to the Ashanti Cultural Center: a rich collection of Ashanti artifacts housed in a beautiful replica of an Ashanti house.
Later in the afternoon we will attend a voodoo ceremony at the black and white temple of Medoma, near Kumasi. The frantic rhythm of the drums and the chants of the adherents help to evoke a voodoo spirit that has taken possession of the fetishist priest, who falls into a deep trance: rolling his eyes, grimaces, convulsions, insensitivity to fire or pain. In this narrow courtyard, surrounded by the magical atmosphere of a voodoo ceremony, we will finally understand how deeply the traditions are still rooted in the African soul.

Food B – L – D
Accommodation Miklin Hotels or similar hotel (all rooms with private bathroom and air conditioning - no twin rooms)

Kumasi and surrounding area (80 km – travel time 2 hours) – GHANA
This morning we will visit several villages surrounding Kumasi, where people specialize in making traditional cloth called kente and adinkra, as well as other interesting crafts: stools used by family elders.
We will visit the Royal Palace Museum, which displays a unique collection of gold jewelry worn by the Ashanti court. During the day we attend - if possible - a traditional Ashanti funeral, attended by mourners in beautiful red or black togas. We say “funeral,” but it means a “celebratory” celebration: through this rite, the deceased returns as an ancestor and protects his family. Relatives and friends gather, communicate and celebrate his memory. The chief arrives surrounded by his court under the shade of large umbrellas, while drums set the rhythm for the dancers, whose intricate movements have highly symbolic military and erotic meanings. 

Food  B – L – D
Accommodation Miklin Hotels or similar hotel (all rooms with private bathroom and air conditioning - no twin rooms)

Traveling from Kumasi to Elmina(240 km, travel time 4 hours) – GHANA
Today is a special day in Kumasi because today is the Akwasidai festival. 
Aquaside Festival. In the Ashanti calendar, certain days are set aside each year for a special celebration at the Royal Palace. We will experience a grand traditional ceremony in one of the last African kingdoms that still fully observes its ancient rituals. During the celebration, the king sits under a large colorful umbrella, adorned with colorful fabric and massive ancient jewelry (Ashanti gold jewelry is considered masterpieces of African art), surrounded by dignitaries and elders, and a linguist sits next to the king holding golden symbols of authority. Position and distance from His Majesty reflects all roles and positions of power within the royal court. The ceremony begins with a procession: attendants bringing gifts, storytellers recounting the deeds of past kings, ivory drummers and trumpeters, sword bearers, armed guards, bearers of ostrich feather fans, fetish priests and plump women dressed in bright red robes. performance of dance with erotic symbolism. The Queen Mother joins the ceremony surrounded by her court. We will immerse ourselves in the splendor and intense atmosphere of one of the last great African forest monarchies. 
Later we go to the coast again.

Food B – L – D
Accommodation Elmina Bay or similar hotel (all rooms with en-suite bathrooms and air conditioning)

Elmina (80 km – 2 hours) – GHANA
The coast of Ghana (formerly known as the Gold Coast) has more than 50 ancient forts and castles, reminiscent of the ancient gold, ivory and slave trades. We reach Elmina Castle, the oldest European building in Africa, built by the Portuguese in the 15th century. At various times the castle was used as a warehouse for trading gold, ivory and, eventually, slaves. The castle we visit today is the result of successive expansion works and is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Old Dutch Cemetery in Elmina dates back to 1806. Outside the castle is an impressive fishing village with many large colorful fishing boats - every day these large wooden pirogues are navigated by experienced fishermen through the strong ocean waves and currents, "battle" to make a living. In a nearby village we will see Posuban, shrines to the ancient “Asafo companies” - warriors who placed their offerings on large, colorful statues. 

Food B – L – D
Accommodation Elmina Bay or similar hotel (all rooms with en-suite bathrooms and air conditioning)

Departure from Elmina to Accra (220 km - travel time 4 hours) - GHANA
Accra, the capital of Ghana, has retained its unique identity despite the rapid development of recent decades, thanks to modern buildings and large avenues. The lush administrative area, adorned with elegant villas built in the first half of the 19th century, reminds us that this was the most prosperous colony in Africa. 
We explore the historic James Town area, inhabited by the Ga people. On the ocean shore, the life of local residents completely unfolds: a village surrounded by a city! Here, all economic activity is subject to very different rules than those that govern the “city” (business district) located just a few hundred meters away. We continue our visit to a workshop specializing in “fantasy coffins.” These unique handcrafted coffins can reflect any shape: fruits, animals, fish, cars, planes…. the only limit is your imagination!  
In the evening, transfer to the airport for departure.

Food B
Rooms for day use, used during the day until 18.00 (all rooms with private bathroom and air conditioning)