Must-see attractions in West Africa

  • Fishing boats and Cape Coast castle

    Cape Coast Castle

    Cape Coast

    Cape Coast’s imposing, whitewashed castle commands the heart of town, overlooking the sea. Once one of the world's most important slave-holding sites, it…

  • Osun State, Nigeria - August 15th, 2015 - Osun shrine by the river.
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    Osun Sacred Grove

    Nigeria

    The Sacred Grove is a large area of rainforest on the outskirts of Oshogbo. Within the forest is the beautiful Shrine of Oshuno, the River Goddess. In…

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    Praia Banana

    São Tomé & Príncipe

    Once the subject of a world-famous Bacardi advertisement (you'll remember it when you see it), this picture-perfect tropical beach is located on the…

  • Pico Cão Grande in Sao Tome and Principe, nature landscape. Travel to Sao Tome and Principe. Beautiful paradise island in Gulf of Guinea. Former colony of Portugal.; Shutterstock ID 1193588719; purchase_order: 65050; job: ; client: ; other:
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    Cão Grande

    São Tomé

    The Great Canine is the poster image of São Tomé, and an awesome sight. An enormous tooth of rock 663m high, it is a hardened column of magma, the remains…

  • Lonely Planet Traveller Magazine, São Tomé & Principe, November 2017, Issue 107
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    Baía das Agulhas

    São Tomé & Príncipe

    The spectacular Bay of Spires is not just Príncipe's top attraction, but STP's as well. It's best seen from the water, where the postcard view of the…

  • Palais Royal

    Cameroon

    The must-see attraction is the sultan's palace, home to the 19th sultan of the Bamoun dynasty. It has a fascinating, well-organised museum providing great…

  • Bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus).

    Abuko Nature Reserve

    The Gambia

    Abuko is rare among African wildlife reserves: it's tiny, it's easy to reach and you don't need a car to go in. With amazing diversity of vegetation and…

  • kejetia market, kumasi

    Kejetia Market

    Kumasi

    From afar, the Kejetia Market looks like an alien mothership landed in the centre of Kumasi. Closer up, the rusting tin roofs of this huge market (often…

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    Claudio Corallo Chocolate Factory

    São Tomé

    Claudio Corallo is both an extraordinary person and a local institution. For over 40 years this native Italian has pursued an overriding passion for…

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    Île de N'Gor

    Dakar

    For a quick escape from the frenetic streets of Dakar, head to peaceful Île de N'Gor, a tiny island just off Dakar's north shore. It has a few calm…

  • Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary

    Sierra Leone

    In the dense rainforest of Western Area National Park, Sri Lankan founder Bala created Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, a leafy, waterfall-framed hideaway…

  • Ghana, Northern region, Mole National Park. Elephants in Mole National Park drinking at water hole.

    Mole National Park

    Ghana

    It's not everywhere you can get up close and personal with bus-sized elephants. Face-to-face encounters with these beasts, plus roving gangs of baboons,…

  • Centre d'Art Acrobatique Keita Fodeba

    Conakry

    The Centre d'Art Acrobatique Keita Fodeba is perhaps the single most amazing experience in Guinea. Every weekday morning scores of acrobats spin, twirl…

  • PORTO NOVO, BENIN - JANUARY 01: F Godfrey Nzamujo, Director of the Center of Songhai;Dominican father, inhabitant of Niger of origin. He started 20 years ago the Songhai Center , the center of development of the agriculture in Africa. A real success on January 01, 2010 in Porto Novo, Benin. (Photo by Xavier DESMIER/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
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    Centre Songhai

    Benin

    The Centre Songhai is a major research, teaching and production centre in sustainable farming. There are one-hour guided tours to visit the plantations…

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    Praia dos Tamarindos

    São Tomé

    One of the island's best beaches, a beautiful white crescent facing an emerald sea, with excellent swimming. An easy drive from the capital, it's empty…

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    Praia Bateria

    São Tomé

    So perfect it stops you in your tracks, this cute little beach is a scallop of sand wedged between long walls of rock. Swimming here is like being in your…

  • This picture taken on on September 8, 2016 shows the Canopy Walkway bridge, the longest canopy walk in Africa, in the Lekki Conservation Centre in Lagos..Traffic jams may clog the city and the beaches look like garbage dumps, but for the Lagos state government developing tourism is now a do or die matter. / AFP / STEFAN HEUNIS        (Photo credit should read STEFAN HEUNIS/AFP/Getty Images)

    Lekki Conservation Centre

    Lagos

    Run by the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, this centre has a huge tract of wetlands set aside for wildlife viewing. Canopy walkways enable you to see…

  • Wide Open Walls

    The Gambia

    Two huge ibex grazing amid swirling waves, a blue tattooed lion, and a lovestruck blacksmith are just a few of the striking images awaiting visitors who…

  • Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary

    Sierra Leone

    'Big Island' in the Mende language, 12-sq-km Tiwai Island certainly packs a punch when it comes to its primate population. Set on the Moa River, the…

  • Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Project

    The Gambia

    This project forms the beating heart of River Gambia National Park. Comprised of so-called Baboon Island and several smaller islands, this is one of the…

  • Cour Royale

    Burkina Faso

    More than 450 people live in Tiébélé's royal court, a large compound of typical sukhalas, or traditional painted houses. Children live with their…

  • Bijilo Forest Park

    Serekunda & Atlantic Coast Resorts

    This small 51-hectare reserve makes for a lovely escape. A series of well-maintained walking trails (ranging from 900m to 1400m) takes you through lush…

  • Chefferie

    Cameroon

    Approached via a ceremonial gate, the compound is centred on a hugely impressive bamboo building, its conical thatched roof supported by wooden pillars…

  • Kachikally Crocodile Pool

    Serekunda & Atlantic Coast Resorts

    One of The Gambia's most popular tourist attractions is a sacred site for locals. As crocodiles represent the power of fertility in Gambia, women who…

  • Lopé National Park

    Gabon

    One of the most accessible of Gabon's national parks, Lopé offers rainforest and savannah teeming with apes, elephants and birds. Covering 4970 sq km, it…

  • Loango National Park

    Gabon

    Coastline and estuary, savannah and rainforest make for a diverse array of animals and birds in this superb park. There's always something to see:…

  • Musée Théodore Monod

    Dakar

    The is one of Senegal's best museums. Exhibitions delve into African art and culture with over 9000 objects on display. Lively displays of masks and…

  • Pongara National Park

    Gabon

    Wonderful lodges, beautiful beaches and a wealth of animals makes Pongara the perfect escape from Libreville. Lodges provide excursions to see the…

  • Nike Art Gallery

    Lagos

    One of Nigeria's most important artists, Nike Okundaye, runs this enormous gallery full of contemporary and traditional Nigerian arts. Nike herself is…

  • Mayumba National Park

    Gabon

    This marine park is the domain of barnacled whales and shy sea turtles, and the land, if you listen to the locals, is hushed by the spirits of ancestors…

  • Terra Kulture

    Lagos

    Close to Bar Beach, this welcoming arts centre with a high bamboo roof has a traditional restaurant which is one of the best and most attractive places to…

  • Afi Mountain Drill Ranch

    Nigeria

    The excellent Afi Mountain Drill Ranch near Cross River National Park is one of Nigeria's highlights, with a rainforest canopy walk, close primate…

  • Lekki Market

    Lagos

    A rich variety of crafts from all around Nigeria and West Africa: this is a brilliant place to wander and look for affordable gifts. You can also buy…

  • Praia Café

    São Tomé

    In the running for island's best beach, Praia Cafė is a short walk from the pier, and should not be missed. A beautiful arc of sand, it also offers…

  • Faidherbe Bridge.

    Pont Faidherbe

    Senegal

    Transferred to Saint-Louis in 1897, the Pont Faidherbe is the city's most significant landmark. The metal arches of this bridge linking Saint-Louis to the…

  • 'La Maison des Esclaves' (Slave House) on Ile de Goree. Built in 1776 by the Dutch and renovated in 1990, over 20 million slaves passed through the island.

    Maison des Esclaves

    Senegal

    Set in a former grand home allegedly used as a departure point for slaves, this is one of the most important monuments to the slave trade and features the…

  • Sierra Leone National Museum

    Sierra Leone

    There are two galleries inside the Sierra Leone National Museum – one housing a collection of cultural and historical artefacts, including Temne Guerrilla…

  • Lumley Beach

    Sierra Leone

    This wide sweep of beach has lost some of its atmosphere since the 2015 demolition of dozens of bamboo and thatch food shacks, and the numerous, ugly…

  • Sindou Peaks

    Burkina Faso

    One of Burkina Faso's most spectacular landscapes, the Sindou Peaks are a narrow, craggy chain featuring a fantastic array of tortuous cones sculpted by…

  • National Railway Museum

    Sierra Leone

    You don't have to be a rail fan to enjoy this Clinetown museum, where enthusiastic staff guide you around a surprising collection of restored locomotives,…