Togo

Why Togo

It takes a little audacity to choose Togo. No Kenyan-style panoramic savannah, no pyramids or postcard beaches. What Togo offers is something else: an unpretentious, dense and sincere West Africa, where each district of Lomé tells the story of two centuries of colonial history and resistance, where voodoo markets pile up animal skulls and roots with mysterious virtues under the guidance of priests in boubou, where centuries-old clay fortresses still shelter entire families in the northern hills.

Togo is tiny (56,000 km², barely larger than Brittany) but crosses six climatic zones from south to north: lagoons and coconut palms on the Atlantic coast, tropical forests and waterfalls in the Togo Mountains, savannah and wooded savannah to the northern Sahelian borders. This geographical verticality compresses into 500 kilometers a diversity that takes weeks to appreciate in other countries.

What strikes you when you arrive is the human gentleness. The Togolese have a reputation as a welcoming and relaxed people, perhaps a legacy of the cultural mixing between Ewe, Kabiyé and Mina, between Catholicism, Islam and voodoo animism that coexist without friction. This country is not yet overwhelmed by mass tourism: tours are rare, tourists are few, and this discretion preserves an authenticity that we look for in vain in more popular destinations.

When to go

The long dry season, from November to February, is the best time to visit Togo as a whole. Temperatures fluctuate between 24 and 32°C on the coast, slightly cool in the Kpalimé mountains (16-25°C at night in December-January). The harmattan, this warm and slightly dusty wind from the Sahara, blows from December to February and mitigates the usual humidity. December and January are the ideal time to combine the coast, the mountains and the north.

The month of January is particularly festive: voodoo ceremonies are in full swing throughout the country, and January 10 (national voodoo day in neighboring Benin) attracts pilgrims from all over the region. The beaches of Aného and Lake Togo are at their most beautiful.

Avoid June and July at all costs: this is the peak of the rains in Lomé (nearly 200 mm in June), with frequent flooding in the lower districts of the capital. The months of April to May mark the great rainy season throughout the south: impassable roads in the north, but the Kpalimé waterfalls at their maximum splendour for lovers of wild nature.

How much does it cost

Togo is one of the most affordable destinations in West Africa. Daily life costs little: a meal in a local maquis (fufu, rice with peanut sauce, grilled tilapia) costs 2 or 3 EUR, a ride in a zemidjan (motorcycle taxi) costs less than one euro in town. Own accommodation in a guest house or hostel costs 15 to 35 EUR per night. Superior hotels in Lomé range from 60 to 120 EUR.

The main item of expenditure remains the flight: without a direct connection from Paris, you have to count on a connection in Casablanca, Abidjan or Addis Ababa. Fares vary between 420 EUR (low season) and 750 EUR (end-of-year celebrations) round trip from Paris. A 10-day organised tour, not including flights, starts at around 1,200 EUR per person. The official currency, the BCEAO CFA franc, is pegged at a fixed rate to the euro (1 EUR = 655.96 XOF): no exchange rate risk.

Where to go

Togo can be read from south to north like a novel with twists and turns. Lomé, the capital, is the obligatory entry point: you spend at least two days there to walk through the Grand Market, visit the Akodessewa witch market and walk along the seafront between coconut palms and German colonial buildings. An hour to the east, Aného dozes between the lagoon and the Atlantic, frozen in its colonial and Afro-Brazilian past. The pirogue crossing to Togoville, a historic lakeside village with preserved voodoo traditions, is one of the most evocative moments of the trip.

Heading northwest, Kpalimé reveals a Togo full of green shades: tropical forests, waterfalls accessible on foot, butterfly houses and batik craftsmen. Mount Agou, the highest point in the country at 986 m, can be climbed from here in a demanding day without technical danger. Further in the centre, the Fazao-Malfakassa National Park offers an immersion in savannah and gallery forest with buffalo, hippotrague and more than 350 species of birds, in a setting still preserved from mass tourism.

To the northeast, in the hills near the Beninese border, the Koutammakou is the highlight of the trip: the tata somba of the Batammariba, the tiered clay fortresses inhabited for centuries and listed by UNESCO, constitute one of the most stunning cultural landscapes in West Africa.

Our itineraries

In pictures

Practical advice

Formalities

French nationals need a visa to enter Togo. The online e-visa is recommended (official Togolese portal, 3 to 5 days, about 50 EUR) rather than the visa on arrival which can cause long queues in Lomé. The passport must be valid for at least 6 months after the date of entry. The yellow fever vaccine is mandatory: the international vaccination certificate is systematically checked on arrival. Consult your doctor or an international vaccination centre for malaria prophylaxis (essential) and recommended vaccines (hepatitis A and B, typhoid, meningitis).

Getting around

Within Togo, the options are varied. Buses and minibuses (STIF, or the many private gbaka) connect Lomé to the northern cities at very affordable prices but in spartan comfort. For more ease, renting a vehicle with driver from Lomé is the recommended solution for a complete tour: count 60 to 100 EUR per day depending on the distance. Bush taxis (shared cars) leave when they are full and cover all the national roads. In the city, the zémidjan (motorcycle taxis) are fast and cheap but require you to negotiate the price before getting in.

Culture and uses

Voodoo is not a folkloric curiosity in Togo: it is a religion in its own right, practiced by a majority of the population alongside Christianity and Islam. Going to the witch doctors' market or attending a ceremony requires respect and discretion. Always ask permission before photographing people, especially in ceremonies and traditional villages. On Sunday mornings, church processions in colorful wax are a spectacle that belongs to the faithful, not to the lenses of tourists. Warm familiarity is required in exchanges, and a greeting in Ewe ("Mi fo" in Lomé) is always very much appreciated. Appropriate clothing is required in places of worship and villages in the north.

Frequently asked questions