Togo travel guide

Described in Joseph Conrad's Hearth of Darkness as "a God-forsaken wilderness, with a tin shed and a flagpole lost in it" the town wasn't much to look at in the early colonial days. Originally known as Little Popo, Aného eventually prospered as the first capital of German Togoland. A German cemetery and some fine churches are evidence that this outpost once held some importance. Today, the wilderness is reclaiming many of the grand colonial buildings. Locals don't pay much attention to the crumbling grandeur. If colonial history isn't enough of a draw, the area is also an important voodoo centre. Voodoo culture here bubbles under the surface, and it will probably require some local assistance to be introduced to the fetish priests here. Alternatively, nearby Glidji is home to a couple of famous voodoo temples and shrines.

While West Africa isn't the most stressful or fast-paced destination, everybody needs some time to unwind once in a while. The best place for some peace and quiet in Togo is without a doubt the Benedictine Dzogbégan Monastery. Situated in picturesque surroundings, this Monastery is noteworthy because it is built entirely with local materials. Here guests sleep and eat with the monks - and should one wish, it's also possible to join the daily prayers. While the monks does offer some spiritual fulfillment, the real draw here is gastronomical. The monks and the nuns in another nearby monastery run an orchard and produce homemade jam, as well as coffee, honey and other treats. It's divine. But be careful with their cinnamon snaps – it can produce some God-awful hangovers.

Most people think of voodoo as black magic, but most voodoo is actually white magic. People go to the fetish market to buy the ingredients, which they then bring to the witch doctor next door. The witch doctor then grind the ingredients, perform a voodoo ceremony, and hopefully the person gets well, luck with love, or whatever the reason was to seek out voodoo in the first place. The fetish market in Lomé is famous for locals and tourists alike. The stalls are packed with animal skins, skulls, and bones, all with great voodoo power for the enlightened, but there are tourist voodoo dolls too. Visiting the market has been put into system and is surprisingly orderly. You pay an entrance fee along with a camera fee and for that you get a guide, who explain all the strange fetish objects, can take pictures of everything, and a visit to a witch doctor. Though there isn't any hard sale, it's kind of expected that you buy a (overpriced) premade talisman from the witch doctor, but just consider it as an additional fee for the small voodoo ceremony.

Some of the best hiking in West Africa can be done in the green rolling hills of Plateau Region. It's some of the most beautiful and fertile lands in the country. Hikers can choose between a vast range of landscapes, coffee and cocoa plantations around Kpalimé (pronounced with a silent "k"), the mountain vistas at Badou or liana-laden rainforests in between these two towns. Two of the country's highest mountains, Mont Klouto and Mont Agou are both just dozen kilometres from Kpalimé while the small village of Kouma-Konda offers walks through the Missahohé Forest, famed for its huge variant of butterflies. Heading to Badou, the most exciting hiking destination is the 35m Akloa Falls, 11 km south of town, where it's possible to take a refreshing plunge into the pool below the falls.

A harsh climate and a rough geography make the far north Togo's poorest region. Much of the area is dusty savannah, that does not offer visitors much, but rural villages and dust. Two significant exceptions, however, are the Tata Houses of the Tamberma people and Kara. Kara is the one bastion of civilisation and modernity in northern Togo. Former President Eyadéma was born in this region and turned the town into an administration centre, thus securing Kara's status as Togo's second city. Kara is thus the place to wash off the dust, relax by the poolside, enjoy some relatively fine dining and stuck off at the large markets before heading back into the savannahs.

Located smack on the border with Ghana, Lomé is a busy, busy place. The border location makes it brimming with business, and the city's central market is one of the most active in the region. It's also the primary port of the landlocked countries to the north, Burkina Faso and Niger, so the parts of the waterfront are dominated by the large port. Between the harbour and the Ghanaian border is a long sandy beach, where many locals spent their free time. It's too dirty for swimming and too crowded for sunbathing, but there are plenty of small restaurants and drinking holes, where it's easy to waste away an afternoon. Given the city's busy nature, it should come as no surprise that Lomé is also the best place for dining out and nightlife in all of Togo.

Though Lomé is blessed with long wide beaches, most of them are occupied by fishermen, kids playing football, and women doing laundry. Simple bars are the only kind of development on the beaches in the downtown area. You have to pass the harbour, before there are any seaside resorts. The first one is Robinson Plage, 10 minutes drive from Lomé centre, where there are a few low key beachfront resorts. The beach is protected by a small outer reef, making the sea swimable, which is kind of unusually for West African beaches. There are small fishing communities on both sides and the view of the cargo harbour isn't particularly beautiful, but it's a relaxed place to unwind for a few days.

East of present day Kande have the Tamberma people through centuries protected themselves by living in one family fortresses, so called Tata Houses. The small defense complexes are built with sticks and mud, and are decked out with watch towers which doubles as silos and sleeping chambers. The houses are built very functional with everything within the house, so they could withstand long sieges. Though the people don't have to fear slave traders today, some families still live in the fortresses. In 2004 the Tata Houses were enlisted as a UNESCO Heritage site - Togo's one and only. It's possible for a fee to visit the houses, also the inside and roof. It's a good idea to bring a guide, who can explain the many weird things, like the fetishes which usually decorate the entrance (can be hired at the gate near the Kande).

Togoville was the town where the treaty was agreed that the German colonial authority eventually used claim all of present-day Togo and parts of Ghana. It's a tiny community, but since it was here the first treaty was signed, it eventually named the entire country. The Germans build a large Catholic Cathedral, lovely situated overlooking Lake Togo. Pope Jean Paul II visited the site back in 1985 after the Virgin Mary was allegedly seen walking on the lake. This miracle is still celebrated every November 7th with a large festival. For the rest of the year, Togoville is a quiet place, where the few tourists will receive a lot of attention. While you might not be able to walk on the lake, it's still a good place for a relaxing boat tour; any local captain will be happy to assist.