Tropical Adventures Africa

Cameroon Tribal Lands Tour

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Cameroon Tribal Lands Tour

HIGHLIGHTS

TOUR DESCRIPTION

Cameroon sits across Central and West Africa and nowhere are cultural influences more apparent than within the tribal lands that you’ll encounter on this two week Cameroon vacation.

There are over 250 ethnic communities living within Cameroon and the collision of cultures gives way to a unique and exciting experience that’s always sprinkled with more than a little magic. As this Cameroon vacation into the country’s tribal lands takes you right into areas, rarely seen by casual tourists, you’ll be assured that your visit will benefit both yourself and local people alike.

Kicking off in Douala you’ll be thrown into the semi-organised chaos of Africa prior to heading westwards to Cameroon’s highland regions via thundering falls and dense forests to be enjoyed along the way. Some of Cameroon’s tribal lands haven’t changed for generations with royalty and nobility governing in the form of traditional chiefs. We’ll find out more before riding the rails to Ngaoundere – definitely not your average train journey.

Camping out in Poli with the Mbororo and Dowayo tribes is a really exciting precursor to a trek into the Alantika Mountains that takes us into often unchartered territory where few have hiked before. The next tribal lands that we experience on this Cameroon vacation are those belonging to the Dupa people who are an extremely traditional community where leaf skirt wearing women and hunter gatherer men present an authentic vision of the past, away from the trappings of the modern world.
From tribal rituals and ceremonies to seasonal celebrations, coinciding a Cameroon vacation to take in such an event is a real treat and offers a much deeper understanding of some of the traditional lifestyles that are becoming more and more scarce compared to the rest of contemporary Africa. Finally, we return to the south of Cameroon so as to explore within the forests of Mfou Primate Sanctuary where chimps and gorillas forage within the foliage which will be an experience tinged with sadness as we finally get ready to head for home via Yaoundé.

Itinerary

DAY 1- Douala

Arrive in Douala and transfer to your hotel. Overnight Sawa Hotel or similar.
DAY 2- Ekom Falls – Melong -

Drive to the west of the country, stopping first at a busy fruit market around Penja. We then head to the impressive Ekom Falls, located in beautiful primary forest, then drive through the coffee plantations to Melong, a small farming town in the Cameroonian Highlands. Overnight Hotel Ban-Bi’Ngoe or similar. (BL)
DAY 3- Bandjoun – Bappit – Koutaba -

Drive through the lands of the Bamileke people, great artisans and agriculturalists and one of Cameroon’s largest ethnic groups. We stop in the Kingdom of Bandjoun, not far from the regional capital Bafoussam, and visit the palace. From Bandjoun we head to the Noun Valley and the picturesque crater lake of Bappit for great views of the surrounding area. Finally we drive to Koutaba for the night. Overnight Paradise Hotel or similar. (B)
DAY 4- Foumban

Visit Foumban, home of the Bamoun people. We explore the town and visit its art museum as well as 19th century royal palace. We also visit the central market, one of the most colourful in Cameroon, and walk through the artisans’ quarter. The Bamoun are great craftsmen, working with wood and bronze, and most of the pieces they create are exported overseas to collectors. Overnight Paradise Hotel or similar. (B)
DAY 5- Yaoundé

Drive to Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital. We visit the excellent African art museum, located in the Benedictine monastery atop Mount Febe and with a superb collection of carvings and artefacts from some of the ethnic groups we have just encountered. Later we head to the train station to take the overnight train to Ngaoundere, the gateway to the north of the country. (B)
DAY 6- Ngaoundere - Poli

Arrive in Ngaoundere, the gateway to the north of the country and the capital of Adamawa Province. The city retains a medieval atmosphere and we make a short visit to the palace of the Lamido (sultan). From here we descend into the Benoue Valley and enter a different world – the modern villages disappear to be replaced by traditional adobe settlements, and we arrive in Poli, the capital of the kingdom of Faro, in the afternoon. Overnight Bukaru Camp. (BD)
DAY 7- Poli

Spend the day delving into the tribal cultures that hold sway here. We visit the Mbororo people, one of West Africa’s most traditional groups and with a lifestyle based around cattle. The Mbororo still practice the custom of facial tattooing and live semi-nomadic lives, following their livestock to pasture. We then move on to Kongle, center of the animistic Dowayo people, who were immortalised by Nigel Barley in his book ‘The Innocent Anthropologist’. Return to Poli for the night. (BD
DAY 8- Vokre Mountains

Continue our journey and head to one of Cameroon’s most isolated and unexplored areas, the Vokre Mountains. We walk through millet fields and streams and make our way on foot to a small village belonging to the Dupa people, where we camp for the night. This is a great way to immerse ourselves in the culture of this fascinating ethnic group. (BLD)
DAY9- Vokre Mountains

Explore the lands of the Dupa, a deeply traditional and animist group who make their living from agriculture and hunting. Many still wear traditional dress – for the men this is a loincloth and for the women, skirts made from leaves – modernity has made few inroads here and this is a unique opportunity to see a culture that has changed little for centuries. The Dupa are incredibly hospitable and we can expect to be welcomed into their villages – if we are lucky we may witness a traditional ceremony or celebration. There are no roads in this part of Cameroon and we explore on foot. Overnight camping. (BLD)
DAY 10- Poli

Reluctantly we bid our hosts farewell and return to Poli, hiking back down the mountains to meet our vehicles. On the way we stop in a traditional sultanate where we should be able to meet the sultan and learn about the challenges of life in this area. Overnight Bukaru Camp. (BD)
DAY 11- Mbe – Ngaoundere

We drive back to Ngaoundere. On the way we stop at local villages and markets, meeting the various different ethnic groups that live in this region. Arrive in Ngaoundere and board the overnight train for the journey back south. (B)
DAY 12: Yaounde – Mfou Primate Sanctuary

Okan Arrive in Yaoundé this morning. After breakfast explore the city and then continue to Mfou Primate Sanctuary, situated in Mefou National Park. The sanctuary is dedicated to the protection of Cameroon’s larger primates including gorilla, chimpanzee, mandrill and drill, which live in large forest enclosures making them comparatively easy to spot. After time spent here we head to Okan, where a lodge has been built in the middle of equatorial jungle. Overnight Okan Lodge. (B)