EXTRAORDINARY BENIN : 12 DAYS-11 NIGHTS

Day 1 : Arrive in Cotonou. Meet, assist and transfer to your hotel. Orientation. Overnight.
Day 2 : Cotonou-Porto-Novo-Abomey
Depart Cotonou for Porto-Novo also known as Hogbonu or Adjatche, Benin’s capital city. Our first stop is Honme, palace of King Toffa the 19th monarch of Hogbonu kingdom. Proceed to the museum of ethnography showcasing aspects of Birth, Life and Death in Benin. This museum also houses an important collection of Gelede masks an amazing Yoruba cultural gem, part of UNESCO Immanent Heritage. Drive to Adjarra. Take a refreshing boatride on the black river exploring the flora and the fauna. Visit a drum shop and drive to Abomey, at the heart of strong medieval Dahomey kingdoms via Adjohoun. Check-in at your hotel. Overnight
Day 3 : Abomey-Dassa
Breakfast and visit historic museum, a UNESCO Heritage Site, palace of King Glele, the 9th monarch of Dahomey kingdom and that of his predecessor king Gezo featuring the waiting room, personal shrines, office blocks, tombs, office blocks and palace artisans. Road to Dassa-Zoume. Stop at local sceneries en route. Arrive, check into your hotel. Visit Our Mother of Arigbo catholic church and the mountain of the kings. Overnight in Dassa.
Day 4 : Dassa-Taneka Koko -Natitingou
Breakfast and drive to Taneka Koko. This Yom village « under the rock » has kept intact her traditions throughout ages. On arrival, meet the local traditional high priest and interact with him and know some of his attributes in the community. Drive to Natitingou ; check-in at your hotel and visit regional museum showcasing local traditional habitat, costumes and artifacts of the French colonial penetration into the region. Overnight in Natitingou
Day 5 : Natitingou-Otamari-Natitingou
Breakfast and drive in the valley of the Atakora Mountains to Boukoumbe centre for the Otamari tribe famous for their adobe castle spread in the farmlands. Meet locals and with their permission visit their habitat, the « tata » and have an in-depth exploration of this amazing cultural area. Return to Natitingou in the late afternoon. Overnight
Day 6 : Natitingou-Pendjari National Park
Early breakfast at hotel and departto Pendjari National park, home to lions, elephants, warthogs, buffaloes, hippos, crocodiles and a rich avifauna . Wildlife viewing till the lodge. Check-in. In the afternoon, continue exploring the park. Overnight.
Day 7: Pendjari National Park-Dassa-Zoume
Breakfast and check-out. Morning safari. Exit the park and drive to Doyissa. Stop at the shrine of Dankoli voodoo deity with thousands of worshippers across Benin. Continue to Dassa. Overnight.
Day 8 : Dassa-Se-Possotome
Breakfast and depart Dassa to famous Se potters’ village. Visit village and interact with lady potters and continue to Possotome. Check into your lake side resort. In the afternoon, go on a walking tour of Possotome; Okome and Sehomi villages. Your guide will show you many voodoo shrines and rituals and the importance of the sacred forests in the voodoo religion. At Sehomi, you will be amazed at an ancestral commercial technique, battering, the lot of local women. In the evening, attend the ritual dance of the Zangbeto, the traditional night guardians. Overnight in Possotome.
Day 9: Possotome-Grand Popo
After breakfast drive to Grand Popo between the Atlantic Ocean and River Mono. Visit local fishing community, voodoo shrines and a salt processing village. Return to Grand Popo. Balance of the day at leisure. Overnight in Grand Popo
Day 10 : Grand Popo-Ouidah
Breakfast and drive to Ouidah famous for Voodoo religion and the Atlantic Slave Trade. Kpasse sacred fores twill be our first stop. This wood houses many voodoo shrines, altars and sculptures. Continue to former Portuguese slave fort dated back to the 1700s and visit pythons temple. Go the Slave Road with mumerous memorials till the « Door of No Return » on the beach. Check-in at a seaside hotel. Rest of the daya t leisure.
Day 11 : Ouidah-Ganvie-Cotonou
Breakfast and continue to Abomey-Calavi harbor. Aboard a local boat, ply the waterways of Lake Nokoue to Ganvie, the biggest stilt village in Africa home for thousands of Tofinu people. Explore the amazing sceneries with fishermen, water taxis, markets, schools and local shops. Back to Abomey-Calavi and return ride to Cotonou. Visit bustling Dantokpa market and Art Promotion Centre, Cotonou’s souvenir market. Check in at your hotel. Overnight in Cotonou.
Day 12 : Cotonou-Depart
Breakfast at hotel. Morning at leisure. In the afternoon, tranfser to the airport foor your departure flight back home

12 DAYS-11 NIGHTS

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