Difference between revisions of "West Africa"

Revision as of 07:58, 19 July 2011

West Africa is the western region of Africa. In the north the region is bounded by the Sahel, and in the south and west by the Atlantic Ocean. The most densely populated area of Africa with many places to see.

Countries

Countries of West Africa

Sometimes Mauritania, Mali, Niger, and Chad are also considered as West African states.

Cities

• Abidjan — the largest city in Cote d'Ivoire and the defacto capital
• Abuja — the purpose built government capital of Nigeria
• Accra the capital of Ghana and one of the most accessible cities in West Africa for travelers
• Conakry — the capital of Guinea and a major trade and commerce centre
• Dakar — the capital of Senegal and the westernmost city in Africa
• Douala — the largest city and main centre of trade in Cameroon
• Lagos — largest city in Nigeria and the second largest in the whole of Africa
• Ouagadougou — the capital of Burkina Faso
• Yaoundé — the capital of Cameroon

Other destinations

• Bijagos Islands — an archipelago of some twenty tropical, beautiful islands in Guinea Bissau with French-owned fishing lodges
• Ngoketunjia - a beautiful grasslands region in Cameroon inhabited by semi-Bantu and Fulani people
• Kakum National Park — the best preserved region of virgin rainforest in Ghana with a famous canopy walkway
• Moyenne Guinee (Fouta Djallon) — hills and mountains in the interior of Guinea with a relatively cool climate, the home of the Pular people and sometimes called the "Switzerland of Africa"
• Niokolo-Koba — the largest National Park in Senegal
• Nzulezo — a coastal village of traditional stilted buildings in Ghana
• W National Park — a large trans-border National Park, with parts in Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger
• Yankari National Park — the largest National Park in Nigeria, and the most visited of all the parks in the region.

Understand

For a great rundown on all things a backpacker should know about West Africa check out www.amateursinafrica.com

Talk

Mostly due to the colonial past of the continent, common languages spoken in the region are French, English and Portuguese.

Get in

The African highways connect many cities in West Africa with Nigeria being the main hub.

Flying from other African cities can be dangerous as many airlines have a very poor safety record. Check this first before choosing to fly with an airline.

In order of size here are the main airline hubs.

• Lagos Airport - Serveral flights per day to London. Less frequent flights also to other main cities in Europe
• Dakar Airport - Many flights to to Millan, Madrid, Brussels and Paris
• Accra Airport - Many flights to UK (Manchester, London, Glasgow) as well as Frankfurt.
• Abidjan Airport - Flights to Paris, Brussels and Dubai

Get around

Generally it takes time - and a whole lot of patience - to move around in West Africa. The roads are not all in great conditions and many roads aren't paved. Always be sure to have an extra day or two in the end if you are going somewhere since planning is very hard when the transport is unreliable.

See

Go to Benin if you´re interested in voodoo because this is where it originates. There should be plenty of opportunities to go to voodoo festivals and fetish markets.

Mali has Dogon-country which is a world heritage site. Also go to Timbuktu/tombouctou - the city known from Donald Duck magazines - and Gao which contains yet another world heritage site.

If you're interested in meeting some of the world friendliest people go to Burkina Faso or Ghana.

Do

• Ikando Volunteer Opportunities: [1]

Eat

Drink

Don't drink tap water unless you have a cholera vaccination which also protects you against tourist diarrehea.

Make sure your water bottles are sealed and not just refilled with tap water. It can be hard to see.

Stay safe

West Africa is probably the one place on earth where you should protect yourself in every way from mosquitoes. Do not sleep without a net and do not go without malaria-medicine.

Also you need a yellow-fever vaccination to enter most (if not all) of these countries.

Remember to check all of your other vaccinations because many other might be necessary (meningitis, typhus, cholera, rabies).

Get out