A small country in territory but big in contrasts and with a lot of cultural wealth

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The Republic of Benin is a small country of great contrasts, full of ethnic and cultural diversity. In the south, the Atlantic coast, where the two big cities are located. Not far away is the city of Ganvié, whose peculiarity is that it is built on Lake Nokué. In the west, we find Ouidah, an old port of "export" of slaves and current capital of Voodoo.
In the interior of the country we find Abomey, the historic capital of the powerful kingdom of Dahomey, where is the set of royal palaces, World Heritage and where the greatest number of societies of Voodoo tradition is really concentrated. And further east, the Holi people, an ethnic group that traditionally "dressed" with very colorful tattoos and sharpened their teeth. In Dassa we find its emblematic hills.
The north is Otamari territory, an animist ethnic group with facial scarifications and builders of "tata somba", small "castles" built by hand. In the northern area there are also the Fula or Peulh, the most widespread ethnic group of semi-nomadic cattle ranchers in Africa.

Cities with a colonial footprint

The Atlantic coast is home to large cities such as Cotonou, Porto Novo, Ouidah or Ganvie. Cities where the colonial imprint and the mixture of cultures is more than evident.

Tattoos and scarifications

Some women from ethnic groups such as the Fulani, the Ije or Holi, and the Ditamari or Soba still sport complex body tattoos.

Epicenter of the Voodoo tradition

Voodoo is the most widespread animist religion in the world, since the slaves took it with them to the "new world" where it adapted and evolved into different branches that still exist, such as Santería, Candomblé...

The monumental complex of the Royal Palaces of Abomey

Abomey is home to the palaces of the historic kingdom of Dahomey. The royal complex was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.

Ancestral architecture of the “tata somba”

The Ditamari or Somba are known as adobe artisans, given their great skill in building "tata somba", small two-story castles.

Technical information on Benin

Download the Benin fact sheet to access detailed information on the visa, mandatory vaccinations, currency and payment methods available at the destination, weather, reservation policy and travel contracting and more. You just have to fill in the following fields and we will send you the file by email.

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    Blog Posts about Benin

    Our Blog is a space for sharing experiences, knowledge and all kinds of content from our trips. Below you will find publications related to Benin so you can discover more about the destination, the ethnic groups that live on their land, their architecture, customs, ecosystems, etc.

    BENIN

    The Ije tribe of Benin, tattoo masters

    The Ije tribe of Benin, also known as Ohori or Holi, are a subgroup of the Yoruba people. This ethnic group live in the South-eastern Benin, in the surroundings of Onigboló, in between Pobe and Ketou. Ije women have a distinctive way of self-fashioning; displayed in hairstyles, dressing and body decorations such as scarifications and tattoos.

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    Benin

    Voodoo culture, ethnicities, tattoos and scarifications and peculiar constructions

    The Republic of Benin is a small country of great contrasts, full of ethnic and cultural diversity.

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    Benin

    Lake cities, voodoo and tattoed tribes

    Tattoos and scarification, Afro-Brazilian architecture and traditional tribes make Benin a must-see Last Places destination. It is an ideal destination to enter Africa. We find lake cities known as the African Venice, the unique Afro-Brazilian style in Benin and Nigeria and the mythologized voodoo, commonly preconceived from a Eurocentric point of view.

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    Behind the lens

    Behind the lens of Ingrid Koedood

    Ingrid Koedood is a documentary and travel photographer. The combination of photography with travel she is passionate about. She wants to enrich her life by experciencing and understanding other cultures. It is her greatest joy to wonder the streets, or just sit and watch the people passing by waiting for a interesting face or situation.

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    Gulf of Guinea

    The Yoruba people, the most powerful ethnic group in the Gulf of Guinea

    The Yoruba people stand as the dominant ethnic group in the Gulf of Guinea with more than 44 million people, as well as one of the most prominent in Africa. His homeland is in southwestern Nigeria, which is the epicenter of Yoruba culture, and in the adjacent parts of Benin and Togo. This region is known as Yorubaland.

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      Communications Policy.

      If you want to know more about our communications and data protection policy, please click on this link