TOGO

Togo presents an Africa rarely experienced by travellers. It’s a country of Voodoo gods, clay castles, dancing horses and fire-eaters, where containers full of coffee, cocoa and copra depart from old slave ports, and the legacy of the French lingers in the lingua franca. This narrow strip of West Africa extends from lush forests and savannah down to the Gulf of Guinea. On its gilded southern shore lies Togo’s capital, Lomé, home to the patriotic Independence Monument, the 20th-century Palais de Lomé with its sculpture-sprinkled gardens by the sea, and the country’s largest market, Grand Marché, where famed female entrepreneurs known as the Nana Benz sell their vibrant wax prints.

The animist religion of Voodoo (or Vodún) has its roots in West Africa, and you can observe its enduring importance at village festivals and fetish markets across the country. You’ll find other diverting traditions, too, from the mud-built forts of the Batammariba to the dancing horses of the Kotokoli people. With less than 115 kilometres (70 miles) separating them, Togo combines well with neighbouring Benin and Ghana for a deeper exploration of West Africa.