Destination: Togo

Odyssey travels by coach and occasionally uses local transport, including trains and ferries. Specifics are always outlined in your tour itinerary. Aside from coach services, bush taxis and motorcycle taxis are available, although the quality (and indeed safety standards) of these taxis can vary wildly. Train services are unavailable in Togo.

In major cities, Odyssey stays in centrally located 3-4 star hotels, with easy access to public transport. In smaller towns or rural areas, we usually stay in family-run hotels or guesthouses. On our longstay tours, during which you spend the length of the tour in a single location, we use serviced apartments.

Odyssey always engages local guides with regional knowledge to ensure an authentic experience during which you can learn as much as possible about the history and culture of places you visit.

Togo is a small, narrow country which covers a total area of 56,785 square kilometres. Togo’s coastal areas are marked by extensive lagoons and mangroves, which eventually give way to savannah and forest. Hills characterise the central areas of the country, while the far north of the country is composed of open savannah.

Togo has a tropical climate, with a mid-year dry season, and a wet season which runs from October to April. Depending on when you intend to travel, check the weather reports and dress accordingly.

Togo has 1 property listed on the World Heritage List, with a further 7 on the Tentative list. You can view the listed properties here: (https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/tg). Togo’s listed properties include:

Koutammakou landscape, a 50,000 hectare cultural landscape that has preserved the architectural techniques and unique cultural practices of the Batammariba people.

Although Togo is home to many different tribal groups with different beliefs, the people of Togo are united through the songs, dances and music that characterise the many festivals that dot the calendar in Togo. The Voodoo Festival, held in the village of Glidji every September, celebrates the unique animist religion of Voodoo through exuberant dance performances, colourful costumes and elaborate religious rituals. The Gbaga festival is another occasion that carries the traditional beliefs and practices to the present day. The Gbaga festival celebrates harvest season and honours animist deities through vibrant song and dance performances. One of the most important festivals to occur in the year is the Gaodao Festival – spanning three days in early March, the festival is dedicated to showing thanks for the harvest and celebrating the role of warriors in traditional Togolese society.

African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa, by Michael A. Gomez
Letters from Togo, by Susan Blake
Remotely Global: Village Modernity in West Africa
by Charles Piot
Themes in West Africa’s History, by Emmanuel Kwaku Akyeampong

The cuisine of Togo is centred around several staple crops, namely maize, rice, millet, cassava, yam, plantains and beans. Much of Togolese food is relatively simple and rustic, with akume (savoury porridge made from maize flour) and fufu (mashed yams served with sauces) amongst the widely consumed dishes in the country. Fish and seafood are popular along the coast, while sauces are often used in Togolese cooking to provide flavour and picquancy to many dishes, including riz sauce d’arachide (rice with peanut sauce) and yassa (chicken served with a spicy, tangy sauce) The former presence of both the French and the Germans left their mark on Togolese culinary practices, with baguette bread and German-style lager popular throughout the country.

As of writing, it is advised that travellers exercise a degree of caution when travelling through Togo due to potential civil unrest linked to the country’s parliamentary elections. Bear in mind that outbreaks of yellow fever have occurred in Togo in recent years, so ensure that you are vaccinated against yellow fever before embarking on any travel to Togo.

Whenever you travel overseas, it’s always wise to take an appropriate travel adaptor. The electricity supply in Togo runs at 220V and 50Hz. Togo uses the Type C electric plug type, so make sure you have the right travel adaptor with you.