Cameroon Travel Guide: Destinations
Every region, city, park, waterfall and beach covered in this guide, in one index.
Adamawa
Lamidat of Ngaoundere · The palace of the Lamido, traditional ruler of the region, and a centre of Fulani culture.
Grand Mosque of Ngaoundere · The city's main mosque, a landmark of the region's Islamic heritage.
Kilichi workshops · See (and taste) the spicy sun-dried beef Ngaoundere is famous for, made the traditional way.
Ngaoundere · Ngaoundere City Guide
Centre
National Museum · Cameroon's national collections, from prehistory to the modern state.
Reunification Monument · The 1973-1976 monument commemorating the 1961 reunification of the two Cameroons.
Mvog-Betsi Zoo and Botanic Garden · Zoo and botanical garden on the edge of the capital.
Mefou National Park · Primate sanctuary run by Ape Action Africa, about 45 km south of Yaounde: rescued gorillas, chimpanzees and mandrills.
Ebogo · Pirogue trips on the Nyong River through swamp forest to waterfalls and caves; a Ramsar wetland site.
Sanaga River · Cameroon's longest river, with hydroelectric cascades and riverside life near the capital.
Yaounde · Yaounde City Guide
East
Dja Faunal Reserve · UNESCO World Heritage Site (1987): 5,260 sq km of rainforest with gorillas, chimpanzees, forest elephants and 14+ primate species.
Bertoua · Regional capital and transit point for the southeastern forest reserves.
Far North
Waza National Park · UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (1979): elephants, lions, giraffes and 379 bird species. Best November to April, about 122 km north of Maroua.
Rhumsiki · Volcanic plugs rising over Kapsiki villages: Kapsiki Peak (1,224 m), potters, weavers and crab-divination rituals.
Mandara mountain villages · Terraced farming villages of the Mofu and Kapsiki peoples, such as Djingliya, Tourou and Oudjilla.
Maroua craft centre · Tanneries, leatherwork, embroidery, pottery and beads: the North's great craft market.
Maroua · Maroua City Guide
Littoral
La Nouvelle Liberte · The 12-metre recycled-metal sculpture by Joseph-Francis Sumegne (1996) at Rond-Point Deido.
Maritime Museum of Bonanjo · Douala's maritime history on the Wouri estuary.
Ngondo festival · The Sawa water festival on the Wouri banks, first two weeks of December: pirogue races, wrestling and the jengu ceremony.
Ekom-Nkam Falls · Twin 'male' and 'female' falls, about 80 m, on the Littoral/West border near Melong. Filming location for Greystoke (1984).
Douala · Douala City Guide
North
Benoue National Park · Wooded savanna on the Benoue River: giant eland, elephants, hippos, lions and 306 bird species.
Garoua river port and markets · Benue river life and the markets of the cotton capital.
Garoua · Garoua City Guide
Northwest
Bafut palace · Living royal compound of 50+ buildings with a museum in the former German residence. UNESCO tentative list (2006).
Bamenda handicraft markets · Grassfields crafts: masks, beadwork and woodcarving.
Menchum Falls · Waterfall on the Menchum River, about 65 km from Bamenda, flowing west toward Nigeria's Benue.
Lake Oku · Crater lake in the Kilum-Ijim forest near Kumbo, sacred to the Oku people.
Lake Nyos · Crater lake in the Oku Volcanic Field, site of the 1986 limnic eruption; a degassing tube was installed in 2001.
Bamenda · Bamenda City Guide
South
Lobe Falls · One of the few waterfalls in the world that flows directly into the sea (tallest drop about 20 m). Pirogue trips and nearby Bagyeli villages.
Kribi beaches · White-sand beaches: Grand Batanga, Londji with its weekly fish market and mangroves, and artisanal fishing pirogues.
German colonial lighthouse (1906) · Kribi's 1906 lighthouse, a relic of the German colonial era.
Campo Ma'an National Park · 264,064 ha of forest to the sea (created 2000): forest elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees and mandrills.
Ebodje turtle beach · Sea turtles nest on this beach near the Equatorial Guinea border, November to March.
Kribi · Kribi Beach Resort Guide
Southwest
Mount Cameroon · Active stratovolcano (4,040 m), the highest peak in sub-Saharan West and Central Africa. Last erupted February 2012; climbs start in Buea.
Mount Cameroon Race of Hope · Annual mountain race (38 km, stadium to summit and back), January/February since 1973.
Limbe Wildlife Centre · Primate rescue and rehabilitation centre (gorillas, chimpanzees, drills, mandrills), founded 1993.
Limbe Botanic Garden · Historic garden at the mouth of the Limbe River.
Black-sand beaches · Seme and Down Beach: volcanic black sand at the foot of the mountain.
Bimbia · Historic slave-trade embarkation site on the coast.
Korup National Park · 1,260 sq km of ancient rainforest: drills, Preuss's red colobus, famous birding. Entry via the Mana suspension bridge near Mundemba.
Buea · Buea City Guide
Limbe · Limbe Beach Town Guide
West
Royal Palace of Foumban · Palace built in 1917 by King Ibrahim Njoya, inventor of the Bamum script.
Museum of the Bamoun Kings · Museum of the Bamum dynasty (1394 to present), opened April 2024 with about 12,500 pieces.
Foumban artisan centre · The famous craft centre: woodcarving, beadwork and brasswork.
Nguon festival · The Bamoun kingdom's royal festival, roughly every two years in late November/early December. UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (2023).
Bafoussam markets · The busy markets of the Bamileke heartland capital.
Bafoussam · Bafoussam City Guide
Foumban · Foumban City Guide