Benin, officially the Republic of Benin and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north.
The majority of its population lives on the small southern coastline of the Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northernmost tropical portion of the Atlantic Ocean.
The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo, but the seat of government is in Cotonou, the country’s largest city and economic capital. Benin covers an area of 114,763 square kilometres and its population in 2016 was estimated to be approximately 10.87 million.
Benin is a tropical nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with substantial employment and income arising from subsistence farming.
Hidden sight of Africa is what to describe of Benin, a lot to discover in Benin starting from slave trade to traditional fishing and local gods which makes the life in Benin look more African and original.
Tourism to this tiny country attached to their traditional life style and it has not been discovered to some extent due to its size and silence
Benin may be just a slice of land in West Africa but it is the ‘cradle of voodoo’, the biggest center of slave trade (ages ago) and the only country in this part of the world to have embraced Marxism.
Benin isn’t all about the supernatural; it’s also a country of friendly people, quaint villages on stilts and exotic local handicrafts in colourful bazaars.
Not exactly the place for history and architecture lovers, but you can start talking to locals who’ll regale you with tales of otherworldly experiences!
Take your time in Benin and the secrets will gradually unfurl to give you a mystical holiday quite unlike any other place on this planet. And that too without having to worry about political skirmishes or ambushes.
Benin has increasingly embraced ecotourism and organisations such as Benin Ecotourism Concern (Eco-Benin) created in 1999 with the objective of ensuring better living standards for the communities at local and national level through ecotourism and eco-development promotion as a sustainable management of natural resources, keep working throughout the country by developing and implanting innovative approaches, including opportunities for local employment, garden production and fish cultivation.
The most promising areas for ecotourism development are in the wildlife reserves of Pendjari and W national parks, which are located in northern Benin.
