Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Koutammakou
Also known as Tamberma Valley after the people who live here, Koutammakou has a
unique collection of fortress-like mud houses, founded in the 17th century by people flee-
ing the slave-grabbing forays of Benin's Dahomeyan kings. Listed as a World Heritage
Site by Unesco in 2004, the area is one of the most scenic in the country, with stunning
mountain landscapes and intense light.
You can visit Koutammakou as a day trip from Kara. To get there, turn eastward off the
Kara-Dapaong highway in Kandé and follow the track in the direction of Nadoba, the
area's main village. About 2km down the road, you'll have to pay CFA1500 at the
A
ccueil et Billetterie office to enter the site.
The
piste
is in good condition and crosses the valley all the way to Boukoumbé and
Natitingou in Benin. If you don't have your own transport, chartering a taxi/
moto-taxi
for
the day will cost around CFA20,000/5000.
In Nadoba, guides will be happy to show you the valley's highlights.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Dapaong
POP 31,800
This lively little town is a West African melting pot, with the Burkinabé and Ghanaian
borders both within 30km. It sits in the middle of Togo's most arid landscape and gets the
full force of the harmattan between November and February.
TAMBERMA COMPOUNDS
A typical Tamberma compound, called a
tata,
consists of a series of towers connected by a thick wall with a
single entrance chamber, used to trap an enemy so he can be showered with arrows. The castle-like nature of
these extraordinary structures helped ward off invasions by neighbouring tribes and, in the late 19th century, the
Germans. As in the
tata somba
in nearby Benin, life in a
tata
revolves around an elevated terrace of clay-covered
logs, where the inhabitants cook, dry their millet and corn, and spend most of their leisure time.
Skilled builders (that's what Tamberma means), the Tamberma only use clay, wood and straw - and no tools.
There may be a fetish shrine in front of the compound.
Sleeping & Eating
Hôtel Le Campement
HOTEL
$
