Benin - DESTINATIONS & HOTELS

• Introduction
• Destinations & Hotels
• Info & facts
• Itinerary Ideas
• Oasis Highlights
• Price Guide
• Themes

Ouidah

The small town of Ouidah is one of the oldest centres of Voodun culture and hosts many festivals and celebrations throughout the year. A must visit; the Musée d'Histoire de Ouidah, housed in the Fortaleza São João Batista, a Portuguese fort built in 1721. This building retraces slave-trading history and explores links between Benin, Brazil and the Caribbean.

 Ouidah is also home to the serpent deity Dangbé, revered for hundreds of years, and in his honour, the temple is home to dozens of the sacred pythons which freely roam the grounds. 

Walk along the Route des Escalves. A four-kilometre road, lying between the Ouidah's History Museum and the shoreline, it is reported to be the same dusty track which legend depicts, thousands of people travelled on their way to board the slaving ships for the New World.