Bamenda
Cameroon · North-West · 1250 m
Description
Bamenda is the largest town of the English-speaking north-west, laid out below an escarpment that drops several hundred metres to the plain and gives the approach road its long view. The grassfields around it are chiefdom country, and the palace at Bafut with its sacred forest and shrine house is the best known of them. Gerald Durrell collected animals here in the 1950s and wrote about it afterwards. The Ring Road loops two hundred kilometres through the highlands past crater lakes, waterfalls and the Kimbi valley. Bamenda's markets sell honey, coffee and woven bags. The town itself sits at twelve hundred and fifty metres.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 2 to 5 days (optimal 3 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: November – February
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Bafut Palace and its sacred forest
- Escarpment viewpoint above the town
- Ring Road through the grassfields
- Bamenda main market and craft cooperative
- Lake Awing and Lake Oku crater lakes
- Menchum falls on the Ring Road
- Kimbi-Fungom National Park
- Fon's palaces at Nso and Kom
- Highland honey and arabica coffee
- Bali chiefdom and its Lela festival (approx. December)
- Mount Oku forest and its endemic birds