---
title: "Togo travel guide: Lomé, the Kpalimé hills and the Koutammakou | Wimup"
description: "Togo on Wimup: how the coast, the Plateaux and the north fit together, what the current travel advisories rule out, what to eat, and the dry months worth booking."
url: https://wimup.com/country/togo
type: Country guide
updated: 2026-10-05
publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com)
---

# Togo, from the Gulf of Guinea to the Koutammakou

Togo has 56 kilometres of Atlantic coast and runs more than 500 kilometres north from it to Burkina Faso. **Lomé** sits on the Ghana border, the forested hills around **Kpalimé** grow coffee and cocoa under Mont Agou, the highest point at 986 metres, and in the far north the Batammariba still build the earth tower houses of the **Koutammakou**, a UNESCO World Heritage landscape since 2004. The far north is also where the advisories bite: the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and the United States all advise against the Burkina Faso border area, and the United States against everything north of Kandé.

## Quick answer

Give **Lomé** two nights: the **Grand Marché**, the **Akodésséwa** fetish market and the **Palais de Lomé**. Spend a day on **Lake Togo**, by pirogue from **Agbodrafo** to **Togoville**. Then three or four days in the hills around **Kpalimé**: **Mont Agou**, **Mont Kloto**, the **Akloa falls**. North on the N1, **Kara** holds the **Evala** wrestling in mid-July. The **Koutammakou**, beyond **Kandé**, is where the US says do not travel, so read your own advisory first. A week covers Lomé, the lake and Kpalimé.

## Quick facts

- **Best months:** Nov · Dec · Jan
- **Ideal length:** 7–10 days
- **Budget per day:** $50–120
- **Language:** French is official. Ewe and Mina in the south and Kabiyè in the north, with Ewe and Kabiyè the national languages since 1975.
- **Getting around:** A hired car with a driver beyond Lomé, taxis and motorbike taxis in town. Paved trunk roads run north to Burkina Faso and along the coast; most others need a 4x4, and nobody should drive after dark.

- **8,095,498** People

Togo is a narrow country: 56 kilometres of coast on the Bight of Benin, with Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso at the top, more than 500 kilometres north. The 2022 census counted 8,095,498 people on 56,785 square kilometres, more than a quarter of them in Grand Lomé. The five administrative regions are also the order a trip takes: Maritime on the coast, the Plateaux behind it, then Centrale, Kara and the Savanes. Lomé is the arrival city. Its city limits run to the Ghana border at Aflao, one of the busiest crossings in West Africa, its deep-water port is the sea gate for landlocked Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, and ASKY Airlines flies out of its airport across West and Central Africa. In town, the Grand Marché is where the Nana Benz, the women wholesalers of printed wax cloth, built their trade; the fetish market at Akodésséwa sells the charms, herbs and animal parts that vodun practice uses; and the Palais de Lomé, the German governor's palace built between 1898 and 1905 and then abandoned for two decades, reopened in November 2019 as an arts centre in restored gardens. East along the coast, Lake Togo is the day out. Pirogues poled from Agbodrafo cross to Togoville on the north shore, the town once called Togodo that gave the country its name, where the German envoy Gustav Nachtigal signed the treaty of 5 July 1884 that made the coast a protectorate. Aného, near the Benin border, was the capital of German Togoland from 1885 to 1887, and at Glidji outside it the Guin people open their new year in late August or early September with Epe-Ekpe, the taking of the sacred stone. Inland, the Plateaux are the green part of the country. Kpalimé is the base: coffee and cocoa plantations climb the slopes around it, Mont Agou rises to 986 metres, the highest point in Togo, the forest on Mont Kloto is known for its butterflies, and the town is the country's main crafts centre. Further north, near Badou, the Akloa falls are reached on a walk of about forty minutes through cocoa plantations and into forest. The N1 carries everything north from there. Sokodé, in Centrale, is the Tem town where young men run knives across their skin at the Adossa festival. Fazao-Malfakassa, the largest national park in Togo, spans Centrale and Kara. Kara is the Kabyè heartland, and each July the Evala wrestling bouts there mark young men's passage to adulthood. North-east of Kandé lies the Koutammakou, the land of the Batammariba, whose earth tower houses, the takienta, are homes as well as shrines to gods and ancestors; UNESCO inscribed the landscape in 2004 and extended it into Benin in 2023. The north is also where the advisories start. The United States holds Togo at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, and rates the northern border region and everything north of Kandé at Level 4, Do Not Travel, which takes in the Koutammakou. The UK, Canada and Ireland advise against all travel within 30 kilometres of the Burkina Faso border and all but essential travel to the rest of the Savanes, and the Savanes region is under a state of emergency, with foreign visitors needing written authorisation from the Ministry of the Armed Forces. Demonstrations happen with little notice, Sokodé, Bafilo and Mango have a history of violent ones, and the authorities have cut internet and phone networks during them. Practically, French is the official language, and Ewe in the south and Kabiyè in the north have been the national languages since 1975. The currency is the West African CFA franc, and Togo runs on cash. The visa is issued only online, through the government's voyage.gouv.tg portal, at least six days before arrival, and a yellow fever certificate is checked at entry. The dry season runs from November to March, and the harmattan blows dust south from the Sahara from December.

## Know before you go

- **Population:** 8,095,498
- **Area:** 56,785 km²
- **Density:** 142.6 / km²
- **Capital:** Lomé
- **Major cities:** Lomé, Sokodé, Kara, Kpalimé, Atakpamé, Dapaong, Tsévié
- **Visa:** E-visa only, no visa on arrival E-visa only: apply on voyage.gouv.tg at least six days before flying. A single-entry tourist visa covers 15 days. File the portal's registration form before arrival and again before departure.
- **Travel advisory:** Burkina Faso border: do not travel UK, Canada, Ireland: no travel within 30 kilometres of the Burkina Faso border, essential travel only in the Savanes. US: Level 2, and Level 4 north of Kandé. The Savanes need written army permission.
- **Currency:** West African CFA franc (XOF) Pegged to the euro and shared with Benin and Burkina Faso. Plan on cash: some Lomé ATMs take foreign cards, and card machines elsewhere are unreliable. Change money at banks or official bureaux.
- **Language:** French, with Ewe and Kabiyè French is official. Ewe and Kabiyè have been national languages since 1975: Ewe and Mina in the south, Kabiyè in the north, among some 37 ethnic groups.
- **Calling code:** +228
- **Power:** 220V, 50Hz · Type C/E
- **Emergency:** Police 117 · Fire 118 · Ambulance 8200 Those are the numbers the UK and Irish foreign ministries list. Medical facilities are poor and emergency care is extremely limited, so carry insurance that covers evacuation.
- **Health:** Yellow fever certificate · malaria Yellow fever proof is required from age one, and travellers without it are turned away. Take antimalarials, drink bottled water, and stay out of fresh water, which carries schistosomiasis.
- **Getting around:** A hired car and driver Paved trunk roads run north from Lomé and along the coast to Accra and Cotonou; most others are unpaved and flood in the rains. Do not travel overland after dark. Use Lomé's motorbike taxis with care.
- **Driving:** On the right
- **Time zone:** UTC+0 · no daylight saving
- **Sea and beaches:** Strong undertow Currents along the Bight of Benin are strong, worst from January to May, drownings happen every year, and there is no sea rescue service. Muggings happen on Lomé's beaches day and night.
- **Tipping:** Discretionary There is no fixed custom. Agree a taxi fare before you get in, agree a guide's fee before you set out, and round up where the service was good.
- **Tourism board:** Official site

## When to visit

- **Jan** (best): Dry across the country, with harmattan haze off the Sahara softening the views, above all in the north
- **Feb** (good): Still dry. Hotter by the week inland, and the harmattan can cut visibility in the north
- **Mar**: The hottest month on the coast, with the first rains building towards the end
- **Apr**: The rains set in across the south and the centre
- **May**: Wet on the coast, and the rains spread into the north
- **Jun**: The wettest month in Lomé. Unpaved roads soften across the south
- **Jul**: Rain eases on the coast and sets in hard in the north. Evala wrestling in Kara in mid-July
- **Aug**: The coast's driest and coolest stretch of the rainy months, while the north takes its heaviest rain. Epe-Ekpe at Glidji starts late in the month
- **Sep**: Rain returns to the coast from mid-month and the north stays wet
- **Oct**: The last of the rains. Green everywhere, with the tracks still slow
- **Nov** (best): The rains end. Green hills around Kpalimé, full waterfalls and open roads
- **Dec** (best): Dry, with the Plateaux still green as the harmattan arrives

## Fun fact

Togo is named after a lakeside town. Togodo, now Togoville, sits on Lake Togo, its name probably from the Ewe to, water, and go, shore. There, on 5 July 1884, Gustav Nachtigal signed the treaty that made the coast a German protectorate, and the name carried through to independence on 27 April 1960.

## Stereotypes, sorted out

- **Myth:** Togo is a sliver you cross in an afternoon on the way from Accra to Cotonou. **Reality:** The coast is 56 kilometres, and the coast road sees only that. Behind it the country runs more than 500 kilometres north: Lake Togo, the forested Plateaux where Mont Agou reaches 986 metres, the Kabyè country of Sokodé and Kara, and the tower houses of the Koutammakou. The north is a trip in itself.
- **Myth:** Vodun is black magic, and the fetish market is a show for tourists. **Reality:** Vodun is a practised religion. The World Factbook counts 36.9 per cent of Togolese in folk religion, against 42.3 Christian and 14 Muslim. Akodésséwa market sells what practice uses, and the Guin new year at Glidji draws pilgrims each late August or early September. Ask before photographing shrines.
- **Myth:** The whole country is too dangerous to visit. **Reality:** The advice draws lines on the map. The UK, Canada and Ireland warn against the Burkina Faso border and the Savanes, under a state of emergency; the US says do not travel north of Kandé. Lomé, the coast, the Plateaux and the Kara road lie outside those zones. There, theft and protests are the risks.
- **Myth:** Lomé is a beach city, so plan on swimming. **Reality:** Lomé's beaches draw the strictest advice. Currents along the Bight of Benin are strong, worst from January to May, drownings happen yearly, and there is no rescue service. Muggings happen on the sand day and night. Stay out of rivers, lakes and waterfall pools too, which carry schistosomiasis.

- Carry a copy of your passport photo page at all times. Police and gendarmes can ask for identification anywhere, and road checkpoints are frequent.
- Never photograph soldiers, police, government buildings or the airport. They are not always clearly marked, so when in doubt, keep the camera down.
- At night checkpoints, dim the headlights, switch the interior light on and have your documents ready. Do not pay a bribe; the US advises asking to follow the officer to the nearest police station instead.
- Togo runs on cash. Card machines are unreliable even where cards are taken, and only some ATMs in Lomé accept international cards, so carry CFA francs for anywhere beyond the capital.
- Keep well away from demonstrations. Even peaceful ones can turn violent, and the authorities have cut internet and phone networks to stop them.
- Same-sex relations are illegal in Togo, and penalties include prison and fines.
- Ask before you photograph people, shrines or ceremonies, at Akodésséwa and in the villages alike.

## Famous Togolese faces

- **Sylvanus Olympio**: First president, who led Togo to independence in 1960. Killed in the 1963 coup in Lomé.
- **Emmanuel Adebayor**: Togo's record scorer with 32 goals, whose qualifiers sent Togo to the 2006 World Cup.
- **Bella Bellow**: Tsévié singer of one album, Rockia (1969). She died in a road accident in 1973, at 28.
- **Tété-Michel Kpomassie**: Went to Greenland in 1965 after a boyhood book, and wrote An African in Greenland.
- **Gnassingbé Eyadéma**: Army officer in the 1963 coup who took power in 1967 and ruled until his death in 2005.
- **Faure Gnassingbé**: Eyadéma's son, in power since 2005. Since 3 May 2025 he holds a post with no term limit.
- **Victoire Tomegah Dogbé**: Named Prime Minister on 28 September 2020, the first woman to hold the office in Togo.
- **King Mensah**: The golden voice of Togo, born in 1971, mixing Ewe and Kabyè rhythms with funk and reggae.
- **Sami Tchak**: Novelist born in 1960, made by Hermina (2003). Grand Prix littéraire d'Afrique noire 2004.
- **Kossi Efoui**: Playwright and novelist from Anfoin, winner of the Grand Prix littéraire d'Afrique noire.
- **Benjamin Boukpeti**: K1 canoe slalom bronze at Beijing 2008, Togo's only Olympic medal.
- **Paul Ahyi**: Painter, sculptor and architect credited with designing the flag. Died in 2010.

## Must-try Togolese food

- **Akoumé**: Fermented maize cooked to a smooth white paste, eaten under adémè, gboma or okra sauce.
- **Djenkoumé**: Roasted maize dough with tomato, garlic, ginger and palm oil, worked into a red paste.
- **Fufu**: Yam, cassava or plantain pounded into a smooth, elastic ball and eaten with soup.
- **Adémè**: Jute leaves cooked into a tangy green sauce with smoked fish. The partner for akoumé.
- **Gboma dessi**: Spinach stewed slowly with beef, tomato, onion, garlic, ginger and chilli.
- **Fetri detsi**: Okra soup with red palm oil and smoked fish or meat, slippery by design.
- **Koklo mémé**: Chicken coated in a hot pepper sauce and grilled over a flame.
- **Ayimolou**: Rice and beans cooked together and served under a spicy tomato sauce.
- **Akpan**: Fermented maize yoghurt, bagged with condensed milk and iced. Eaten as a sweet.
- **Tchoukoutou**: Opaque beer brewed from sorghum or millet, the drink of the north.
- **Sodabi**: Spirit distilled from palm wine, strong and variable, used in ceremonies and daily life.

## FAQs

### Do you need a visa for Togo?

Yes, and it is issued only online. Apply through the government's portal at voyage.gouv.tg at least six days before you arrive; there is no visa on arrival, and a single-entry tourist visa covers 15 days. The same portal holds a registration form to fill in before arrival and again before departure. Bring a yellow fever vaccination certificate as well: it is required of everyone over one year old, and travellers without one are turned away.

### Is Togo safe to visit?

The south is where the advice is lightest. The United States holds Togo at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, citing terrorism, crime, unrest and kidnapping, and Canada and Ireland advise a high degree of caution. All four governments, the UK included, warn against the area along the Burkina Faso border, where extremist groups have carried out attacks and kidnappings, and the UK, Canada and Ireland advise against all but essential travel to the rest of the Savanes region, which is under a state of emergency. The US goes further and says not to travel north of Kandé. In Lomé the everyday risks are theft and robbery on the beaches and in the markets, and demonstrations, which can turn violent and have led the authorities to cut internet and phone networks. Avoid crowds, do not drive after dark, and read your own foreign ministry the week you book.

### When is the best time to visit Togo?

November to January. The rains are over, the hills around Kpalimé are green, the roads are open and the heat has not built. February is still dry but hotter, and the harmattan, the dusty wind off the Sahara, blows from December to March and cuts visibility in the north. On the coast the rains peak in June, ease in August and return from mid-September to late October; the centre and the north have one long rainy season, heaviest from July to September, when unpaved roads can become impassable.

### Can you visit the Koutammakou?

It is the hardest call on a Togo trip. The Koutammakou, the land of the Batammariba and their earth tower houses, lies north-east of Kandé in the Kara region, and excursions run from Kandé towards Nadoba, the largest village. UNESCO inscribed it in 2004 and extended the site into Benin in 2023. The UK, Canada and Ireland draw their restricted zones further north, at the Burkina Faso border and the Savanes region, but the United States advises against all travel north of Kandé because extremist groups have attacked nearby areas of Benin. Check your own government's advice, and your insurer's, before you plan it.

### How do you combine Togo with Ghana and Benin?

Overland, along the coast. Lomé's city limits run to the Ghana border at Aflao, one of the busiest crossings in West Africa, and the coast road runs east past Agbodrafo, on Lake Togo, and Aného to Benin. Each country sets its own visa rules, so arrange all three before you set out. Togo's land borders close during elections in Togo, Ghana and Benin, and can close at short notice for other reasons, and the US advises avoiding the Ghana border after dark. Lomé is also the hub of ASKY Airlines, which flies across West and Central Africa.

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## Sources

- [Visa](https://voyage.gouv.tg/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Travel advisory](https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/togo?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Tourism board](https://tourisme.gouv.tg/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.