Travel guide Benin

Rich in calcium, protein and vitamin E, peanuts are a staple of African cuisine. Peanuts are mainly used to accompany meats and fish, as well as spicy sauces. And peanuts are enjoyed every evening as an aperitif with a Béninoise, the local beer.

It's the welcome greeting! And you'll hear it as soon as you step into the customs hut at the airport. During the journey, these words resound as soon as you arrive in a village, but also as soon as you walk through the door of a hotel, a restaurant, a store... Words, always said with a smile, that testify to Benin's sense of hospitality.

A central element of Beninese craftsmanship, gourds of all shapes and sizes can be found in every region of the country. Once dried and emptied, these gourds are reinvented to serve as spoons, containers, musical instruments... One thing's for sure, there'll be one in your suitcase when you board your plane home!

The Beninese coastline is bordered by several lagoons formed by the delta of the Ouémé River (which flows into the ocean in neighboring Nigeria) and the Mono River, which comes from the west. The Cotonou lagoon is the largest in the country. It was created artificially when the French dug a channel linking Lake Nokoué to the Atlantic Ocean.

The soils of Bas-Benin are covered with a characteristic red crust. Resulting from a chemical process, occurring exclusively in tropical and equatorial zones, these soils were formed following a chemical decomposition of rocks, due to strong heat. Most of the runways are therefore covered with laterite.

The dough, a kind of compact and sticky polenta, accompanies almost every meal. Most often, it is made with corn flour in the South and yam flour in the North... It is steamed and eaten with the fingers, dipped in a sauce often spicy (tomato, peanut or vegetable), with meat, fish or cheese.

Tanti is a term of endearment, which is also a sign of respect, and is used to address a woman. For tourists, it is appropriate to use this term to address a shopkeeper in a friendly manner. Obviously, to try to soften her up, as the "difficult" negotiation of a price for a calabash or a meter of wax begins..

Tchouk, short for tchoukoumbé, is a beer made (usually by hand) from sorghum. It tastes like cider and is well worth trying. Tchouk is widely consumed, especially in the north of the country. Drink it as the sun goes down, in moderation, of course... Cheers!

Traditional religion par excellence, vodoun finds its roots in Benin and its main cradle around Abomey, but also Ouidah or Porto-Novo. Even Beninese who claim not to believe in it respect it. Following the slave trade, this religion crossed the Atlantic and became the source of many Afro-American cults.

Acronym meaning "north-south road" and by extension, any unpaved secondary road. The vons is a road that is generally poorly maintained and difficult to drive on during the rainy season. But the zem (motorcycle cabs) are not afraid to go there and slalom between the potholes. Guaranteed sensations!

The visitor understands this very quickly on arriving in the country... Yovo is... "White". A word that now applies to Western tourists in general. "Yovo, Yovo, good evening! How are you? Thank you!" is a refrain that children repeat systematically and frantically as soon as you arrive in a village.

Short for zemidjan, which means "take me away quickly" in Fon. These are motorcycle cabs that circulate in all cities. Not only are they very cheap, but they also have the advantage of ignoring the traffic jams in Cotonou. The drivers are recognizable by the color of their shirts (yellow in Cotonou).