A wide variety of landscapes
There are four main geographical zones: the coast, the center of the country, the northwest and the northeast.
The coast is obviously the most densely populated region. This is the coastal basin where the deltas of the Ouémé (Lake Nokoué) and Mono (Lake Ahémé) rivers have formed a lacustrine and marshy site. The landscape is characterized by shrub-savanna vegetation, particularly degraded by human activity. However, vestiges of the primary forest can still be seen in the region's classified and sacred forests. Numerous palm groves were planted in the 18th century, as were coconut plantations thereafter. The coastline has also been severely damaged by sand quarrying and the construction of the city of Cotonou and its port. Despite this, several sites have been preserved. This is particularly true of the Ouémé River and its banks in the east. Similarly, in the Mono department in the west, nature is still wild along the river and around the delta. The west coast offers magnificent scenery around Ouidah and Grand-Popo. Like a cordon of sand, the beaches stretch endlessly between the sea and the lagoon areas towards neighboring Togo. An ideal spot for idleness, of course! Beware, however, that swimming is dangerous and it's best to just splash around without losing your footing.
Heading northwards, we discover the center of the country. This is in fact a vast savannah plain with shrubs and trees, from which rise surprisingly shaped hills around Dassa and especially Savé, where the famous "mamelles" have "grown"! In this more arid landscape, the main crops are cassava, yams, groundnuts, millet and maize.
Arriving in the northeast, particularly towards Parakou, the region's main town, the savannah gives way to an even more sparse, dry landscape. Agriculture is dominated by sorghum, corn, yams and cotton. To the north, in the valley of the Niger River, large herds of cattle graze, and this is also the location of Regional Park W, a wildlife reserve of great beauty, but inaccessible to visitors for security reasons.
Finally, the north-west is dominated by the Atacora mountain range. Only in a few places (especially along the Togolese border) has this territory been subjected to human encroachment, and agriculture is practised in small areas. Shrub and tree savannahs, interspersed with rivers and waterfalls, surround the rocky massifs of the arid mountains. Beyond Natitingou lies the Pendjari National Park, one of West Africa's most beautiful sanctuaries for flora and fauna, unfortunately closed (in summer 2024) for security reasons.
The flat country!
Finally, Benin's relief is relatively flat, with an average altitude of just over 200 meters. The low-lying coastal plain is made up of several barrier beaches, separated by marshy shallows and the lagoons that the Mono (Lake Ahémé) and Ouémé (Lake Nokoué) rivers form around the deltas. Here, you're sometimes below sea level! Further north, a vast crystalline plateau stretches from Kétou towards Kandi. The sandstone plateau of Kandi, in the Borgou region, is barely higher than the coastal plain (on average 250 m) and slopes slowly down to the valley of the River Niger. Finally, the Atacora range in the north-west of the country is made up of two parallel ridges. The cliffs on the western side of the range slowly slope down towards the Pendjari. Attached to the southern Atacora chain, between Bassila and Djougou, Sagbarao is Benin's highest point at 658 m!
