| Duration: | 1 Day(s) - 0 Night(s) |
| Tour Category: | Full Day Tours |
Ecotourism in Ouidah
The city of Ouidah, which once served as a platform for the slave trade, nowadays has, in addition to museums and tourist sites, hotels, and islands designed for tourist circuits such as the casa del papa to spend holidays and unforgettable festivities.
Departure from Cotonou aboard a vehicle and arrived at the tourist office of Ouidah around 10 am, after the crossing of the slave route, the visit to Djègbadji follows to discover the process of salt preparation and visiting the mangroves (which is a land-sea ecosystem, an amphibious littoral forest, coastal, tropical to subtropical, characterized by the presence of mangroves, trees whose stilt-like roots sink into vases or estuarine silts and brackish lagoons).
Departure for casa del papa in the early afternoon for lunch. Then relax on the private beach of Casa del papa with tennis, biking, and drinking coconut water.
Back to Cotonou at the end of the day.
Explore More Attractions in Ouidah:
Attractions in Ouidah include a restored mansion of Brazilian slavers (the Maison du Brésil), a Vodun python temple, an early twentieth-century basilica, and the Sacred Forest of Kpasse, dotted with bronze statues.
The Route des Esclaves, by which slaves were taken to the beach, has numerous statues and monuments, including the Door of No Return, a memorial arch.
The Market Center of Ouidah, which was established by Scouts more than 20 years ago, trains young people in agricultural skills, thus helping to reverse the exodus toward the cities.
Ouidah is often considered the spiritual capital of the Vodun religion and hosts an annual international Vodun conference.
Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá
The Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá is a small fortress built by the Portuguese in Ouidah on the coast of Dahomey, reached by the Portuguese in 1580, after which it grew around the slave trade, for which the Slave Coast was already renowned.
In 1680 the Portuguese governor of São Tomé and Príncipe was authorized to erect a fort but nothing was done and it was only in 1721 that construction of the fort, which was named São João Baptista de Ajudá, started. The fort, built on land given to Portugal by King Haffon of Whydah, remained under Portuguese control from 1721 until 1961.
Other Landmarks Include:
Basilique de l'Immaculée Conception
Ouidah Museum of History
Zinsou Foundation Museum
