Badou is a town of 24,000 people nestled in the Akposso mountains, in the West Plateau Region. Badou is the capital and the main market of the district of Wawa, a border region specialized in the production of cocoa.

Understand

The inhabitants of Badou are almost all planters, traders or civil servants, and agriculture is the main topic of conversation.

The harvest takes place at the beginning of November and Badou then becomes the center of feverish activity. Farmers come to town with their agricultural products and large trucks leave the Litimé plain loaded with coffee and cocoa in the direction of the capital (Lomé) for export.

Get in

Badou is 230 km north of Lomé. Follow N1 north to Atakpame, and then turn west. At Temedja, turn northwest towards Badou.

See

• 1 Akloa Falls (Tomégbé or Cascade d’Akloa) (10 km south of Badou in Akloa/Tomegbé). A 100-m waterfall rushing down a granite cliff into a pool deep in the forest. The waterfall is at the end of a 40-minute hike along narrow paths that wind through hillside cocoa plantations before entering the forest. Visitors are besieged by people offering their services as guides, but the trail is well-worn. It leads quickly to a creek that you can follow to the falls. You must pay a "community access fee". (updated Feb 2023)

Do

• Ovazu, the traditional harvest festival, is celebrated the second Saturday of December.

Sleep

• 1 Hôtel Abuta. Shared bath and en suite rooms available. Restaurant. (updated Feb 2023)
• 2 Auberge la Victoire, Route Principale (main road). (updated Feb 2023)

Go next

• The Ghana border is about 10 km from the city with several official border crossings.