2nd edition May 2019 208 PAGES Since Bradt first published a guide to Benin over
10 years ago, the country has become more popular with visitors to West Africa.
Bradt's Benin remains the original and one of the only comprehensive guides in
English to this French-speaking country, arguably the region's best wildlife
destination and the birthplace of the much maligned and little understood
religion of Vodou (voodoo). This new edition includes coverage of the growing
range of eco-travel and community based tourism options that have sprung up in
recent years. Also included is more information on the wildlife and national
parks of the north which are becoming more popular with general safari tourists,
including the Parc National de la Pendjari (now under African Parks Management),
increasingly recognised as the closest place to Europe easily to see lions and
elephants. A dedicated chapter on Cotonou ensures the capital is covered in full
detail, including up-to-date recommendations for places to eat and stay, while
the rest of the country is divided into five easy-to-follow chapters, each
replete with listings, hotels and restaurants, background and historical text,
as well as recommendations on what to see and entertainment. Bradt's Benin also
includes a field guide to gods, ghosts and dead people: after all, it's easy
here to arrange to have a cup of tea with a wizard and buy spells to make
someone love you. And what makes Benin so special from a visitor's perspective
is that such characters are a visible part of day-to-day life and encounters
with them may well form the backbone of a Benin adventure. But there is more
than just storybook magic to this country. It has a huge and varied array of
birdlife and two of the finest parks this side of the continent and it is a
place in which heart-in-the-mouth encounters with buffalo, elephant and lion are
day-to-day events. Whatever your interest, whether it's wildlife, culture,
golden sand beaches or tracing your ancestral roots, Bradt's Benin offers
comprehensive and extensive travel information for all price bands and is the
perfect companion for a successful visit.