Learing how to make beurre de karité or ‘Women’s Gold’
Northern Côte d’Ivoire is renowned for its shea-butter production, and as we travelled through small, remote villages, we had often seen shea kernels spread out on the ground to dry. Towards the end of our tour, we finally had the chance to see how shea butter, or beurre de karité, is made. We expected a […]…
Painting traditional clay beads
Kapélé, a village just a few kilometres from Korhogo in northern Côte d’Ivoire, is renowned for its traditional clay beads which are made into necklaces, bracelets, earrings and other decorative objects. Here we visited the workshop of the Sénoufo artisans known as the Perliers de Kapélé. Their site was reconstructed and officially inaugurated in 2025 […]…
Even my museum-adverse husband enjoyed this one
Whilst tribal dancing had featured heavily on our itinerary in Côte d’Ivoire, much to my husband’s relief there had been no museums. However, having arrived too early to check into our hotel in Korhogo, our guide suggested a visit to the Musée Régional Péléforo Gbon Coulibaly and, somewhat reluctantly, he agreed. The museum is housed […]…
A reasonable long-haul flight to Liberia
We took an early-morning Brussels Airlines flight from Heathrow Terminal 2 to Liberia, via Brussels. Boarding was relatively straightforward and we were soon settled into seats 1D and 1F in the front row of business class. Although scheduled to leave at 6.50am, we departed 20 minutes late but still landed on time in Brussels. Despite […]…
Exploring a National Park by boat
Whilst relaxing on the coast in Grand Bassam, we ventured on a day trip to the Îles Ehotilé National Park, a small, protected area on Côte d’Ivoire’s southeastern coast, where the Aby Lagoon meets the Atlantic Ocean. It was established on 25 April 1974, originally as a historic national park to protect archaeological and cultural […]…
Exploring Quartier France and French colonial buildings
Whilst relaxing on the beach in the Ivorian town of Grand Bassam, we dragged ourselves from our sunbeds to visit the UNESCO listed historic colonial quarter. Known as Quartier France, it promised 19th-century French colonial buildings, administrative blocks, and merchant houses. Musée National du Costume de Grand Bassam or National Costume Museum The museum was […]…
Mountains, Masks, Monkeys and Manleu
We stayed in the Ivorian city of Man, reputed to be one of the prettiest in the country, for three nights, using it as a base to explore the surrounding area. Set amid dramatic mountains and lush countryside, Man certainly lived up to its reputation for spectacular scenery. Mount Tonkoui or Tonkpi Our main outing […]…
A capital city influenced by Félix Houphouët-Boign
Yamoussoukro, known locally as Yakro for obvious reasons, is the political capital of Côte d’Ivoire. It was originally a small village and the birthplace of the country’s first president, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who transformed it into the city it is today. Given his influence, it was hardly surprising that we spent much of our day discovering […]…
A Tale of Two Mosques
Northern Côte d’Ivoire is home to a group of eight traditional earthen mosques, built mainly between the 17th and 19th centuries, that together form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They are examples of the Sudanese architectural tradition of West Africa, which developed through a fusion of Islamic and local building traditions. While staying in the […]…
Exploring Côte d’Ivoire economic capital
Abidjan is the largest city in Côte d’Ivoire and its economic powerhouse, although the official political capital is Yamoussoukro. It is spread across several peninsulas and islands around the Ébrié Lagoon, and a mix of modern skyscrapers, commercial districts, colonial remnants and sprawling residential neighbourhoods. We only had a relatively short time in Abidjan, so […]…
When the Drums Called
The sixty ethnic groups which live across Côte d’Ivoire belong to four main cultural families: the Akan, the Gur (including the Senufo), the Kru and the Mandé. During our three-week tour, we visited several remote villages to experience some of the country’s rich traditions of music, dance and ceremony. Travelling independently with our guide and […]…
An African capital founded by freed Black Americans and former Caribbean slaves
Our tour of Liberia began in Monrovia, when we quickly discovered it was a capital unlike any others we had visited in West Africa. Where most were shaped by European colonisation, Liberia’s identity was rooted in a very different history. Ducor Hill: Liberia’s Origins in Bronze and Stone Ducor Hill was dominated by a life-sized […]…
