Bradt Cameroon Guide

The latest edition of the only standalone English-language guide to Cameroon.

About this guide to Cameroon

This updated Bradt Cameroon guidebook, now in its fourth edition, remains the only standalone English-language guidebook from a major publisher to cover this hugely diverse West African country, whose 19 national parks span landscapes ranging from Mount Cameroon and lush rainforests to coastal mangroves and the savannahs more readily associated with the south and east of the continent. Offering opportunities to see lowland gorilla, chimpanzee, lion and cheetah, and to experience rich culture or sunbathe on vast golden beaches, Cameroon is an extremely enticing destination.

The updated Bradt Cameroon guidebook brims with ideas and advice for making the most of a trip to this officially bilingual nation, which comprises 275 ethnic groups, around 160 dialects and multiple religious faiths living peacefully side by side:

• spend a night at a Baka hunter-gatherer camp in the rainforest or explore ancient Bamiléké kingdoms;
• hike up Mount Cameroon – West Africa’s highest peak at 4,400 m – or through dense jungles, where lakes evidence historic volcanic activity;
• go gorilla-tracking in Dja Faunal Reserve, commune with chimpanzees in Korup National Park (an area which, at 60 million years old, holds Africa’s oldest rainforest!), watch lions on safari in Waza National Park, or search for grey-necked rockfowl, a bizarre cave-dwelling bird, on Mount Kupe;
• dance the night away to live performances of makossa music or the latest home-grown hip-hop in the bustling port metropolis of Douala, then take an epic rail journey via Yaoundé to Ngaoundéré;
• hit the beautiful, largely deserted Atlantic beaches between Kribi and Limbe; and
• cool down in Chutes de la Lobé pools, one of only three waterfalls worldwide to flow directly into the sea.

Written and fully revised by expert travel writers following extensive on-the-ground research, the updated Bradt Cameroon guidebook contains maps of major cities, towns and tourist attractions alongside detailed introductions to Cameroon’s history, culture and wildlife; and offers extensive practical information (think border crossings, etiquette and language) as well as bespoke sections on national parks and Mount Cameroon. In short, Bradt’s Cameroon offers everything you need to plan and execute your visit – whether you are a hiker, backpacker, expat or nature enthusiast.

Contents

PART ONE GENERAL INFORMATION
1 Background Information
2 Practical Information

PART TWO THE GUIDE
3 Yaoundé
4 Douala and surrounds
5 The Southwest
6 The Northwest
7 The Central Highlands
8 The South Coast
9 The Southeast
10 Adamawa Region
11 The North
12 The Far North

Appendices: Language; Further Information
Index

About the author and updater

Ben West (benwest.biz) is a journalist has written on a wide variety of subjects – from travel to careers, education to tech – for numerous newspapers and magazines including The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, The Times, Daily Mail, Vogue, The Spectator and Reader’s Digest. He was chief property correspondent on the Daily Express and the Sunday Express until penning yet another feature on the joys of bungalow living became too much. Travel writing has since taken him to more than 85 countries, including a number in Africa, and his first trip to Cameroon netted him four tropical diseases. He is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers whose travel books include Bradt’s Cameroon guidebook plus The Rough Guide to Family Fun in Ireland.

Ian Packham’s love affair with Africa began in the early 2000s. Since then, he has visited 40 of Africa’s 54 countries, racking up two-plus years of travel across the continent, traversing its highways, alleyways, and national parks largely solo and by public forms of transport. Now a full-time freelance travel writer, specialising in Africa (encircleafrica.org), he has covered stories from Africa for some of the world’s top publications including BBC Travel, Travel Magazine, Africa Geographic, JRNY, Selamta, The i, The Independent, The Daily Mail, Vera, Travel Africa, Beau Monde Traveller. His travels in Cameroon cover over a decade, including extensive on-the-ground research for the fourth edition of Bradt’s Cameroon, enabling him to offer the latest insights into this rapidly changing nation while also taking the long view of tourism here. Packham has also updated Bradt’s Angola and Ghana guidebooks, and been published in two Bradt travel anthologies.