The Atakora region feels like a different world compared to Cotonou's coast. The air is cooler and cleaner up in the hills, and on clear days you can see for enormous distances across the valleys below. Traditional communities, including the Tammari and Betamaribé peoples, have lived here for hundreds of years, building unique tower-house villages called tatas right into the rocky hillsides.
The tata houses are fascinating — they look almost like small castles. Families build the round mud towers with flat rooftops where they can sleep during hot nights and store grain safe from animals. Each compound is cleverly designed so that the animals, the kitchen, and the living spaces all have their own area.
Walking trails wind through the mountains, passing through shady forest patches, across streams, and out onto open ridgelines with breathtaking views. Wild birds are everywhere — hornbills with their enormous beaks, weaver birds building their hanging nests, and rollers flashing brilliant blue as they swoop between the trees.
Farmers in the Atakora grow yams, sorghum, and millet on the hillside terraces they have carefully shaped over generations. The terraces hold the soil in place on the steep slopes and capture rainwater so crops can grow even in the dry season.