Lake Ganvie -- Benin, West Africa

Magun's Compass
Learn from the Travel Experiences of Others

The Landing Stage For Lake Ganvie....

Where boats and pirogues are available for hire.
Abomey-Calavi, 11 miles North West of Cotonou.

Share-taxis to the landing stage at Abomey-Calavi
leave from the Dan Topka market
at the end of Boulevard Saint Michel,
in Cotonou.

And then the rip-off begins....

You'll need to pay tourist prices

to get on the lake.

Stilt Houses

Called an African Venice because fifteen thousand people live in the dwellings that are perched on piles in the lake, Ganvie is a lot more to the Tofinu peoples.

To the Tofinu peoples, Ganvie means:
"the collectivity of those who found peace at last".

[Niger to Benin]

[Around the Lake]

Tranquil way of life

Africa Index

Travel on trains and buses in Asia, then jump into cars with complete strangers in Australia and New Zealand as Michel introduces you to a collection of characters that bring Nomadic Gatherings to life.

If you can't afford to buy a copy of Nomadic Gatherings, the chapters are slowly being made available online - for free.

You may even decide that it really is worth having a hard copy in your hands; a useful read for those long bus journeys being written about, and for endless waits at ferry ports.

Nomadic Gatherings - Online Chapters.

Magun's Compass