Any of the tours can be customized to your wishes. You could increase the number of days of any tour if you wish to do the Guinness trail more gradually or spend more days in the forest.
ITINERARIES
Mount Cameroon Tour Options
Upper Farms (Buea) – Hut 1 – Intermediate Hut – Hut 1 – Buea. This hike goes up through the rainforest, starting from Upper Farms in Buea (1000 m) to Hut 1 (1860 m) and ends at intermediate hut (2275 m) in the first part of the savanna. This is a good option when you do not have much time to explore the mountain and gives you the opportunity to explore the 2 main vegetation types on the mountain.
Distance: 11 km (5.5km each way), height: 1275 m climbing.
Upper Farms (Buea) – Hut 1 – Hut 2 – Hut 3 – Summit – Hut 3 – Hut 2 – Hut 1 – Buea. This challenging tour is only suitable for very fit people. It takes you from Upper Farms in Buea (1000 m) to the Summit of Mount Cameroon (4095 m) and back down the same track to Upper Farms in one day. Distance: 21 km (3100 meters climbing and 3100 descending). 10.5 km both ways.
Upper Farms (Buea) – Hut 1 – Hut 2 – Hut 3 – Summit – Hut 3 – Hut 2 – Hut 1 – Buea. On day 1 you will start at Upper Farms in Buea (1000 m) and continue up to Hut 2 (2850 m) where you will spend the night at a campsite which offers comfortable Mountain lodges or camping in tents. On day 2 you will continue climbing and pass by Hut 3 (3775 m) to the Summit of Mount Cameroon (4095 m). From there you descend the same track all the way back down to Upper Farms in Buea.
Distance (total): 21 km (10.5 km both ways). Day 1: 6.5km (1850 m climbing), day 2: 14.5 km (1250 m climbing, 3100 m descending).
Upper Farms (Buea) – Hut 1 – Hut 2 – Hut 3 – Summit – Mann Spring – Bokwango. This hike takes you on the Guinness track to the Summit around the mountain (seeing craters and lava flows) down to a village called Bokwango. This tour offers the best and largest variety of landscapes and scenery on Mount Cameroon.
The hike starts at Upper Farms in Buea (1000 m) from where you climb through the forest and mountain savanna to Hut 2 (2850 m) where you will spend the first night. Here you can choose to stay in comfortable mountain lodges or in tents. The second day you will start early to climb to the Summit (4095 m) in the morning. After that you will take a different track down the mountain passing through an impressive lava landscape with craters from the eruption of 1999 and large tracts of lava sand. Day 2 will end at Mann Spring (2300 m). This campsite also offers comfortable mountain lodges or you can choose to spend the night in a tent. On day 3 you will make the final descent from Mann Spring to Bokwango village (950 m). This day you will hike through an old lava flow landscape and the last part of the hike through the forest and the farmlands of Bokwango. When passing through the forest on the way to Bokwango you might be lucky to see some wildlife such as Mona monkeys.
Distance (total): 36 km. Day 1: 6.5 km (1850 m climbing), Day 2: 16 km (1250 m climbing, 1800 m descending), Day 3: 13.5 km (1350 m descending).
Upper Farms (Buea) – Hut 1 – Hut 2 – Hut 3 – Summit – Mann Spring – Crater Lake – Drinking Garri – Bakangili. This tour shows you all the best landscapes as with the 3-day tour but also shows you some of the best parts of the tropical forest on Mount Cameroon. This part of the forest provides you with the best opportunities to see wildlife.
The first 2 days of this tour start the same as the 3-day Summit tour. On day 3 you will venture further into the forest, starting from Mann Spring and hiking to Crater Lake (1600 m). At Crater Lake there is a wildlife viewing platform where you could spend some time and if you are lucky be rewarded to see the forest elephant. Other wildlife that can be seen or heard in this area is Preuss’s Monkey, Chimpanzees, and bushbuck. From there you hike down to a campsite named Drinking Garri (650 m). This is a basic campsite and you will need tents to spend the night. On day 4 you will hike down to Bakingili village which is at the sea side so right down at sea level. Bakingili is located about 40 minutes out of Limbe. Here you can decide to spend a night at a nice hotel for instance at Tsabenwhich is at the sea side so right down at sea level. Beach or Seme Beach. Or you can go directly to Limbe or any other destination.
Distance (total): 40.2 km. Day 1: 6.5 km (1850 m climbing), Day 2: 16 km (1250 m climbing, 1800 m descending), Day 3: 12 km (1650 m descending), Day 4: 5.7 km (650 m descending).
This tour does not take you to the summit so is more suitable for people that do not want to climb too much. The largest part of the tour takes you through the forest which provides you with good opportunities to see wildlife.
On day one you will start from Bokwango village (950 m) near Buea and climb to Mann Spring (2300 m). On day 2 the hike continues through the best forested part of Mount Cameroon to Crater Lake (1600 m). If you have time make sure to sit at the viewing platform for a while and be lucky to see forest elephants. From Crate Lake you continue to hike down to Drinking Garri campsite (650 m). Here you can spend the night. For people that are fit enough they could continue down to Bakingili the same day. Most people however prefer to spend the night and hike down to sea level the next day.
Distance (total): 31.2 km. Day 1: 13.5 km (1350 climbing), Day 2: 12 km (1650 m descending), Day 3: 5.7 km (650 m descending).
Bamenda Ring Road Tour Options
The Bamenda Rind Road area offers a lot of cultural and natural sites to visit. Most of the tours AYS Guide does in this area is customized based on the wishes of customers. The options above shows a few examples of our tour itineraries that could be possible. Please contact us to discuss other itinerary options.
Douala (or other) – Ekom Nkam (Nkongsamba) – Bamenda – Foundong – Wum – Bamenda – Dschang – Douala (or other).
Day 1: Pickup up from Douala and travel to Nkongsamba (3 hours). Visit the Ekom Nkam waterfalls for one hour. Continue to Melon town to spend the night.
Day 2: Visit Muanengouba Twin Lakes with a vehicle. Return to Melong and continue to Bamenda with a stop at Metchi Waterfalls. Spend the night in Bamenda.
Day 3: Travel from Bamenda to Foundong, Lake Nyos, and Wum. This is a full day drive with a lot of stops for sight-seeing along the way.
Day 4: Drive to Bafut and visit the palace and return to Bamenda from there to spend the night.
Day 5: Sightseeing around Bamenda, such as Bamenda market and Press Craft, and drive to Dschang to spend the night.
Day 6: Visit the Civilisation Museum in Dschang. Drive to Douala or any other destination of choice. End of tour.
Douala (or other) – Ekom Nkam (Melong) – Bafoussam – Foumban – Jakiri – Babungo – Bamenda – Foundong – Wum – Bamenda – Muanengouba (Bangem) – Douala (or other).
Day 1: Drive to Melong and visit the Ekom Nkam Waterfalls along the way. From Melong continue to Bafoussam via Dschang. Spend the night in Bafoussam.
Day 2: Visit the Bafoussam Palace and continue to Foumban where the night will be spend.
Day 3: Visit Foumban Palace Museum and the Mosque. Drive to Bamenda via Jakiri and Baboungo where we will visit the palaces. Spend the night in Bamenda.
Day 4: Drive to Wum via Foundong and along the way we can stop for some sightseeing. From Wum we drive to Lake Nyos using hired motor bikes. We spend the night in Wum.
Day 5: Drive to Bamenda via Bafut Palace and do sight-seeing along the way. Spend the night in Bamenda.
Day 6: Sight-seeing around Bamenda and drive to Dschang where we will visit the Civilisation Museum. Spend the night in Dschang.
Day 7: Drive to Muanengouba via Melong. Visit the Muanengouba Twin Lakes and spend the night in Bangem.
Day 8: Drive back to Douala or any other destination of choice. End of tour.
Day 1: Travel to Nkongsamba or Melong. Spend the night at a hotel or eco lodge.
Day 2: Hike from Melong to the Twin Lakes and back in a circle. Distance: 20 km. The hike can be shorter from different starting points.
Day 3: Visit Ekom Nkam Waterfalls and travel back to Douala or any other destination of choice.
Kribi Tour Options
Kribi is a popular beach town in Cameroon with clean long stretch white sand beaches. You can enjoy days relaxing at the beach, go for long beach strolls, rent a canoe to peddle through the fresh or salt water places around Kribi, and enjoy some sea fish at the local fish market.
The Lobe Waterfall is the only waterfall in the world of which its water falls directly into the sea. It is only about 7 kilometers from the center of Kribi and can be reached by private and public transport or on foot.
To visit the village you will use a canoe boat to cross the river from Kribi which takes about 30 minutes. The pygmies in the village maintain a mainly traditional hunter-gatherers life.
The Ebodje Turtle reserve aims to protect and monitor sea turtles. During the months from November-January sea turtles come to the beach to lay their eggs. Local eco-tourism groups offer activities such as excursions by canoe to the sea or the Likodo River.
Campo-Ma’an National Park is a large coastal rain forest protected area which is the home to a large variety of wildlife species such as the African forest elephant, leopard, lowland gorilla, chimpanzees, mandrills, red-capped manga-beys, several duiker species, and many bird species. The more days you spend in the National Park the bigger the chances to spot wildlife.
Limbe and Buea Tour Options
The areas in and around the towns of Limbe and Buea offer many day activities. Limbe is a popular beach town known for its volcanic black sand beaches. Buea is the administrative capitol of the South West Region at the foot of Mount Cameroon. Its climate is much more moderate than Limbe due to its higher altitude location.
The Limbe Wildlife Centre is a wildlife sanctuary which takes in confiscated animals that have become a victim of the wildlife trade where they will be rehabilitated. It mainly houses a variety of primate species such as chimpanzee, gorillas, guenon monkeys, drills, mandrills, and mangabeys. The sanctuary also serves a major sensitization and education centre.
The Botanical Gardens are located nearby the wildlife centre where some of the trees and flowers of Cameroon are on display in a park setting which you can stroll through. The gardens are also regularly visited by birders.
The Bimbia Slave Trade Site used to be a gateway from where slaves were shipped to America three centuries ago. The remainders of the site are being preserved and there is a small museum next to the site. Local guides take you around to tell about their ancestor’s history. Close by the slave trade site you can visit the mangrove forest through which you can take a short walk.
Down beach is the main local fisherman site where you can see fisherman canoe boats coming and going on a daily basis. Here you can enjoy eating freshly caught sea fish.
The Bomana Waterfall is a large waterfall located inside the Mount Cameroon National Park within the rain forest part of the mountain and has water all year round. To visit the waterfall you need to go to Idenau which is about one hours’ ride out of Limbe. From there it is about 2-3 hours hike to the waterfall.
Lake Nachtegaal is located in Debundscha which is among the wettest places in the world. The lake itself is situated inside a crater of Mount Cameroon. The lake is also known for its giant frogs which can be seen when moving around the lake. To visit the lake you can take transport from Limbe which takes about half an hour. On the way to Debundscha you have an opportunity to stop and visit the site where the 1999 Mount Cameroon lava flow ended before entering the sea.
Wovia Island is one of the small islands that can be seen off the coast from Limbe. In the past it was an active village but due to erosion by the sea the people had to move to the main land. Some of the old structures are still standing on the island, including an impressive stone stairs leading to the top of the island. A short ride in a boat will take you to a small tropical black sand beach on the island from where you can start exploring the island with your guide. This trip combines culture and nature into one. Take your time also to relax and enjoy the environment.
This tour will take you through varies sites in Buea. Starting at Buea town which still has several old German colonial buildings and it is the oldest part of Buea. You can visit the local market and local art galleries. The tour can also take you to the Buea University grounds, old German cemetery, Bismark fountain, banana plantations, Tolle tea plantations, and the Amazing Grace Waterfall.
This tour will tell you the history of Limbe, formerly known as Victoria. It will take you to varies sites around town and show you the historic monuments. Then it will take you up to a view point from where you can see Limbe and its coast line. You will also visit the old market and down beach where you can eat fresh fish, see the fisher men boats and even take a ride in a boat if requested. If you wish you can also be introduced to finding your way around Limbe by using public transport and get familiar with some of the main transport sites such as half mile.
Safari Tour Options
Cameroon has several protected areas which are great for wildlife safari tours. Below we listed a few of the more popular sites where we can organize a customized tour according to your wishes.
Bouba Ndjida National Park is remotely located in the North region of Cameroon and is most easily accessed from Yaounde. It has open wooded and bush savanna which makes it a great site to spot wildlife. It has many different antelope species such as waterbuck, eland, reedbuck, kobs, and sable antelopes. Other wildlife species include, elephant, lion, giraffe, hippos, hyena, and crocodiles.
Bénoué National Park is also located in the North region as Bouba Ndjida. It however has a wetter climate and its vegetation is mainly Guinea woodlands. It also has a large variety of wildlife species including lion, giraffe, hyena, elephant, buffalo, hippo, and multiple antelope species.
Half of this National Park is lowland tropical rain forest and the other half is woodland savanna. Due to its habitat variety it has a large diversity of wildlife species. It is located not as far from Yaounde as Bouba Ndjida and Bénoué National Parks. It has true savanna species such as baboon and warthogs and true forest species such as crowned guenon monkeys and red river hogs. Other species include elephant, buffalo, kob, bushbuck, waterbuck, putty nosed monkeys, chimpanzee, bongo, and several duiker species.
