Cameroon

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Quick Facts

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Capital

Yaoundé

Government

Unitary republic

Nationality

Cameroonian

Population

17 000 000^[1]

Languages

English, French

Religions

Indigenous beliefs, Islam, Christianity

Currency

Central African CFA Franc (XAF)

Calling Code

+237

Time Zone

WAT (UTC+1)

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Introduction

NIKEA: dance of the clowns

© All Rights Reserved tamara_p

Despite occupying the somewhat disconcerting area of coastline known as "The Armpit of Africa", Cameroon is a land of exquisite natural beauty, cultural vigor and culinary delight. Rain forests flourish throughout the southern and eastern areas of Cameroon; if you're starting to get withdrawal symptoms from the usual dry savanna landscape characteristic of the African continent, head over to Cameroon's northern reaches, where the national park at Waza capitalizes on the region's abundant wildlife. Mt Cameroon, near the western border with Nigeria, is an excellent hiking opportunity, with the 3000 metre tall summit offering some splendid scenery.

French and British colonialism had pronounced effects on Cameroon's culture, though the country prides itself on its heritage. Cameroon's musical stylings are extremely popular, whether they're pumping from a club in Yaoundé or the stands at a soccer match.

Brief History

Geography

Cameroon is located in West Africa and shares borders with Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

Regions/Provinces

• Adamawa
• Centre
• East
• Far North
• Littoral
• North
• Northwest
• South
• Southwest
• West

Cities

• Douala
• Yaoundé
• Garoua
• Kousséri
• Bamenda
• Maroua
• Ngaoundéré

Sights and Activities

Waza National Park

Waza National Park is located in northern Cameroon and with a total area of around 1700 square kilometres it is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1979. Unfortunately, both numbers of wildlife and park rangers have declined in recent years and poachers have become active again, hunting for bush meat for both local use and trade, as is the case with many parks in Central Africa. Still, it probably is one of the better parks to enjoy a safari. Recently several more park rangers were added to guard the park. Wildlife includes elephant and giraffe, species of antelope, several predators and numerous birds.

Korup National Park

Korup National Park is located in the west of the country close to the Nigerian border and is most famous for its dense tropical rainforest and high biodiversity with dozens of mammals and birds living here. This is one of the oldest rain forest in this part of Africa and has even stayed rain forest throughout the Ice Age.

Dja Faunal Reserve

Dja Faunal Reserve in the central part of Cameroon is the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in the country. It is one of the best examples in Cameroon and in Africa for that matter to preserve tropical rain forest and it has an extremely rich biological diversity with over 100 species of mammal, several of which are endangered. It also has high numbers or divers primates, birds and flora. The park is almost totally surrounded by the Dja River.

• Mount Cameroon
• Kribi beaches
• Sultan and King palaces in places like Bafut and Bafoussam

Events and Festivals

Each year each of the villages will host a cultural festival. This is a unique opportunity to see dancers, masquerades (jujus), gun firing, snake dancers and fire dancers. After marveling at these sights, sit with the locals and enjoy a glass of the famed palm wine.

All visitors are welcome to the festivals and all festivals are free of charge.

Festival dates for the different villages are listed below:

Bamunka

• 5/Dec/08: Traditional national assembly of the village/pronouncement of the message of the year by messengers of the Ngumba or Nwonserh /Kingmakers (whole day)
• 6/Dec/08: Fon’s movement or procession to and from Nchilokeh (Meussi)/Sharing of salt to infants/ Display of Njujus or Masquerades (whole day)
• 14/Dec/08: Fon’s movement to Bekue or first Palace of the Bamunka people/Sharing of salt to infants/ Display of Njujus or Masquerades (whole day)
• 22/Dec/08: Bamunka Palaces/Annual celebrations of the passing away or death of the two previous fons/ Series of colourful cultural events beginning with queens, masquerades, dignitoaries dances, etc (whole day)
• 30/Dec/08: Trekking of the Fon and entourage to site/Fon’s stop-over at traditional religious site (Ncheumbeh_ upon return from Ngo-Mbuh/Singing, dancing and blessings of the Fondom (whole day). This is the only opportunity to see women's participation in the annual festivals.
• 7/Jan/08: Same events as on the 22/Dec/08. Series of colourful cultural events beginning with queens, masquerades, dignitaries dances, etc
• 15/Jan/08: Annual celebration of the passing away or death of the two previous Fons/Series of colourful cultural events by Princes or those who do not belong to Nwonserh/Appearance of masquerades, of Ngueteh and dignitaries, traditional dances, etc (whole day)
• 23/Jan/08: Same as 15/Jan/08 (half a day)
• Last week of January: Other socio-cultural activities of the Meukoh people’ (at least two days)

Bamessing

• 19/Dec/08: Start of cultural festival. Notables wearing traditional dress move from palace around the village
• 23/Dec/08: Girls and women dance bearing peace plants
• 8/Jan/08: Fire & snake dances
• 17/Jan/08: Quarter heads from the village bring gifts of palm wine to the palace. The Fon and notables accept the palm wine and dance
• 19/Jan/08: Prince and princesses dance from the palace to the market
• 20/Jan/08: Annual dance—masquerades (jujus) dance

Bafoussam
Events occur throughout November, December and January. For more information call the palace on +237 94 33 26 48 (Agathe).

Foumban
November 28th-November 20th.

Weather

Cameroon lies entirely within the tropics, but there are huge differences throughout the country.
The north of the country is relatively dry with a single wet season from April to September, averaging between 1000 and 1750mm of rain. July and August are the wettest months. Temperatures are above 30 °C during most of the year, with March to May being the hottest period. Temperatures can rise to over 40 °C during this period. In January and December though, nights can be rather chilly, around 15 °C.

The south of Cameroon is hot and humid year round, but temperatures are generally lower than in the north. Yaoundé average around 28 °C during the day, 18 °C at night, with just a few degrees difference between the warmest and coldest month. There are two wet seasons: one from March to June and a second shorter but heavier one in September and October. Only December and January are fairly dry with almost no rain.

The coastal areas are very hot and humid with comparable temperatures as Yaoundé but warmer nights (above 20), for example in the city of Douala. Here, rainfall is very high throughout the year, with only December to February bringing some relief of the wet conditions. June to September is extremely wet with 500 to 750 mm of rain in each month!

Mount Cameroon is one of the wettest places on earth, averaging around 10,000 mm (10 meters!) of rain a year. Only places in Hawaii and India (Assam) are this wet!

Getting There

By Plane

The Douala International Airport (DLA), located 10 km outside Douala, is the main gateway to the country. It is also the base of the flag carrier, Cameroon Airlines. Destinations from here include Abidjan, Bamako, Bangui, Brazzaville, Cotonou, Dakar, Dubai, Johannesburg, Kinshasa, Lagos, Libreville, Malabo, N'Djamena, Paris and Pointe-Noire. Brussels, Casablanca and Istanbul, Tripoli, Zürich are other destinations are served by their respective national airlines.

Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport (NSI) near the capital Yaoundé has connections to Brussels, Casablanca, Nairobi, Paris and Zürich.

By Car

If you have your own vehicle, you will be able to cross borders at the ones mentioned below by public transport. Have your papers and insurance in order and expect to pay bribes and to have rough conditions on some roads, especially to the Republic of Congo. The crossing to Chad is difficult regarding hassling.

By Bus

Cameroon borders with neighbouring countries are open, including those with Chad, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of Congo. They mostly require domestic transport, crossing borders and again onward transport in the other country.

To the CAR there is a rough route is via Garoua-Boulaï to Bangui (via Bouar). An alternative is to travel to Kenzou, south of Batouri.

For Chad, travel from Maroua to Kousséri and across the border to N'Djamena.

The most remote route to another country probably is the one to the Republic of Congo, which is impossible in the rains. The route goes from Yokadouma to Sokamba. Here, you can catch a ferry (large enough for 4WDs) or pirogue across the Ngoko River to the Congolese port of Ouesso. From there, head for Pokola and the logging road to Brazzaville.

The crossings with Equatorial Guinea and Gabon are close to eachother and reachable from Amban. The roads east goes to Gabon (Bitam/Libreville) and west to Ebebiyin and Bata in Equatorial Guinea.

To and from Nigeria the main crossing points are Ekok, west of Mamfé, where you cross to Mfum for shared taxis to Calabar and at Banki in the extreme north for crossings to Maiduguri.

By Boat

There are regular passenger ferries between the port city of Douala and both Malabo at Bioko Island as well as Bata at the mainland part of Equatorial Guinea, also called Rio Muni.

To Nigeria, there is a twice-weekly ferry from Limbe to Calabar on Monday and Thursday, and in the opposite direction every Tuesday and Friday.

To the Republic of Congo, there is a ferry across the Ngoko River to the Congolese port of Ouesso.

Getting Around

By Plane

Garoua, Maroua, Ngaoundéré, Yaoundé and Douala are all served by Cameroon Airlines. National Airways Cameroon does approximately the same.

By Train

Cameroon Railways (CAMRAIL) is the national service provider. There are trains between the capital Yaoundé and Ngaoundéré in the north and between Yaoundé and the coastal city of Douala. Travelling to the north is best done by train which is more comfortable than buses. However, buses are faster on the Yaoundé - Douala route.

By Car

There are paved roads from Douala to Yaoundé, Limbé, Buéa, Bafoussam and Bamenda and between main centres. Many other roads are of a significant less quality and require a 4wd as roads become almost impassable after heavy roads. Driving at night is not recommended, because of poorly lit vehicles and chances of carjackings, especially in the north. Renting a car is only possible in Douala and Yaoundé, and renting one with a driver is recommended. If you feel the need to drive yourself, be sure to bring your international driving permit and buy a temporary Cameroon driver's license, ready within a day.

By Bus

Buses, minibuses and shared taxis link Douala and Yaoundé and many other smaller cities and towns up north. Services can be uncomfortable and unreliable sometimes. Most buses leave only when totally full and actually overcrowded.

By Boat

There are no notable ferry services except for a few boats travelling along the coast.

Red Tape

All nationalities need a visa except passport holders from Chad, Central African Republic, Mali and Nigeria.

Check the latest Cameroonese visa info for obtaining one.

Money

See also Money matters

Cameroon uses the CFA Franc as a currency. The CFA Franc is divided into 100 centimes. Coins come in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 500 francs while banknotes come in denominations of 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 francs
The exchange range is fixed at approximately 656 CFA Francs for one Euro.

In Cameroon the Central African CFA Franc (XAF) is used which has the same vallue as the West African CFA Franc (XOF), but it's not possible to use both currencies in the same country.

Fourteen countries in Africa use this currency, eight in West Africa and six in Central Africa. The West African CFA Franc can only be used in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo, while the Central African CFA Franc can only be used in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

Work

Study

Language

Officially, Cameroon is a bilingual country speaking both French and English. However, in the North West Province and the South West Province the populate primarily speak English, whilst in the other provinces French is the primary language.

Cameroon has over 230 tribal languages, with each tribe speaking its own language. As a result "pidgen" is widely spoken across Cameroon. Pidgen is a mix between English, French and the tribal languages.

Pidgen varies across the anglophone and francophone zones.

Eat

Here are some of the staples:

Corn Fufu: widely eaten across many parts of Cameroon. The corn is separated from the cob, peeled and ground. The mixture is then boiled in water to form a soft dough.
Corn Fufu is normally eater with jamajama (huckleberry).

Water fufu: similar to corn fufu but made from cassava
Water fufu is normally accompanied by the vegetable eru.

Other staples include yams, plantains, rice

Other vegetables include dhole (bitter leaf) normally accompanying plantains.

Sleep

Drink

Palm Wine is the traditional drink. It comes in two varieties palm wine and raffia wine - depending on the species of the palm tree from which it is tapped.

Health

Culture

• As a woman it is rude to cross your legs, particularly in rural areas.

Safety

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

The country calling code to Cameroon is: 237
To make an international call from Cameroon, the code is: 00

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