The unknown Ivory Coast – A luxury travel blog : A luxury travel blog /

Ivory Coast was an unsafe destination for many years. After the declaration of independence in 1960, the country went through two civil wars. Things remained unsettled until 2011, when the losing president Ggagbo was arrested and extradited to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Tourism is slowly picking up now. In mid-November I made a trip through this West African country that was still unknown to me.

Abidjan and Grand Bassam

After arriving at Abidjan airport, I immediately travel to Grand-Bassam, 45 minutes away, which was chosen as the capital by the French during the colonization. And so in the evening you suddenly find yourself eating outside on a terrace with the sparkling Atlantic Ocean at your feet! What a transition from the gray and rainy Netherlands and Belgium I left in the morning.

The colonial quarter in Grand-Bassam is now a Unesco World Heritage Site: the grandeur of the colonial architecture is still impressive, although many buildings are in need of restoration. The museum of the national costume, which exhibits traditional clothing of the country’s many ethnic groups, is also very interesting.

Yamoussoukro

The next day I go to Yamoussoukro, the birthplace of the first president of Ivory Coast, Félix Houphouët-Boigny. He made his birthplace the capital of the country and had a huge prestige project built there: the Basilica of Notre Dame de la Paix, the same size as St. Peter’s in Rome. It is a strange sensation, such an immense building in an empty landscape without believers, completely soulless. One wonders how many hospitals the president could have built instead…

north

As I drive further north, I enter more traditional territory, where animistic customs, traditional dances and crafts are rampant. I regularly see groups of weavers making beautiful fabrics on their long narrowband looms; bead makers, who offer their clay, hand-painted beads for sale, and woodcarving workshops.

After meeting the local notables, I experience a fascinating mask dance at the Baoulé, where the dancers are as fiercely and enthusiastically encouraged by the locals as they are by me! In Korhogo with the people of Senoufou I see a ‘leopard dance’. The ‘leopards’, lifted by hallucinatory music, demonstrate their acrobatic skills.

West

As the road gets worse, I reach the western side of the country, which is more mountainous and inhabited by the Malinké and Dan people. Here too I am treated to a dazzling dance performance with masked stilt dancers, in which many villagers participate enthusiastically.

man

Finally I arrive in Man, an area surrounded by 18 mountains that is ideal for beautiful walks. I visit the waterfall and the sacred grove with Campbell monkeys.

The South Coast

From here I drive south back to the coast where I stay in a nice and comfortable resort. Due to the presence of a bay, it is also possible to swim safely in the Atlantic Ocean.

The south is dominated by endless expanses of plantations of cocoa and palm oil forests. Two major rivers cut through Ivory Coast and flow into the ocean at Sassandra and Grand Lahou. Boat trips are the favorite excursions to explore this landscape.

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Abidjan

Finally, I return to Abidjan, a bustling metropolis with millions of inhabitants. It is a cozy town with elegant restaurants and high-quality art galleries. A perfect place to end a journey through this contrasting country. Where the world can’t find you…

Jozef Verbruggen is director and owner of Untamed Travelling. Untamed Traveling is a travel designer specializing in high-quality, customized travel experiences around the world.

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