Benin

Seasonal calendar — from climate data and curated definitions.

National holidays — closures and days off.

UNESCO World Heritage sites in this country.

• W-Arly-Pendjari Complex

  1996Natural

  ©

  The W National Park or W Regional Park is a major national park in West Africa around a meander in the Niger River shaped like the letter W. The park includes areas of the three countries Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso, and is governed by the three governments. Until 2008, the implementation of a regional management was supported by the EU-funded project ECOPAS. The three national parks operate under the name W Transborder Park. The section of W National Park lying in Benin, measuring over 8,000 km2 (3,100 sq mi), came under the full management of African Parks in June 2020. In Benin, W National Park is contiguous with Pendjari National Park which is also under the management of African Parks.

  Text: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
• Royal Palaces of Abomey

  1985Cultural

  ©

  The Royal Palaces of Abomey are 10 palaces spread over an area of 47 hectares at the heart of the Abomey town in Benin, formerly the capital of the West African Kingdom of Dahomey. The Kingdom was founded in 1625 by the Fon people who developed it into a powerful military and commercial empire, which dominated trade with European slave traders on the Slave Coast until the late 19th century, to whom they sold their prisoners of war. At its peak the palaces could accommodate up to 8000 people. The King's palace included a two-story building known as the "cowrie house" or akuehue. Under the twelve kings who succeeded from 1625 to 1900, the kingdom established itself as one of the most powerful of the western coast of Africa.

  Text: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
• Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba

  2004Cultural

  ©

  Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba is a cultural landscape designated in 2004 and expanded in 2023 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the border between northern Togo and Benin. The area features traditional mud tower-houses which remain the preferred style of living. The traditional mud houses are known as a national symbol of Togo. Many of the mud houses have two floors and some of them have flat roofs.

  Text: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)