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Togo Travel Guide

It’s a great time to visit Togo

Togo is a country in West Africa bordering Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lome is located. The official language is French; however, there are many other languages spoken in Togo. Western history does not record what happened in Togo before the Portuguese arrived in the late 15th century. During the period from the 11th century to the 16th century, various tribes entered the region from all directions: the Ewé from Nigeria and Benin; and the Mina and Guin from Ghana. Most settled in coastal areas.

When the slave trade began in earnest in the 16th century, the Mina benefited the most. For the next two hundred years, the coastal region was a major raiding center for Europeans in search of slaves, earning Togo and the surrounding region the name "The Slave Coast".

In an 1884 treaty signed at Togoville, Germany declared a protectorate over a stretch of territory along the coast and gradually extended its control inland. This became the German colony Togoland in 1905. After the German defeat during World War I in August 1914 at the hands of British troops (coming from the Gold Coast) and the French troops (coming from Dahomey), Togoland became two League of Nations mandates, administered by the United Kingdom and France. After World War II, these mandates became UN Trust Territories. The residents of British Togoland voted to join the Gold Coast as part of the new independent nation of Ghana, and French Togoland became an autonomous republic within the French Union.

Independence came in 1960 under Sylvanus Olympio. He was assassinated in a military coup on 1963 and opposition leader Nicolas Grunitzky was appointed president. However, on 1967, Eyadema Gnassingbe overthrew Grunitzky in a coup. Eyadema Gnassingbe died in early 2005 after thirty-eight years in power, as Africa's longest-sitting dictator. The military's immediate but short-lived installation of his son, Faure Gnassingbé, as president.

Kpalime's surroundings offer good hiking routes.It is a city in Plateaux Region, Togo near the Ghanaian border, centred on the weaving industry and the surrounding cocoa plantations. Notable features include the amazing but distant views of Lake Volta, and nearby Mount Agou, the highest point in Togo. Explore the very scenic landscapes and the spectacular local architecture with castle-like houses in Tamberma Valley.

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Guide of Togo Travel Guide