The stilt houses
Above the water.
Adoscam — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Adoscam — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Adoscam — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Adoscam — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Adoscam — CC BY-SA 4.0
Ganvié is a village built on stilts over Lake Nokoué, north of Cotonou. About 20,000 people live here, making it probably the largest lake village in Africa, sometimes called the Venice of Africa. Wooden boats are the only way to get around, and it is one of Benin's best-known sights, added to UNESCO's tentative list in 1996. The Tofinu people founded it in the 16th or 17th century, taking to the lake to escape warriors who captured people to sell to European slave traders. Its name means «here I was saved» in their language. Life here was once based on farming, and fishing and fish farming are now the main work, along with tourism. You see wooden houses with roofs of thatch or tin rising on stilts above the water, with narrow boats and small sails passing between them. Water hyacinth covers wide stretches of the lake in thick green. The village has a floating market, and schools, mosques and churches also on stilts. It is about 12 km from Cotonou in a straight line, and boats leave from the Abomey-Calavi pier. Buy your ticket at the official office on the pier. Villagers dislike being photographed without permission, so ask first.
Above the water.
Between the houses.
In the village.
Lake Nokoué, north of Cotonou, Benin
By boat from the Abomey-Calavi pier north of Cotonou.
Ask people first, and photograph houses and water more freely.