Things to see and do Central Region

The famous Aledjo fault where the cliff seems to be sheared off by a sword. The road was actually opened by the Germans at the time. It was a very delicate passage for many heavy goods vehicles which join the Sahelian countries, often overloaded. Today, thanks to the national road 1, a real highway between Sokodé and Kara, the deviation is easier and faster for all. Since then, the Aledjo fault has been forbidden to trucks. It has become a very beautiful and not overloaded tourist road with beautiful panoramas on the mountains.

An interesting little museum with a section devoted to the chieftaincies and traditions of Togo through its peoples, culture, religion and art. On display are traditional suitcases; costumes worn for dances such as Djouka or Adossa; tam-tams carved from shea tree trunks for urgent meetings or important events; flutes decorated with earrings and necklaces for admirers; cooking utensils; mats and bamboo raffia baskets..

Bordering Benin, it is a very lively market where cultural mixing is permanent. Veiled Muslim women in brightly colored tunics, Fulani women with eyes highlighted with kohl and wearing their gri-gri around their neck. So many colors, contrasts and richness. The market is frequented by the Kotokoli, the Tchamba, the Kabyé and the Peul, who are numerous in the region. If you look hard enough, you will find some handicrafts, notably pyrographed calabashes. Tchamba is without question one of the most beautiful rural markets in the region.

The Faune wildlife reserve is located in the prefectures of Tchaoudjo and Assoli. A horse on the central regions and Kara, the area of Aledjo is bounded to the north by the village Kpéwa, to the south by the village Alehéridè, to the east by the Kpéwa - Kadara trail and on the west side by Efolo village and atypical localities. The Faune wildlife reserve is a natural area of 765 ha that is involved in the conservation of biological diversity, the protection of local geological and physiographic formations. It is part of the classified forests and proudly shows an admirable relief and a very varied vegetation with, in its heart, a fault - the "Faille Fault" - resulting from the effort of the man who has managed to make a motorized road through such a huge natural rock.

Notable plant formations are dry dense forests of mountains, clear forests in Isoberlinia, Anogeissus, Chlorophora excelsa, Voacanga funtumia. They offer an exceptional aesthetic landscape.

Wildlife is made up of small mammals, mainly primates. Three species are observed among which cynocéphales (baboons), patas and callitrices. Small taille (antelopes) in this case, harnachés harnachés and Grimm's céphalophes inhabit the forest galleries in place. Birds and reptiles also form part of this wildlife diversity.

At the level of flora, four vegetation facies are distinguished:

The semi-deciduous forests, characterized by forests-galleries with species such as Anogeissus leocarpus, of very large size, as well as species such as Khaya, Vitex spp, Cola cordifolia, etc.

Clear forests with species such as Afzelia africana, doka doka, Terminalia spp, etc.

Woody savanes, the most representative species of which are Prosopis africana, Bauhinia thoninguii, Gardenia rubenius, Alata lenceolata.

Degraded savanes, composed of species of the genus Hymenocardia acida, Nauclea latifolia, Alata lenceolata.

There are also forbs species in forbs species, including Scoparius gayanus, Adenodolichos paniculatum, and Pennissetum purpureum.

Wild fauna includes: the African elephant (Loxodonta africana), the buffalo (Sincerus caffer), major major (Alcelaphus buselaphus major), hippotrague (Hippotragus equinus), bongo (Tragelaphus euryceros), magistrats or white and black colobes magistrats, black colobes (Colobus polykomos), baboons (Papio anubis), suidés (Phacochoerus aethiopicus and L meinertzhageni). Reptiles include varans (Varanus niloticus, Varanus exanthematicus), python sebae, etc.

There are still some buildings in Sokodé dating from the German colonial period. They are concentrated around the prefecture: residence of the prefect, prefecture, buildings of the technical high school... The German powder magazine is one of the sites not to be missed. It is located on a hill behind the camp of Sokodé. Built after 1887, it is composed of a rampart built of dry stones solidly laid out one on top of the other and surrounding a tin-covered storehouse where weapons and ammunition were kept.

Here is a reference center for handicrafts in the prefecture of Tchaoudjo. It was founded in 1989 under the leadership of the Togolese government and the European Development Fund. It is a place of training, production and sale of traditional fabrics. Togolese weaving techniques are perpetuated here in the respect of traditions. It is possible to visit the weaving places where you can appreciate the craftsmen at work. Souvenir store.

It is a small center for art training: painting, batik and creation on calabash. The artist Félix Kouhan Tiyouma was trained at the famous center of Kpalimé before teaching there for a while. Driven by the desire to undertake, he resigned to create this artistic center in Sokodé. Today, he shares his passion, within the cultural center, with several students of the region. He works in collaboration with three visual artists and his wife.

From the Aledjo fault, a nice hike of about 5 hours leads through beautiful landscapes to the Rock of Death, commonly called Kazaliya in Kotokoli language. From the top, one can contemplate a superb view of the Aledjo mountains and the Mono plain. According to the legend, the evil sorcerers were thrown from the top of the cliff. Only one sorcerer would have escaped the ordeal three times, by transforming himself into a bird of prey at the moment he was thrown into the void.

It is necessary to ask for an audience with the chief of Kparatao to be able to visit the place. It is preferable at this level to be accompanied by a guide who knows the habits and customs. The chief still reigns over the Tem, which are spread over Benin, Togo and Ghana. He settles many social conflicts and administers justice. He will entrust you to a guide who will open the doors of the houses where the tombs of the warriors and some antiquities of the time are located.