Host country

Discover Togo

Located between  Ghana  to the west, the Republic of  Benin to the east  and  Burkina Faso  to the  north , Togo, with an area of  ​​56,600 km² , opens onto the Atlantic Ocean to the south by a narrow coastal strip of  50 km.

Togo is shaped like a corridor approximately  660 km long and 150 km  wide at its maximum   in the centre of the country. This longitudinal configuration gives it great cultural and tourist diversity.

These are the privileges of Togo, which is able to offer its visitors beautiful sites in a limited area: a beach with fine sand,  landscapes  of hills and mountains, green valleys and plains and plateaus of wooded savannahs.

Togo smiles at you and welcomes you with its legendary hospitality. A small country in size, its vast tourism sector gives it prestige in the sub-region. A country with approximately  44 languages , Togo is home to a cultural mosaic with a uniqueness that sums up this increasingly imposing nation with the history of Nana Benz.

History

The history of the founding of the territorial space of  present-day Togo  is made up of ancient settlements, successive migrations, contacts with other civilizations and expansionist aims of the colonizers. According to oral traditions, the ancient settlements concern the  Alou  and  Azanou  of  Tado , the  Akposso-Akébou , the  Ahlon  of the  Dayes plateaus  and the  Kabyè . The main migrations are those of the  Adja-Ewé , the  Guin-Mina , the  Tem , the  Tchokossi  and the  Moba-Gourma.

Togo   owes its name to the small village ”  Togoville  ” located on the northern shore of  Lake Togo  where the German explorer,  Dr. Gustav. Natchigal signed  the protectorate treaty with King M’lapa III on July 4, 1884, which allowed Germany to conquer a territory of  90,500 km² . The Germans, in 30 years of presence, made their colony economically efficient, which earned it the title of  Musterkolonie  or model colony.

At the outbreak of World War I in  1914  , Germany  was  quickly defeated in  Togo  by the Allies and following this defeat, the country was divided into two territories:  Western Togo , with  33,900 km²  administered by  Great Britain  and attached to the  Gold Coast  (present-day Ghana) and  Eastern Togo with an area of  ​​56,600 km² , placed under  French mandate .
Only the eastern part constitutes the current  Togolese Republic .

The struggles for independence were led by the  Committee of Togolese Unity  (CUT) of  Sylvanus OLYMPIO  and  JUVENTO , on the one hand, and the  Togolese Party of Progress  (PTP) of  Nicolas GRUNITZKY  and the Union of Chiefs and Populations of the North  (UCPN), on the other. The legislative elections under the supervision of the UN  in  1958  gave victory to the  CUT  of  Sylvanus OLYMPIO  which led  Togo  to independence on  April 27, 1960 .

In the coup d’état of  January 13, 1963  , in which President  OLYMPIO  was killed,  GRUNITZKY  succeeded him and was in turn overthrown on  January 13, 1967  by  Lieutenant-Colonel Gnassingbé EYADEMA.

The country was ruled from  1967 to 2005  by President Gnassingbé  EYADEMA .

In  1990 , the country entered the democratic era with the restoration of multiparty politics. Following the death of President  EYADEMA  in  2005 , presidential elections brought  Faure Essozimna GNASSINGBE to power . He was re-elected in  2010 ,  2015  and  2020 .

Culture & Belief

Togo is a mine of authentic traditions and cultures jealously preserved by the mosaic of ethnic groups who live there (Adja-Ewé, Kabyè-Tem, Para-Gourma, Akposso-Akébou, Ana-Ifè).

Togo offers a beautiful route along its 650 km, allowing visitors to discover the many ethnic groups that make it up and their unique traditions.

From the Ewé and Guin populations in the south, Ifè in the plateaus and Tem in the central region, passing through the Bassar, Kabyè and Tamberma of the Kara region to the Moba-Gourma of the far north, there are so many peoples who have remained deeply rooted in their traditions that Togo offers to discover.

On the religious level, the 2015 QUIBB survey reveals that 50.1% of the population are Christians, 19.2% are Muslims, 19.7% practice traditional religion, 8.7% are without religion, and the remainder constitutes 2.3% of other religions. Traditional religion links man and the forces of nature in a set of customs and rites. The supreme being, God, “Mawu or Esso,” can only be reached, according to traditional practices, by worshipping tutelary deities that can be animals or elements of nature such as water, wind, mountains, or trees. These religious practices aim to maintain or restore balance and harmony between all the forces of the universe.

They vary according to ethnic groups and regions but have in common the cult of ancestors and initiations as well as rites relating to life events and human activities, namely, birth, marriage, healing, death and life in the afterlife, hunting, sowing and harvesting.

In the south, Vodou is widely practiced, a cult linked to the worship of great spirits such as Hebiesso, Dan, Sakpata, Goun, Mami… The oracle “Fa” is also consulted. Vodou initiates speak a secret language and rigorously observe customs and taboos. During ceremonies, followers enter into trances and communicate with the spirits.

Travel agencies offer tours to Voodoo shrines to witness ceremonies involving songs, dances, and esoteric rites performed by priests and followers in their ceremonial attire.

The Magnificent Cities of Togo

With its words and wonders, the cities of Togo have everything to captivate its visitors.