Dantokpa Market

Dantokpa spreads over some twenty hectares along the lagoon in Cotonou and is generally counted among the largest markets in West Africa, handling everything: wax print cloth by the bale, produce, electronics, hardware, livestock, and a fetish section selling the animal parts, powders and figures used in vodun practice. Traders come from across the region and the market has its own economy and its own rules.

What you actually see

• The cloth section - wax print traded by the bale, the market's best known trade.
• The fetish market - the vodun section selling animal parts, powders and figures.
• The lagoon frontage - the water the market runs along and receives goods across.
• The scale - some twenty hectares of trading ground.

When to go

November to February is the cool dry season. Mornings are busiest and least oppressive. It runs daily but is fullest on market days.

Honest expectations

It is crowded, hot and disorienting, and pickpocketing is a real risk. Photography, especially of the fetish section, causes serious offence and needs permission. Selling pressure is heavy.

Nearby

Cotonou's centre is around it, and the Fondation Zinsou is nearby.