Kumbo

Kumbo stands at around eighteen hundred metres on the Ring Road and is the seat of the Nso, one of the largest fondoms of the grassfields, with the Fon's palace at its centre and a set of societies and offices that continue to govern much of the community's life. The palace compound holds carved doorposts, meeting houses and a museum of Nso regalia. The event the town is known for is a horse race, run annually with riders from the fondom and its neighbours in traditional dress, which fills the town for days and is as much a display of the chieftaincy as a sporting occasion. The country around is high, cool and heavily farmed.

What you actually see

• The Nso palace compound - carved posts, meeting houses and regalia.
• The annual horse race - riders from the fondom and its neighbours.
• High farmed grassland - the country around the town at 1,800 metres.
• Nso societies and offices - the structures that run the fondom.

When to go

November to February in the dry season; the horse race falls once a year and fills the town. A day. Palace visits are arranged with a guide from the compound.

Honest expectations

Travel in the North-West has been restricted through several years of serious disruption; current official guidance and local advice both need checking before any trip is planned. Roads are rough and services limited.

Nearby

Bamenda is south-west; Nkambe lies north-east on the Ring Road.