Maroua

Maroua lies on the Diamare plain in the far north with the Mandara mountains rising to the west, a town of low buildings along the sandy bed of the Kaliao river, shaded by neem trees, and it is the administrative centre of the region. Its craft quarter is well established: leather workers making bags, sandals and cushions, embroiderers, smiths, weavers and dyers, working in small compounds and selling from a covered market that has been the main place to buy northern craft in Cameroon for decades. The market days bring people in from across the plain and the mountains, and the dress and languages of several communities are visible in the same street.

What you actually see

• The artisan quarter - leather work, embroidery, smithing and weaving.
• The craft market - the main place for northern craft in the country.
• The Kaliao riverbed - the sandy channel through the town under neem trees.
• Market day crowds - communities coming in from plain and mountains.

When to go

November to February, the cool dry season; from March the heat becomes extreme. A day, or as a base. Market days are the fullest.

Honest expectations

Significant security restrictions have applied to the Far North in recent years; current official guidance and local advice both need checking before any travel here is planned. Heat outside the cool months is severe. Craft sellers are persistent and prices are negotiated hard.

Nearby

Mindif is south-east; the Mandara mountains rise west.