Mount Manengouba Twin Lakes

Manengouba is an old volcano rising to around two thousand four hundred metres between the coastal lowlands and the western highlands, and inside its caldera lie two crater lakes a short walk apart, known locally as the male and the female: one deep, dark and steep-sided, the other shallower and green, with grassland around them and cattle and horses grazing the caldera floor. Traditions among the communities around the mountain attach meaning to each lake and to the mountain itself. The rim gives views down to the coastal plain on one side and across the grassfields on the other when cloud allows, which is not often. The climate up here is cool and wet.

What you actually see

• Two lakes of different character - the male and female crater lakes.
• The caldera floor - grassland grazed by cattle and horses.
• Views to coast and grassfields - the rim on clear days.
• Local traditions attached to the lakes - the meaning given to each.

When to go

November to February in the drier season; cloud sits on the mountain much of the year. A day. The track up needs four-wheel-drive and a guide from the villages is worth having.

Honest expectations

Cloud covers the caldera most days and views are often absent. The track up is rough and impassable when wet. It is cold and wet at altitude and visitors underdress. Facilities are nonexistent; bring everything.

Nearby

Melong is east; Mount Kupe lies south.