Tourou

Tourou lies high in the Mandara mountains near the Nigerian border, and the women of the village wear a headpiece found nowhere else: a calabash cut and shaped into a cap, painted in red, black and white in bands and patterns, worn over the hair and adjusted according to age and status. It is worn as everyday dress by older women rather than only for ceremony, though the practice has narrowed with time. The village itself is built into the rocks in the manner of the range, with dry stone terracing on the slopes and granaries among the houses, and the market day brings people down from the surrounding hills.

Highlights

• Painted calabash headpieces - the caps worn by women of the village.
• Houses built into the rocks - the Mandara building pattern.
• Dry stone terracing - the farmed slopes around the village.
• Market day - people coming in from the surrounding hills.

When to go

November to February, the cool dry season; market day is when the village is fullest. Half a day from Mokolo. A guide is needed and fees are agreed locally.

What to expect

Photographing women wearing the headpieces requires asking and payment, and refusing is their right. The track is rough.

Nearby

Mokolo is south-east; the Nigerian border lies west.