Lamto Reserve

Lamto sits where the forest gives way to savanna on the Bandama, and a research station established here in 1962 has been recording the same plots ever since, producing one of the longest continuous ecological datasets in Africa: fire regimes, termite populations, tree encroachment and the whole savanna cycle measured year on year. There is also a geophysical observatory. Visits are arranged with the station rather than turned up for.

What you actually see

• The savanna plots - research ground recorded continuously since 1962.
• The forest-savanna edge - the transition the station was built to study.
• The termite mounds - a long-studied feature of the savanna system here.
• The geophysical observatory - the monitoring station on the same site.

When to go

November to March is the dry season and the practical window. Controlled burns happen in the dry season and are part of the research. Visits must be arranged in advance.

Honest expectations

This is a working research station, not a visitor attraction, and access depends on staff availability. There is no wildlife viewing to speak of. Accommodation is research quarters if anything.

Nearby

Toumodi is nearby, and Yamoussoukro is north.