Atakpamé

Atakpamé is built across a set of hills in central Togo on the main road north, one of the country's larger towns and a centre for the Ana and Ewe communities of the region, with a market that draws the surrounding farmland and a run of German colonial buildings from the period when this was a district centre. Cotton and cocoa move through it. The hills give it a cooler feel than the coast. The town sits at around four hundred metres, which is enough to take the edge off the coastal humidity.

What you actually see

• The hill setting - a town built across several ridges.
• The market - the trading centre for the central region.
• The German buildings - the colonial-period fabric surviving in the town.
• The road position - the main junction on the route north.

When to go

November to March is the dry season. The rains run April to July and September to October. Market days are busiest.

Honest expectations

There is little arranged for visitors and the town is a working centre. Facilities are basic. The colonial buildings are in mixed repair.

Nearby

Notsé is south, and Sokodé is north.