Bassar

Bassar in northwestern Togo sits in country that has smelted iron for over a thousand years, with slag heaps and furnace remains across the hills around it from an industry that supplied a large part of West Africa before imported metal arrived. The Bassar people kept the knowledge and some demonstration smelting still happens. The yam festival in September is the town's main event. Iron from here was traded across a wide area of West Africa and the industry survived until imported metal undercut it in the twentieth century.

What you actually see

• The slag heaps - the remains of a thousand years of iron smelting.
• The furnace sites - the working places in the hills around the town.
• The yam festival - the September celebration of the harvest.
• The Bassar country - the hills the industry was worked across.

When to go

November to March is the dry season. The yam festival falls in September. Demonstration smelting happens on no fixed schedule.

Honest expectations

The archaeological sites are unmarked and a guide is needed. Demonstration smelting is arranged rather than scheduled. Facilities in the town are basic.

Nearby

Sokodé is east, and Kara is northeast.