Hippos and elephants at the Pendjari National Park

A small group of hippos is resting in the water on the opposite shore of the small lake in the Pendjari National Park in Benin, their nostrils flaring open, ears twitching occasionally, annoyed with insects. They seem to be standing very close to each other, like in a bathtub slightly too small for such a weighty group of bathing guests.

A bit nearer towards us, fast ripples indicate a more agile swimmer. A crocodile is moving past the hippo group. Indeed, now that we look closer, there are a few more of them in the water. A number of wading birds are standing in the shallow waters. They seem quite unimpressed, just like the guinea fowls on the opposite shore. An osprey is watching the lake silently, perched on the highest branch in the surrounding trees. Our viewing platform is rather open, not a concealed observation stand – but the animals don’t seem to mind.

We are travelling in the core area of one of West Africa’s best and most well-known National Parks. Pendjari National Park, in Northern Benin along the border of Burkina Faso, covers an area of 2755 square kilometers. It is home to lions, leopards, and cheetahs, the largest population of elephants in West Africa, and numerous rare and threatened species. Together with two nearby National Parks of Niger and Burkina Faso it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage list as a World Natural Heritage site.

A baby hippo and some wart hogs

There’s a baby hippo next to one of the larger ones, and we would be content to linger for a while and watch the events at the lake. But Malick, our guide, is urging us to move on. After all, we started at 5 am from the small town of Tanguieta in order to get into the core area early. At this time the animals are still active before the midday heat.

From the roof of the tourist 4×4, we scan the dry Savannah landscape for animals. Most of the time, of course, Malick is the first to point somewhere in the distance. He spots Bushbuck gazelles, warthogs, buffaloes or the huge horse antelopes.

We see several groups of elephants, and although they stay in a distance in the high Savannah grass, we find their immense ears quite impressive. After all, the elephants we have seen so far on our travels have been Indian elephants, with smaller ears.

Lions and baby warthogs

There are a lot of birds around, too, but the animals we see most are baboons and gazelles.

“The lions don’t like chasing gazelles, because they are very fast. And then they don’t even make a full meal – lions prefer the larger antelopes”.

This explains why there are so many gazelles although the lion population is quite large (around 70 animals). Even tourists stand a good chance to spot a lion during the visit (the leopards, by contrast are very rare). However, chances increase if you stay overnight inside the park and go on a safari in the core zone at dawn or dusk. We were at the park gate at 6.30, which is opening time.

From there it is was an hour’s drive through a buffer zone where hunting is allowed and animals are difficult to spot, to get into the core zone. Lions are thus the only animals we don’t spot on this visit which tourists could normally hope to see. We meet an Austrian family who had spent the night in the Park and who promptly relate their own lion sighting: With a baby warthog in his teeth! Like in a comic-book! Ok, nature can be mean to baby warthogs.

Day excursion or overnight trip to the Pendjari National Park?

We had considered a two-day excursion to the Pendjari Park in order to increase the chances of a lion sighting. But after some deliberation we decided against it. Apart from the time and expense for staying overnight, what made us reluctant was our experience from previous travels. We know by now that we tend to get bored easily even with the most exciting animals: “Oh, another crocodile?” “Oh, yes, look, some warthogs again – cute.”

And although we think it would be appropriate to appreciate these wild animals more, we are indeed quite content when the sun becomes hotter to leave the park. On the way back we stop at a nearby waterfall for a bit of rest and a splash in the lake.

Is Pendjari National Park worth travelling to?

We were surprised how many animals there were in the park and how easyily they could be spotted. The landscape was also pleasant. Although we were there during the tourist peak in the dry season, we only saw two other parties of visitors during the whole day. The Pendjari Park ist a very natural park with low tourist impact, and definitely worthwhile.

How to organise a trip to Pendjari National?

For a one-day excursion, like we did, it is best to arrange the visit from Tanguieta. Tanguieta is a small town in Northern Benin, at least a full day by bus from Cotonou. This was a rather natural stop on our way from Southern Benin to Burkina Faso.

We stayed in the Hotel Baobab, mentioned in all our travel guidebooks. From there it was quite easy to arrange for a qualified guide for the next day. Rates for the 4×4 and guide are fixed, apparently. Going from Tanguieta we were quoted 70,000 CFA from several sides, and this was not negotiable. If you want to spend several days, the trip can be arranged just as well from the larger town of Natitingou for slightly more. The park entrance fees, which have to be added to the car hire, are rather moderate. When we went it was 10,000 CFA per person / day plus 3000 CFA for the car/day.

We were not sponsored in any way for this trip to the Pendjari National Park. Naturally, we paid ourselves for the visit and all related costs. We organised the visit with a tour guide recommended by Baobab Hotel in Tanguieta.