The wonders of Tai National Park await us for an unparalleled safari. Established in 1973, Tai National Park covers an area of 350,000 ha and takes its name from the town of TAI. Tai National Park has been registered since 1978 as a Biosphere Reserve and since 1981 it has been classified as World Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. With nearly 140 species of mammals including 12 endemic, 240 species of birds and many species of insects, 1,800 plant species including 138 endemic, this park is endowed with extraordinary flora and fauna. It is home to pygmy hippos, elephants, red colobus, forest buffalo, a wide variety of primates and many more.

 

The magnificent seaside town of San Pedro will welcome us for a day of relaxation and tasting on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. Cradled by the Gulf of Guinea which offers its 150 kilometers of beach, San Pedro is the part of Côte d’Ivoire with the most beautiful beaches. San Pedro has an unparalleled seaside infrastructure and quality hotels. Beautiful romantic beaches where you can taste seafood and relax in wonderful surroundings await you.

 

We will go to discover the town of Soubré which is the capital of the Nawa region. This region is renowned for its cocoa production and also nicknamed “the new cocoa loop”. We will visit a cocoa plantation and the wonderful Nawa Falls.

 

The political capital of the country “Yamoussoukro” offers us several must-see attractions. We will visit Our Lady of Peace Basilica, the largest Christian religious building in the world, built between 1986 and 1989 on the model of St. Peter Basilica in Rome. It was inaugurated by Pope John Paul II in 1989; we will visit the FHB Foundation (Félix Houphouet-Boigny Foundation for peace research), created in 1973 and was at the origin of the international conference for peace, organized by UNESCO. The Crocodile Lake at the edge of the Presidential Palace shall be a must see attraction in this tour. Here, we find crocodiles that weigh up to one tone and measure almost 6 meters in length. We will then go to meet the Baoulé populations of the region and we will attend the performance of traditional dances with the use of masks as a central element. If time permits, we will meet the weavers of Bomizambo, it is a small village in the Yamoussoukro district where the art of weaving is passed down from generation to generation. This is where the traditional Baoulé waistcloths are made, which are among the most beautiful African fabrics.

 

The city tour of Abidjan will lead us to discover some attractions of the economic capital. We will visit the Museum of Civilizations, it is a State museum that was created in 1942 and which has a rich and varied museum collection estimated at 15,210 authentic pieces from all regions of the Ivory Coast. The museum’s collection is made up of various categories of objects. These are statues, masks, musical instruments, archaeological pieces, attributes of power, weights to weigh gold, everyday objects, adornments, photographs, slave shackles, doors sculptures, pottery, textiles etc. These objects retrace the history of the intermingling of Ivorian cultures and populations.