My roommate Jyoti is leaving soon, and we want to visit more of Togo while she is still here. So, after hearing good reviews from Togolese friends and Iris, we wanted to go and see a place called ” Kpalimé.”
We were told that Kpalimé is a gorgeous place in forested hills surrounded by cocoa trees. We are sad that Iris is not joining us as she has visited Kpalimé already. However, there has been a massive advantage of having Iris around. For the starter: 1) She knows French. 2) She can bargain with shopkeepers and get us reasonable rates. 3) She knows local people (she has connections). 4) She is a great protector. 5) She has beauty products and facemasks. 6) Great French teacher. Jokes aside: She is a great friend, and we both are so grateful that she is here with us!
So how did two Nepalese girls with ZERO French get to Kpalimé?
One of our Togolese interns (kekeli) is from the Kpalimé region. Although unfortunately, he couldn’t come with us because of his commitment; instead, he asked his sister to accompany us. So we hired a car for a day and went on a fantastic trip to Kpalimé. We stopped by a small hut to taste local wine on our way there.
I hate to say that this picture is very misleading and funny even. Kids here like to run around naked, and it’s not a big deal! It’s called being comfortable in your skin! Okay, to the topic now, these two are siblings, and their parents have decent earnings by selling fruits, vegetables and homemade wine. That drink was a strong, strong odour but was tasty!! Jyoti even bought two bottles and supported this family!
This family also gave an alcoholic drink to our driver as a welcome gesture which is very casual in this country. There are no traffic police, no rules on wearing seatbelts; people have far worse things to worry about here! Although even our driver had a few glasses of alcohol (I don’t know how much), he did drive us to Kpalimé and back to Lomé in one piece.
The reviews and rumours were genuine. Kpalimé indeed is so beautiful, scenic and surrounded by lush greenery. After living in 40 degrees heat in Lomé, I felt like Kpalimé was a different country. The atmosphere was chilled, the environment was clean, and people were so relaxed and laid back.
To get to this waterfall, we had to pay the admission fee to the Association Akatamanso at the entrance of the village of Womé. This is one of the great attractions in Kpalimé; however, the waterfall was not as gigantic as I heard because of the dry season. Dismal but exciting- the way to the waterfall itself was a beautiful experience.
After visiting an iconic waterfall, we all were starving at this point. We wanted to try an authentic Kpalimé dish, so we headed to the market. We were recommended to try a la pâte (food made with maize), a popular dish in West Africa. This dish can be served with a stew (fish, chicken) or eaten with a dipping sauce. To my surprise, I enjoyed la pâte with chicken stew.
Kpalimé lies close to the Ghanaian border; hence, you can find a mix of both Togolese and Ghanaian merchants. We went to the local markets and bought some souvenirs from Kpalimé.
After our quick souvenir shopping, we went for a small hike towards Kikele’s village before it got completely dark. Usually, it sunsets around 18:00 here in Togo. kekeli’s sister was kind enough to show us her home town, and she even took us to the cocoa and coffee forest.
Togo has the highest mountain called Mt Agou (986m) in Kpalimé. It’s best to take a local with you because it’s a long hike (which we didn’t make to the top) as it was already getting dark, and we were also exhausted. It is advised to go for a hike early in the morning to get the best out of it.
