WESTERN AFRICA is home to stunning landscapes and inhabited by peoples of an astonishing diversity; this is the perfect destination to explore the expanse of rich culture and resonant tradition found on this immensely beautiful continent.

Unlike in much of the continent, many of Western Africa’s countries are compact, meaning it’s possible to travel overland between two—or even three—different countries in a single, two-week trip. However, their diminutive size does not make these nations any less diverse; Western Africa encompasses both Francophone and Anglophone nations, with the addition of hundreds of tribal languages spoken between them. It also stretches from the arid Sahel, at the Sahara’s edge, through monkey-filled forests all the way to the Atlantic.

Western Africa is a place where darkness and light sit side-by-side, balancing, complementing, and creating an intriguing mix of culture and history that fascinates travelers. Its grim origins of slavery trade contrast with its vibrant contemporary cultures–all singing, all dancing, draped in a rainbow of wax print cloth. The mysteriousness of voodoo stands amid stunning tropical landscapes – wild beaches, ancient rainforest, and sun-baked dunes.

It could be the animistic, the romance of the Sahel nomads, the unsettling voodoo carvings, or the sense of venturing into Africa’s cultural heart, but Western Africa has a sense of magic that a few other places can rival.