Lake Togo
A shallow lagoon lake east of Lomé, crossed by pirogue to Togoville, the village that gave the country its name.
- Arrival
- Lomé Gnassingbé Eyadéma · LFW
- To the lake
- About 30 km east of Lomé on the N2
- Private jets
- At Lomé, handling agent compulsory
- Best time
- November to February
The city
Pirogues to Togoville.
Lake Togo is the largest part of a lagoon system of some 64 square kilometres, fresh and shallow, and kept from the Atlantic by a thin bar of sand. Pirogues still carry people between the villages on its shores.
Togoville lies across the water from the southern shore. Here, on 5 July 1884, chief Mlapa III signed a protectorate treaty with the German envoy Gustav Nachtigal, and the country took the village's name. On the southern shore, Agbodrafo keeps a house that recalls the slave trade on this coast. Plan on a day out from Lomé, between November and February.
- Togoville The treaty village, reached by pirogue, with its cathedral of Notre-Dame du Lac from 1910.
- Wood Home, Agbodrafo The Maison des Esclaves, kept as a memorial to the slave trade in the region.
- The lake by pirogue Wooden canoes that have long linked the villages, and still take visitors over to Togoville.
Arriving
Lomé airport, then east along the coast.
Lomé's international airport lies about 24 kilometres from the lake as the crow flies. The N2 coast road towards Benin leads east to Agbodrafo, where the pirogues wait.
- Accra 35 min
- Lagos 40 min
- Cairo 5 h 40
- Dubai 8 h 10 long-range jet
- Toronto 11 h 40 long-range jet
When to go
November to February.
These are Lomé's averages, from the coast nearby. Days stay between 28 and 32 °C all year. Rain comes in two seasons, the heavier one in May and June, and January is the driest month with about 13 mm.
- 31° J 13
- 32° F 43
- 32° M 96
- 32° A 132
- 31° M 169
- 29° J 240
- 28° J 102
- 28° A 49
- 29° S 102
- 30° O 122
- 31° N 55
- 31° D 23
Where to stay
In Lomé, along the coast to the west.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
-
Hôtel 2 Février Togo's only five-star hotel in the national register, a 102-metre tower with the Songhai pan-Asian restaurant.
-
Hôtel Sarakawa A beach hotel on the Boulevard du Mono with tennis courts and horses to ride.
Where to dine
The nearest good table.
There is no high-end restaurant by the lake. Songhai, the fine-dining restaurant of Lomé’s five-star hotel, is the nearest we can confirm.
- Songhai Signature restaurant, Hôtel 2 Février Pan-Asian Hôtel 2 Février, Lomé, about 30 km
Flying to Lake Togo?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.