bike advocacy, bicycle tour, bicycle safety

Cameroon / Cameroun: Bicycle Tour Travel Guide
with links for Central Africa Republic, Chad and Congo

 

 


WE WOULD LOVE
YOUR SUPPORT!
Our content is
provided free as
a public service!

IBF is 100%
        solar powered


Follow us on Twitter

  

by David Mozer

[An introduction and overview to travel in Africa is available by clicking here.  If you are look for a bicycle tour to this country, this link might help you.]

The information below may have been extracted from a more comprehensive "Country Supplement" to the book "Bicycling In Africa".  For information on these publications click on the links.

Cameroon's moniker is "Africa In Microcosm." From the arid plains in the north to verdant mountains in the south it has an extraordinary amount of diversity. One aspect of Cameroon's diversity is over 220 ethnic groups. In a once over of northern Cameroon you will notice: Waza National Park (wildlife, and north of the park birds), Mora (Sunday market), Maroua (tree lined streets), Tourou (hike in the hills), Rhumsiki (local entrepreneurs will take you to stay in their village) and Garoua (the "big city"). Most people get from the north to the south by the train from Ngaoundere to Yaounde. Few travelers have found much to hold their attention in Yaounde or Douala (both are big cities with big city problems.) In the west there is the ocean at Limbe, climbing Mt. Cameroon (start from the mountain side town of Buea), spa towns, the "ring road" out of Bamenda and the cultural town of Foumban. Southeast Cameroon has more beaches and virgin forests that are home to the lowland gorillas and the pygmy ethnic group. This region also has the lowest density of services and lowest quality roads so it is the most challenging to travel through. In the end the best cycling is in the western and northern providence's of the country.

Although tourism is supposed to be welcomed and encouraged, there is an annoying low level of hassles. There are countless checkpoints along the roads, especially in the north. It is the only country that we know who checks you health card as well as your passport once you are in the country. Photography often becomes a problem ­­ pictures of seemingly innocuous subjects such as store fronts and agricultural land, have become absurd controversies.

Cameroon's political process has been in upheaval since the late 1980's. The citizens have demand a more democratic system and restoration of human rights. The president and military have resisted. This has led to periodic waves of strikes and violence in all sections of the country. The government stages a rigged election and has general intimidated, harassed, arrested and assassinated the opposition. While the country goes through quiet periods it is a fascinating destination, but, there is still a lot of discontent in some districts, which can spill out on short notice.

Links of Interest:

 

Regional Resources:

Niger
 Nigeria
 Uganda
 Zaire
 
 

 

For current news on Africa and more web sites with country-by-country information go to the link section and click on "Africa: News, Background, Travel."

Africa Guide Home   IBF's Bibliography: Africa   IBF's Travel Page   IBF's Africa index 

Home | About Us | Contact Us | Contributions | Economics | Education | Encouragement | Engineering | Environment | Bibliography | Essay Contest | Ibike Tours | Library | Links | Site Map | Search

The International Bicycle Fund is an independent, non-profit organization. Its primary purpose is to promote bicycle transportation. Most IBF projects and activities fall into one of  four categories: planning and engineering, safety education, economic development assistance and promoting international understanding. IBF's objective is to create a sustainable, people-friendly environment by creating opportunities of the highest practicable quality for bicycle transportation. IBF is funded by private donation. Contributions are always welcome and are U.S. tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Please write if you have questions, comment, criticism, praise or additional information for us, to report bad links, or if you would like to be added to IBF's mailing list. (Also let us know how you found this site.)

"Hosted by DreamHost - earth friendly web hosting"
Created by David Mozer.
Copyright ? 1995-2024 International Bicycle Fund. All rights reserved.