Cameroon: when the Far North does not benefit from “the most beautiful landscapes in the world”

The Far North Cameroon region has six departments spread over an area of ​​34,246 km²: Diamaré, Logone-et-Chari, Mayo-Danay, Mayo-Kani, Mayo-Sava and Mayo-Tsanaga. Maroua, its capital, is located approximately 1,310 kilometers from Yaoundé.

The Far North region is one of the most visited regions of Cameroon thanks to its tourist potential such as the Waza national park created in 1934 which is a hunting reserve, La Dent de Mindif, the village cosmopolitan Pouss, the hippo lake of Maga and the Rhumsiki villages which present camps of fabulous beauty. The writer and explorer André Gide wrote that the landscapes of Rhumsiki are “among the most beautiful landscapes in the world» fascinated as he was by the artisans, blacksmiths, potters, spinners, weavers and traditional dancers.

Alongside these sites classified as UNESCO intangible heritage, there are others which deserve to be valued provided they are developed. The Meri cave, in the Diamaré department, about forty kilometers from the town of Maroua, is full of mysterious stories. Godola Avaï, the 2nd degree traditional chief of this locality speaks about it, “At the risk of suffering serious reprisals, the boys and girls of our village are forbidden from recounting the details of our rituals around this cave which represents a lot for our habits and customs. As a leader, I can tell you that it is certainly a site of attraction, but it is forbidden for any foreign or uninitiated person to get too close to this cave.», he declares before concluding that every year, the people with ancestral powers slaughter sheep and oxen as sacrifices.

The commune of Meri generally presents a landscape worthy of the best recreational places in the world with stone mountains and its very attractive environment. Tourism professionals are calling on the government to invest in such projects in order to encourage the development of these isolated localities.