Experience the best of Yaoundé

Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, is built across a scatter of low hills on a plateau at over 700 metres in the south of the country, where rainforest meets savannah. Often described as a city of seven hills, it is quieter and greener than Douala, with tree-lined avenues, government buildings and busy neighbourhood markets.

The National Museum, in the former presidential palace, shows masks, sculpture and royal regalia from across Cameroon. Mont Fébé rises above the city with a monastery and a lookout over the rooftops. The Reunification Monument marks the joining of the British and French Cameroons, and the Mvog-Betsi zoo and wildlife sanctuary shelters apes and other animals.

Koki, a steamed pudding of black-eyed peas, mbongo tchobi, a fish stew in a spicy black sauce, and roasted fish with bobolo, sticks of fermented cassava, are typical meals. Yaoundé has two rainy seasons, one from about March to June and one from September to November, with drier spells in between.