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 Cameroon
Travel Tips |
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A collection
of important information that can make your trip more enjoyable.
| HISTORY |
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Throughout history the region witnessed numerous invasions and migrations by various ethnic groups, especially by the Fulani, Hausa, Fang, and Kanuri. Contact with Europeans began in 1472, when the Portuguese reached the Wuori River estuary, and a large-scale slave trade ensued, carried on by the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, French, and English. In the 19th cent., palm oil and ivory became the main items of commerce. The British established commercial hegemony over the coast in the early 19th cent., and British trading and missionary outposts appeared in the 1850s; but the English were supplanted by the Germans, who in 1884 signed a treaty with the Douala people along the Wuori estuary and proclaimed the area a protectorate.
The Germans began constructing the port of Douala and then advanced into the interior, where they developed plantations and built roads and bridges. An additional area was acquired from France in 1911 as compensation for the surrender of German rights in Morocco. Two years later, German control over the Muslim north was consolidated. French and British troops occupied the region during World War I.
After the war the area ceded in 1911 was rejoined to French Equatorial Africa, and in 1919 the remainder of Cameroon was divided into French and British zones, which became League of Nations mandates. Little social or political progress was made in either area, and French labor practices were severely criticized. Both mandates, however, remained loyal to the Allies in World War II. In 1946 they became UN trust territories. In the 1950s, guerrilla warfare raged in the French Cameroons, instigated by the nationalist Union of the Peoples of the Cameroons, which demanded immediate independence and union with the British Cameroons. France granted self-government to the French Cameroons in 1957 and internal autonomy in 1959. |
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| CLIMATE OF CAMEROON |
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The southern and northern regions of the country are two distinct climatic areas. On the coast, the average annual rainfall ranges between 250 and 400 cm (100 and 160 in); in the inland south, between 150 and 250 cm (60 and 100 in). The western slopes of Mt. Cameroon receive 600 to 900 cm (240 to 350 in) a year. The mean temperature ranges from 22° to 29°C (72° to 84°F) along the coast. In the south there are two dry seasons, November to March and June to August. The northern part of the country has a more comfortable climate. Total rainfall drops from 150 cm (60 in) a year in the central plateau to 60 cm (24 in) northward near Lake Chad, and the mean temperature ranges from 23° to 26°C (73° to 79°F), although it can reach 50°C (122°F) in the far north. The dry season in the north is from October to March. |
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| ECONOMY |
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Cameroon has a rich and diversified commodity-based economy. Agriculture was the sole engine of growth and foreign-exchange earnings until the late 1970s when oil became the primary engine of growth.
Food and export crops, livestock, fishing and forestry are the mainstay of the economy, accounting for about 29% of GDP, employing some 50% of the active population, and generating more than half of total export earnings. The petroleum and manufacturing sectors represent 20% of GDP. Of this the oil sector accounts for less than 5% of GDP but contributes 35% of government revenue and export receipts. Its contribution, however, is expected to diminish sharply in the next decade as most of the oilfields have started to mature. The secondary sector contributes 31% of GDP and employs 15% of the population.
Cameroon is the most important market in the Communauté économique et monétaire de l'Afrique centrale (CEMAC), accounting for nearly half of the GDP. |
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| LAND AND RESOURCES |
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Cameroon has four distinct topographical regions. In the south is a coastal plain, a region of dense equatorial rain forests. In the center is the Adamawa Plateau, a region with elevations reaching about 1,370 m (about 4,500 ft) above sea level. This is a transitional area where forest gives way in the north to savanna country. In the far north the savanna gradually slopes into the marshland surrounding Lake Chad. In the west is an area of high, forested mountains of volcanic origin. Located here is Cameroon Mountain (4,095 m/13,435 ft), the highest peak in western Africa and an active volcano. The country’s most fertile soils are found in this region. Among the principal streams, the Sanaga and Nyong rivers flow generally west to the Atlantic Ocean, and the Mbere and Logone rivers flow north from the central plateau into Lake Chad. A network of rivers in the Chad Basin, including the Benue River, links the country with the vast Niger River system to the east and north.
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| PEOPLE |
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Cameroon's estimated 250 ethnic groups form five large regional-cultural groups: western highlanders (or grassfielders), including the Bamileke, Bamoun, and many smaller entities in the northwest (est. 38% of population); coastal tropical forest peoples, including the Bassa, Douala, and many smaller entities in the Southwest (12%); southern tropical forest peoples, including the Ewondo, Bulu, and Fang (all Beti subgroups), Maka and Pygmies (officially called Bakas) (18%); predominantly Islamic peoples of the northern semi-arid regions (the Sahel) and central highlands, including the Fulani, also known as Peuhl in French (14%); and the 'Kirdi', non-Islamic or recently Islamic peoples of the northern desert and central highlands (18%).
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The people concentrated in the southwest and northwest provinces--around Buea and Bamenda--use standard English and 'pidgin,' as well as their local languages. In the three northern provinces--Adamaoua, North, and Far North--French and Fulfulde, the language of the Fulani, are widely spoken. Elsewhere, French is the principal language, although pidgin and some local languages such as Ewondo, the dialect of a Beti clan from the Yaounde area, also are widely spoken. Although Yaounde is Cameroon's capital, Douala is the largest city, main seaport, and main industrial and commercial center. |
The western highlands are the most fertile in Cameroon and have a relatively healthy environment in higher altitudes. This region is densely populated and has intensive agriculture, commerce, cohesive communities, and historical emigration pressures. From here, Bantu migrations into eastern, southern, and central Africa are believed to have originated about 2,000 years ago. Bamileke people from this area have in recent years migrated to towns elsewhere in Cameroon, such as the coastal provinces, where they form much of the business community. About 20,000 non-Africans, including more than 6,000 French and 2,400 U. S. citizens, reside in Cameroon.
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| SPORT & ACTIVITIES |
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Wildlife: There are seven national parks and several reserves, which offer excellent opportunities to see some of the richest flora and fauna in Africa. Antelopes, hartebeest, warthogs and lions are amongst the species inhabiting the parks, and there are also numerous types of birds. For further information, contact the Embassy/High Commission (see Contact Addresses section).
Photo safaris: A range of tours including photo safaris are organised by the Ministry of Tourism (see Contact Addresses section): a seven- to 10-day tour of northern Cameroon sets out from Ngaoundéré and includes sports activities at Ngaoundaba Ranch, safari photography at Bénoué and Waza National Parks, visits to Garoua, the volcanic landscapes of Rhumsiki, the traditional village of Oudjila, the Maga Dam and a crafts workshop at Maroua,before returning to Garoua. An organised tour of western Cameroon and the Bamileke region sets out from Douala and includes visits to Nkongsamba coffee plantations, Batié and Dschang mountain towns, and Foumban with its museums of arts, crafts and culture, before returning to Douala.
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Hiking and trekking: Mount Cameroon, the highest mountain in West Africa and Africa’s highest active volcano, is a popular mountaineering destination. No special equipment is required but permits and guides are compulsory. The climb to the summit takes approximately three to four days; huts are available en route for accommodation. The best time to attempt the climb is in the dry season, between November and May. In Mindif, a park south of the northern town of Maroua, there is a huge rock known as Le Dent de Mindif, which is highly regarded for rock climbing. For those favouring really strenuous exercise, an international marathon is held annually at the mountain. Favourite hiking areas include the northern region near Mora (not far from the Nigerian border) and the highland area around Bamenda in the southwest. The Mandara Mountains west of Maroua are a good area for trekking. A permit is not required, but it is advisable to take a guide. A variety of trails, featuring coastal terrain, a focus on biodiversity, adventure or riverside terrain, are offered by Jungle Village in Limbe Botanic Gardens. |
Other: Fishing is good in many rivers and coastal areas. Swimming in the sea and swimming pools of luxury hotels, which generally also have tennis courts, is available. A golf course is available to hotel residents in Yaoundé. Football is a very popular spectator sport.
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| EDUCATION |
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Education is free in state schools and compulsory between ages 6 and 12. Government funds are available to mission and private schools. Most secondary schools have been made bilingual, with instruction in both French and English. Working alongside the public schools are the missionary schools, which have been extremely important in the history of Cameroonian education. As of 1999, public expenditure on education was estimated at 2.6% of GDP.
In 1997 a total of 1,921,186 pupils were attending 8,514 primary schools, with 39,384 teachers. The pupil-teacher ratio at the primary level was 69 to 1 as of 1999. At the secondary level in 1994–95, 459,068 students were enrolled in general education, with 14,917 teachers. Children go through six years of primary schooling followed by four years of secondary at the first stage and three years at the second. Projected adult illiteracy rate for the year 2000 stands at 24.6% (males, 18.2%; females, 30.8%).
There are two universities in the capital, in addition to those in Dschang, Nhaoundere, Duala and Buea. At Yaoundé University (founded in 1962) and other equivalent institutions, there were more than 33,000 students and over 1,000 instructors in the mid-1990s. There are faculties of science, law and economics, and arts at Yaoundé, which maintains four regional campuses. Higher institutions attached to the university include the University Health Sciences Center, the Higher School of Sciences and Techniques of Information, the Institute of International Relations, the Advanced Teachers Training College, and the Polytechnic School. There is also a national school of public administration and an institute of business administration.
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 AFFORDABLE
HOTELS IN CAMEROON
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