AIESEC help guide for Cameroon. AFRICA IN ME TEAM

1. WEST AFRICA: CAMEROON
Capital:
Largest city:
Languages:
Demonym:
Currency:
Calling code:
Yaoundé
Douala
French and english
Cameroonian
Central African CFA franc (XAF)
+237
At 475,442 square kilometres (183,569 sq mi), Cameroon is the world’s
53rd-largest country. It is comparable in size to Papua New Guinea and
somewhat larger than the U.S. state of California. The country is located
in Central and West Africa on the Bight of Bonny, part of the Gulf of
Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. Cameroon lies between latitudes 1° and
13°N, and longitudes 8° and 17°E.
Tourist literature describes Cameroon as “Africa in miniature” because
it exhibits all major climates and vegetation of the continent: coast, desert, mountains, rainforest, and savanna. The country’s neighbours are
Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic
to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south.
RhUmSIkI PEAk IN CAmEROON’S ExTREmE NORTh PROvINCE.
FLAG OF CAmERRON
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2. WEST AFRICA: CAMEROON
“Africa in miniature”, offers all the diversity of Africa—in climate, culture, and geography—within its borders.
Cameroon’s tourist destinations are in four general areas:
The coast, The major cities, The Western highlands and the North.
The coast offers two major beach resort towns:
Limbe is english-speaking with black, volcanic sand; and
Kribi is a French-speaking city with white-sand beaches.
Mount Cameroon on the coast is the highest mountain in Central and West
Africa. The stepping-off point for climbing Mt. Cameroon is the city of Buea.
Yaoundé is home to most of Cameroon’s national monuments. It also has several
museums. The Western highlands offer picturesque mountain scenery, waterfalls
and lakes, and the altitude provides a cooler climate.
Bamenda is the main city in the western highlands, and is the capital of the Northwest province. This area is known for its traditional culture and crafts.
The city of Bafoussam is especially famous for its wood-carving culture and artifacts.
In fact, the area produces more crafts than any other in Cameroon.
The West is also home to traditional chiefdoms and fondoms, such as the sultanate
of Foumban. each chief typically has his own palace or compound which visitors
may visit for a fee.
Cameroon’s north is the nation’s primary tourist draw. The area has several wildlife
reserves, including the largest and best-run in West Africa, Waza National Park.
These parks offer both animal viewing and big-game hunting. Animals in this region
include cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, hippopotami, and rhinoceroses. Maroua offers
a large crafts market and museums.
The Adamawa, east, and south provinces offer a new front for expansion of the
tourist industry, but poor transport conditions keep the industry small in these regions. Forest reserves in the south have little tourist-oriented infrastructure, but visitors there may see chimpanzees, elephants, gorillas, and other rainforest fauna.
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