Kandi
Spoil yourself by hiring a private jet to fly you 400km or drive along the north-south highway from the developed city of Cotonou to the national airport the market town of Kandi. Primarily a farming centre, Kandi was originally founded by the Dendi Kingdom. The town is the capital of the department of Alibori and the estimated population is 117,304.e surrounded villages are Mokole Yoruba, who fled the wars of the foundation of the Oyo Kingdom.
The surrounding countryside is Bariba. Most of these farming communities practice voodoo which is a belief that all life is driven by spiritual forces of natural phenomena such as water, fire, earth and air. Rituals such as animal sacrifices honoured thse spiritual forces and there is very little witchcraft involved. Voodoo followers acknowledge the existence of both a supreme being along with smaller gods which can intercede with the supreme being on behalf of humans and this religion is one of the things that sets places like Kandi apart from the West where organised religion plays a major role.
A visit to this market town will reveal many artefacts and voodoo objects along with interesting tales by the locals and a friendliness that you will not find in the bigger cities. There is unspoilt natural beauty compared with bigger town where the concrete jungle has take over in a cloud of pollution. The only cloud hanging over you may be the smoke from a camp fire after some story telling that will make the best memories.
