Kahate, male initiation in Casamance, diola culture
Kahate, male initiation in Casamance, diola culture Our journey in Casamance continues to delve into the Diola culture. We are immersed in this second edition of the “African Deep Roots 2026”, a special journey through West Africa in search of the initiation rituals that happen at this time of the year. After the impressive Karahay […]
Karahay (Karahaye), the initiation ritual of the diola women of Casamance
Karahay (Karahaye), the initiation ritual of the diola ajamat women of Casamance Our journey in Senegal continues through the Casamance region, land of the Diola people. We are immersed in this second edition of the “African Deep Roots 2026”, a special journey through West Africa in search of the initiation rituals that happen at this […]
Nuestra última expedición al macizo de Tibesti, el techo del Sahara
Volvimos al macizo de Tibesti en enero 2026, el techo del Sahara Tras cuatro años sin viajar a Tibesti, este enero 2026 volvimos a recorrer la más remota región del desierto del Sahara. Una expedición compuesta por 17 viajeros internacionales, 6 conductores y 6 vehículos 4×4 y 3 cocineros. Esta vez, la expedición transcurrió tranquila […]
Trip to southern Angola, Namib Desert and ancestral villages
Trip to southern Angola: Namib desert Our trip to southern Angola began in Luanda, Angola’s capital and a very clear reflection of the rapid evolution of this country. A former Portuguese colony, it gained independence in 1975, but immediately became embroiled in a civil war that lasted more than 25 years and deeply marked the […]
Gerewol of the Wodaabe in Chad, the feast of the most beautiful people in the world
Gerewol of the Wodaabe in Chad, the feast of the most beautiful people in the world Just south of the Sahara is one of the most enigmatic and interesting peoples of Africa: the Wodaabe (Mbororo). The Wodaabe are a subgroup of the Fulani (or Peul), an ethnic group that can be found in practically all […]
Kumakonda 2026 program: one more year on the road in Africa
Kumakonda 2026 program: one more year on the road in Africa Every year we return to Africa. Not because it is an inexhaustible destination -which it is-, but because it is a living, changing, unpredictable territory. The routes we traveled a decade ago are different today. The people, the markets, the celebrations, even the roads, […]
The gorilla village in Congo, Imbalanga Bai in Odzala Kokoua
The gorilla village in Congo, Imbalanga Bai in Odzala Kokoua After several trips to the Republic of Congo, finally this past December 2025 we visited for the first time the Odzala Kokoua National Park. It was an unscheduled visit within our “Jungle Expedition” trip, in which we traveled overland Central African Republic, Congo and Gabon. […]
Trip to the Comoros Islands: authenticity, culture, gastronomy and natural paradise
Trip to the Comoros Islands: authenticity, culture, gastronomy and natural paradise We have just finished our first trip to the Comoros Islands, an unknown destination where we arrived with few expectations but with the illusion of getting to know a new African country. But surprise, we loved it! If I had to highlight one of […]
Travel to Eritrea, the sweet horn of Africa
Traveling to Eritrea is not the African North Korea that some say it is. Text and photography by Morgan Painter Hatch As soon as I arrived in Eritrea, I had a wonderful feeling: tranquility, stability and a strange sense of well-being. I didn’t quite know what to expect, especially since many people on the Internet […]
Gerewol 2025 in Chad, the beauty of the Wodaabe people
Our last trip to Chad’s Gerewol in October 2025 Our last trips to the Wodaabe Gerewol in Chad this past October 2025 were a truly exceptional experience for the Kumakonda team and our travelers. We can assure you that they have been the best Gerewol of these 8 years of continuous work in Chad. As […]
Tadrart Rouge: the red treasure of the Algerian desert
Tadrart Rouge: the red treasure of the Algerian desert In the heart of the Algerian Sahara, southeast of Djanet, stands one of the most impressive jewels of the desert: the Tadrart Rouge. This magical spot, whose name means “the red mountain” in the Tuareg language, is a veritable open-air natural museum where rock, sand and […]
Tassili n’Ajjer, a jewel of the Sahara desert in southern Algeria
Tassili n’Ajjer, jewel of the Sahara desert in southern Algeria This past October 2025 we took a trip in Kumakonda to the Algerian jewels of the Tassili n’Ajjer (plateau, Tadrart Rouge and northwest region), traveling through some of the most impressive and culturally rich landscapes of the Sahara. Their combination of rock art, geological formations […]
Bwiti night, exploring Gabon’s traditional culture
Bwiti night, exploring Gabon’s traditional culture In the Gabonese night there is an initiatory world that never sleeps. It is the world of the Bwiti. On this last trip to Gabon in June 2025 I have had the opportunity to have been introduced a little more to this complex set of rituals and secret initiatory […]
The Langoue Bai and the Kongou falls in Ivindo, trip to Gabon
The Langoue Bai and the Kongou falls in Ivindo, trip to Gabon On our last trip to Gabon in June 2025 we visited two of the wildest and most beautiful places in the country, the Langoue Bai and the Kongou falls in the Ivindo National Park. Situated in the centre-east of Gabon and crossed by […]
Congo visa (DRC) and tourist deportations by DGM
Congo visa (DRC) and tourist deportations by DGM In the middle of this past April 2025 we had to cancel “insitu” our trip through the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo because we were deported out of the country by the DGM (Direction Generale des Migrations) when we landed at the Kinshasa airport. […]
The Sudd, chronicles of a journey to South Sudan via the White Nile
The Sudd, South Sudan’s White Nile Expedition The Sudd (Bahr al Jabal) of South Sudan, a vast and remote region on the map still somewhat unknown. Before we set off we had no news (at least online) that any group of travellers had made this great journey in its entirety before, at least in the […]
Gerewol of Niger vs Gerewol of Chad
Gerewol of Niger vs Gerewol of Chad In recent years, the Gerewol ceremonies in Niger and Chad have become increasingly popular events in Africa, the number of travellers interested in attending the Wodaabe nomadic beauty contest is increasing. Many travellers ask us about the differences between the Gerewol of Niger and the Gerewol of Chad, […]
The Traditional Kulamba Ceremony of the Chewa people of Zambia
The Traditional Kulamba Ceremony is the most important cultural event for the Chewa people of Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, taking place annually on the last Saturday in August in Katete, eastern Zambia. Thousands upon thousands of people gather at this huge event, creating a truly impressive atmosphere of tradition and festivity. During the ceremony, honours […]
Likumbi Lya Mize, Zambian ceremonies
Likumbi Lya Mize ceremony of the Luvale people of Zambia The Likumbi Lya Mize ceremony is a series of ceremonies held by the Luvale people of northern Zambia in honour of King Ndungu, the principal traditional authority, marking the end of the mukanda (initiation of children). Every year at the end of August, thousands of […]
Trip to Casamance in Senegal, culture and dance of the Diola people
Trip to Casamance in Senegal, culture and dance of the Diola people Trip to Casamance in Senegal with Mara Bagossi to discover the culture and dance of the Diola people. Documentation and editing: Mara Bagossi. Mara has been living in Casamance since 2016 and is passionate about African music and dance and an expert in […]
Sallah Durbar Festival in Kano, the magnificent celebration in Northern Nigeria
Back home after the Sallah Durbar Festival in Kano… Ranka ya Dede! (May you live long!) shouts the people and the nobility as the emir passes through the streets of Kano during the Sallah Durbar Festival… Nearly a week has passed since I returned home and the shouts of the crowd, the sounds of drums, […]
Sharo Ceremony, the scars of Fulani love in Nigeria
Sharo fulani ceremony in northern Nigeria We travelled to northern Nigeria to attend a Sharo or Shadi Fulani ceremony. There, in a remote village in Jigawa State on the border with Niger, is home to one of the largest communities of Fulani herdsmen in the whole of Nigeria. We heard that traditional Sharo ceremonies, a […]
Ilha da Baía dos Tigres and Foz do Cunene, trip to the southern Angola
Ilha dos Tigres and Foz do Cunene A few days ago we travelled to the desert coast of the Namib in southern Angola (March 2024) for one of the most spectacular scenic drives in this part of the African continent: Mocamedes, Baia dos Tigres, Ilha dos Tigres and the forgotten city of Sao Martinho dos Tigres […]
Bogolán, the language of textiles
Bogolan, Mali’s earthenware textiles Bogolan, ‘mud textiles’ in the Bambara language, is the type of dyeing technique that artists in Mali have used for centuries on hand-woven textiles. Ancestral handicraft made by hand with clay and natural dyes on cotton cloth. The natural dyes used for painting come from the leaves and bark of African […]
Planet Sahel, a borderline territory
The Sahel is a land of transition between the desert and the savannah that precedes the jungles of the south. It is a horizontal strip of land spread across more than 10 countries. It crosses the entire African continent from east to west at its widest point, and as a borderland it marks the character […]
Salt caravans in the Sahara, resistance or death
It is still possible to find salt for sale in the markets of the Sahel and Saharan cities such as Gao, Timbuktu, Agadez or Kalait. And on our expeditions in northern Chad in winter, it is not uncommon to meet salt caravans. A traditional mode of transport that does not give up in the 21st […]
Ennedi rock art, Chad’s hidden treasure
The Ennedi rock art is one of the riches of Chad’s most important national park. A territory of more than five million hectares, with an enormous wealth of landscapes. We know it, and everyone who has had the good fortune to visit it knows it. Today we want to focus on this hidden treasure and […]
Bori Hausa ceremony: animist practices in Niger
Niger is a diamond in the rough. With an enormous cultural heritage and very friendly people. We fell in love with it without a doubt. Among its cultural riches, we were able to attend the Bori ceremony of the Hausa and the dance of the Tauri warriors, both animists. Here is the chronicle, a preview […]
Lomako – Yokokala Wildlife Reserve in DR Congo
Created in 2006, the Lomaoko-Yokokala Reserve is a protected area with an area of 3,625 km² (slightly larger than Luxembourg) and is situated between the Lomako and Yokokala rivers in the north of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Lomako-Yokokala Reserve is home to about 1,000 bonobos. In this reserve in the middle of the […]
A curious maternity leave in Congo (DRC)
On the 2023 Jungle Kongo Expedition trip, Austerio Alonso and the other travellers had the good fortune to witness a ceremony to mark the end of the Ekonda pygmies’ “maternity leave”. But let’s start at the beginning…
Pende Tribe, the people of the great initiations (DRC)
We travel to the southwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo in search of the Pende tribe. This is one of the ethnic groups that attracts us the most because of their desire to preserve their traditions, and we want to continue getting to know them on future trips.
The Kuba Kingdom of Congo and its fantastic past
We like to include a strong cultural component in our trips. For example, the Kuba kingdom of the Congo, an ancient and powerful civilisation whose descendants still preserve some of the traditions of yesteryear. It is these traditions that continue to define their identity as a people.
Makoko, community and resistance in gigantic Lagos (Nigeria)
Makoko is like an island in the chaos of the big city. It is a floating neighbourhood and we are in the largest city in Africa. Its name, by the way, was given to it by the police and means “criminals”.
Dancing to the sound of Afrobeat in Lagos, Nigeria
To be recognised as the father of a musical style is no small matter. In Lagos, the economic centre of Nigeria, they can boast about it. For this reason, and because the occasion arose, we went to spend a couple of nights at the centre of Afrobeat’s origins in Lagos: the Kalakuta Museum.
Benin City and Edo culture, pure Nigerian history
In the Africa Overland expedition we did in Kumakonda between March and April 2023, we knew that Nigeria was not going to make it easy for us, but we also knew that this is a very interesting destination. So much so that it has left us with the desire to repeat and go deeper. For […]
The Wodaabe of Chad: origins, symbols and relationships in Gerewol
In Kumakonda’s trips we have accumulated many encounters with the Wodaabe of Chad, and we even travel to their Gerewol festival once a year. For us, this nomadic people belonging to the great Peul family is one of the most fascinating of the African continent, so we were looking forward to publishing an article in […]
Discovering the Dozo hunters, an esoteric and powerful brotherhood of the Malinké Country
Among the enormous variety of worldviews that exist in West Africa today, we can find brotherhoods or confraternities. These are more or less secret societies with a strong esoteric, spiritual or shamanic component. A great example is the Dozo or Doso hunters.
Introduction to the peoples and nomads of Lake Chad, a fascinating labyrinth of societies
The human presence in Lake Chad dates back thousands of years, and the archaeological remains that have been found bear witness to this. Later, in what we call the Middle Ages, is when the history of the region became very complex and exciting. Some of the peoples and nomads of Lake Chad on whom this […]
Lake Chad, a stunning natural and cultural ecosystem
Lake Chad is a mythical place in Central Africa. It is one of the great symbols of the continent, like Kilimanjaro or the Sahara Desert. Divided between Chad, Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon since 1880, for a long time it was a great inland sea that watered the life of the Sahel. In this article we […]
Trip to Equatorial Guinea, reserved matter
A trip to Equatorial Guinea, one of the world’s most opaque countries
Lekedi Park in Gabon, observation of mandrills
Lekedi Park in Gabon offers the opportunity to get up close and photograph two large troops of wild but habituated mandrills.
Niergui Wodaabe refugee camp in Chad
In the Niergui Wodaabe refugee camp in Chad, more than 200 people survive on charity and NGO projects.
Kinact: Festival Kinshasa in action in DR of Congo
The KinAct Festival is itinerant and takes place in several popular neighbourhoods of Kinshasa. Street performances, arts, social criticism and awareness-raising.
Malebo, encountering bonobos in Congo
Malebo, bonobos in the Democratic Republic of Congo With the idea of spotting wild bonobos we travelled to Malebo Site. A unique habitat of savannahs, forests and floodplains in the southwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Malebo is located in the province of Mai Ndombe, in a difficult to reach region 500 kilometres north […]
Yangambi, treasures in the Congo Basin
Yangambi, a trip on the Congo River In the province of Tschopo, in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the heart of the Congo Basin forest, lies an unexpected treasure: Yangambi. Sailing from Kisangani some 100 kilometres downstream on the Congo River, we reach this immense scientific city. Built by the Belgians […]
Trip to southern Angola, ethnicities and landscapes
We managed to leave Oncocua along the same forest track we had arrived, and we turned off a little to the south to visit the Humbe area, where there is a thousand-year-old baobab tree, some say the oldest in Africa. We continued on our way through southern Angola after meeting several tribes.
Mundari cattle camp, trip to South Sudan
We visited a Mundari cattle camp on our trip to South Sudan. For the Mundari, cattle represents much more than a way of life…
Tribes of Angola, a trip to the south of the country
One of the main reasons why travelling to Angola is so attractive is to visit some of the tribes that inhabit the south of the country and see how, in this globalised world, they preserve their customs, their way of dressing and their ancestral way of life. Today we talk about the tribes of Angola. […]
Expedition to the best place to see gorillas in Africa central – Part ¾
From Sahara in Chad to deep jungles in CAR, heading to Dzanga Sangha, some of the best place to see gorillas in África central.
Expedition in Central Africa – Part 2/4
Viaje en camión en África central en el que descenderemos desde Ennedi y el Parque Nacional de Zakouma en Chad, a la Reserva de Dzanga Sangha en las selvas.