What it is
A settlement of wooden houses on stilts standing in shallow water north of Cotonou, reached by pirogue from Calavi in about 30 to 45 minutes. Most estimates put the population in the tens of thousands. Everything moves by canoe, including the market, the school run and the mosque.
Why go
The Tofinu founded it on the water, and the oral account holds that they did so because the Dahomean forces raiding for captives would not follow them onto the lake. It is a functioning town rather than an exhibit: fish are farmed in brushwood enclosures called acadja, and the floating market runs in the morning. One caution worth passing on: residents are being photographed in their own homes, and some object. Keep the camera down unless a guide has asked, and agree boat and guide fees before leaving the jetty at Calavi.
When to go
Morning, for the market and to avoid the afternoon heat on an open boat. Dry season for the drive out from Cotonou. Motorised boats are faster and louder; a paddled pirogue takes longer and is the better trip.
Most people stay Day trip.