The Pendjari National Park lies in north western Benin. Named for the Pendjari River, the national park is known for its wildlife, including elephants, monkeys, lions, hippopotami, buffalo and various antelopes and birds. The park has an area of 2755 square kilometers. The hills and cliffs of the Atakora range make its north-west section one the most scenic of Benin. The Pendjari National Park (French: Parc National de la Pandjari) lies in north western Benin, adjoining the Arli National Park in Burkina Faso. Named for the Pendjari River, the national park is known for its wildlife, including elephants, monkeys, lions, hippopotamuses, buffalo and various antelopes and most prominently birds. The Pendjari National Park is an area of 2755 square kilometres in the far north-west of Benin. The park is contiguous with the Arli-W-Singou complex which is a vast protected area in Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. The hills and cliffs of the Atakora range make the north-west one the most scenic areas of Benin. They provide a wonderful backdrop to the Pendjari National Park, which, in its isolation, remains one of the most interesting in West Africa. Most of the thought as a myth by the park visitors, the emblematic specy of Pendjari has ones again been saw in the park. This is one of the lastest specimen of cheetah in West Africa that could be seen in Pendjari. Each section of the 400 kilometers dirt road of the park reserve some nice surprise that it’s up to you to make. Some unexpected rains this month have not drop the heat but they help changing on both sides, the landscape color that become green. In order not to disturb the tranquillity of animals and especially for your safety, it is forbid to drive faster than 40 km / h. The best guides in the park can be find here and we hardly recommend to our visitors who never been in the park to resort to them. From February 26th to March 2nd and from the March 11th to 15th of 2009, the Pendjari National Park has respectively presented itself at the international tourism fairs Reisepavillon (Munich) and ITB (Berlin) in Germany. Interesting contacts are established with new european and african tour operator to promote more Pendjari and increase its annual figure of visitors.
Benin's two national parks, Pendjari National Park (Parc National de la Pendjari) and W Park (Parc National du W), are near each other in the far northern section of the country. Although W Park is larger, it's harder to get to. Pendjari (open December-May) is easier to visit. There you'll see lion, hippo, leopard, baboon, wild pig, gazelle, crocodile, buffalo, plenty of elephants and many types of birds. You can overnight in Pendjari or in the town of Natitingou. The best guides in the park can be find here and we hardly recommend to our visitors who never been in the park to resort to them. From February 26th to March 2nd and from the March 11th to 15th of 2009, the Pendjari National Park has respectively presented itself at the international tourism fairs Reisepavillon (Munich) and ITB (Berlin) in Germany. Interesting contacts are established with new european and african tour operator to promote more Pendjari and increase its annual figure of visitors.
The rocky cliffs of the area are sparsely wooded with Burkea africana, Detarium microcarpum, Lannea acida, Sterculia setigera and Combretum ghasalense. On the deep soils of some of the summits and the Atakora escarpment one finds a greater variety of plant species with Isoberlina doka and Afzelia africana. The Pendjari River has an impressive gallery forest. The park includes both Sudan and Northern Guinea savannas, with areas of grassland dominated by Acacia sieberiana and Mitragyna inermis or Terminalia macroptera. There are also large stocks of game including Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, Roan Antelope and Hippopotamus. There is a high annual rainfall of around 1100 mm; the park is closed from May-December when it is flooded. In historic times the endangered Painted Hunting Dog, Lycaon pictus, has been found in Pendjari National Park;[1] however, this canid, also historically found in the adjacent Arli National Park in Burkina Faso,[2] is considered as possibly locally extirpated. The Park is renowned for its abundance of birds with some 300 different species in total. Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus) and Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) are occasionally recorded and there are a few isolated records for Lappet-faced Vulture (Torgos tracheliotus). Fox Kestrel (Falco alopex) is not uncommon, while the African Swallow-tailed Kite (Chelictinia riocourii) is a not uncommon dry season visitor. The Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus) has also been recorded here. BirdLife notes that "the Pendjari is notable for large conspicuous species such as African Openbill Stork (Anastomus lamelligerus), Abdim's Stork (Ciconia abdimii), Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis), and seasonally, flocks of up to 60 European White Stork (Ciconia ciconia). The African Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer) and Pel's Fishing-owl (Scotopelia peli) can also be found." Among the more notable species recorded are Pied-winged Swallow (Hirundo leucosoma), White-crowned Robin-chat (Cossypha albicapillus), Botta's Wheatear (Oenanthe bottae), Familiar Chat (Cercomela familiaris), White-fronted Black-chat (Myrmecocichla albifrons), Mocking Cliff-chat (Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris), Common Rock Thrush (Monticola saxitilis), Senegal Eremomela (Eremomela pusilla), Blackcap Babbler (Turdoides reinwardtii), Red-winged Pytilia (Pytilia phoenicoptera), Black-rumped Waxbill (Estrilda troglodytes), Bush Petronia (Petronia dentata) and Togo Paradise-whydah (Vidua togoensis).
