Photo : Fawaz.tairou — CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Zou· Crossroads· Archaeology
The underground city of the Dahomey warriors, hidden beneath the busiest crossroads of central Benin.
Ideal stay
1 day
Theme
Archaeology & transit
Ideal for
Curiosity, a stop
The city
Just nine kilometres from Abomey, Bohicon is its economic twin. Where Abomey keeps the memory of kings, Bohicon embodies movement: it is one of the country's great road and rail crossroads, a hub where the flows toward the north, Togo and Nigeria cross. Beneath this commercial bustle hides one of Benin's least-known sites.
The underground village of Agongointo, discovered during roadworks, is a network of dozens of dwellings and galleries carved more than ten metres underground in the sixteenth century. Chambers, kitchens, wells: these caches served as shelters and military traps for the Dahomey warriors during invasions. Laid out as a park, the site can be visited and combines perfectly with Abomey. Bohicon is also the food stop of the centre, its grills and street food, and the natural logistics base before heading up to the far north.
What you'll experience
Adventure · Little-known site
Descend into the underground city of Agongointo
You descend more than ten metres underground, into the chambers and galleries carved in the sixteenth century by the Dahomey warriors. Shelters, traps, caches: an underground military engineering almost no traveller knows, and most itineraries miss.
A rare site, missed by all who rush toward the north.
Smart routing · Efficiency
Abomey above ground, Agongointo below, in one day
Your host links the kingdom above ground, Abomey, with the kingdom below, Agongointo, in one dense and logical day. Two faces of a single warrior civilisation, with no dead time and no needless back-and-forth.
The optimised route no brochure will give you.
Flavours · A real stop
The street food of the great crossroads
At the heart of the centre's commercial hub, you taste the real street cooking: grilled meat, pounded yam, frank flavours. The food break the miles deserve, chosen where the locals eat, not the tour buses.
The good local spots, picked by those who live there.
Military shelters, 16th century
Agongointo underground village
Historic rail hub
Bohicon station
Regional trade
Bohicon market
Local cuisine
Crossroads street food
This stop is part of our circuits
Agongointo combines with Abomey into a single strong day. Our hosts chain the underground site, the food stop and the right timing to head north with no dead time.
Sources: Destination Benin (gouv.bj) and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Some museum facilities in the north and in Ouidah are opening gradually under the Destination Benin programme. Content to be refined with Wa Afriki local guides.