Roots travel
Coming back to Benin.
Ouidah is the port the ships left from. Two centuries later, Benin has turned that return into state policy — and into a week in January when the town does not sleep.
What Benin has put in place
Since law 2024-31 of 2 September 2024, amended in July 2025, any adult who establishes through their genealogy that they descend from a sub-Saharan African ancestor deported from the continent during the transatlantic slave trade may be recognised as a Beninese national. Applications are filed online, on the government's official platform, myafroorigins.bj.
The country has also appointed ambassadors for Afro-descendants — the film-maker Spike Lee for the United States, in July 2025 — and begun a considerable memorial programme: an international museum of memory and slavery at Ouidah, a museum of the epic of the Amazons and the kingdom of Danhomè at Abomey, an international vodun museum at Porto-Novo. These museums are announced and under construction; the opening dates are the government's to publish, not ours.
Léna Escapes handles no citizenship file, represents nobody and takes nothing on these procedures. We house, we drive, and we know the country. For the process itself, go to the official platform and the Beninese authorities.
What there is to see, today
Ouidah
The sacred forest of Kpassè, the Temple of Pythons, the history museum in the old Portuguese fort, and the four kilometres of the Slave Route down to the Door of No Return. Forty minutes from Cotonou.
Abomey
The royal palaces of Dahomey, on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1985, and a museum that tells the kingdom's story plainly, the slave trade included. A hundred and thirty-three kilometres.
Porto-Novo
The Aguda quarters, built by the families who returned from Brazil in the nineteenth century: verandah houses, Portuguese names, and a grand mosque that was once a baroque church. Thirty-five kilometres.
Ganvié
The village built on stilts in Lake Nokoué by the Tofinu, precisely to escape the raids: the warriors could not enter the water. Half a day.
What we do for this journey
- A home in Cotonou, one base for the whole stay
- A driver and a guide on site at Ouidah, Abomey and Porto-Novo
- An airport welcome, whatever time the flight lands
- A concierge in French and English, around the clock
- Fortnightly and monthly rates for long stays
- A quote before, an invoice after, in your name
Where you come from
Where to stay
Common questions
- Does Benin grant citizenship to Afro-descendants?
- Yes. Law No. 2024-31 of 2 September 2024, amended by Law 2025-11 of 1 July 2025, grants Beninese nationality to any adult who can show through their genealogy that they descend from an ancestor from sub-Saharan Africa who was deported from the continent during the transatlantic slave trade. Applications are made on the government's official platform, myafroorigins.bj.
- Which documents are required?
- The official platform asks for proof of Afro-descendant ancestry, a criminal record certificate, an identity document, proof of occupation and proof of residence. Léna Escapes handles no applications and represents no one: please check with the platform and the Beninese authorities.
- What should I see when I come to Benin to trace my roots?
- Ouidah first: the sacred forest of Kpassè, the Temple of Pythons, the history museum in the old Portuguese fort, then the four kilometres of the Slave Route down to the Door of No Return, on the sand. Then Abomey and the royal palaces of Dahomey, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. Porto-Novo for the Aguda quarters, built by families who came back from Brazil. And Ganvié, the lake village founded to escape the slave raids.
- How many days do I need?
- Five days at the very least from Cotonou: a day in Ouidah, one in Abomey, half a day in Ganvié, one in Porto-Novo, and time to catch your breath. Many travellers stay two to three weeks, and that is when the fortnightly rate really comes into its own.
- When is the most powerful time to come?
- In early January. 10 January is the national day of traditional religions, a public holiday across the country, and Ouidah hosts the Vodun Days. It is the most intense week of the year, and the hardest one to find somewhere to stay: book six to eight weeks ahead.
Photograph : Ahya Atindéhou · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
We plan the journey with you
Tell us where you are coming from, how many you are and over how many days. We come back with a home, a price and an itinerary.
+229 01 67 60 80 60