The Door of No Return memorial arch at Ouidah, bas-reliefs of chained captives facing the Atlantic

Walking the Slave Coast

Memorial journeys through Benin, Togo and Ghana, led by a Beninese founder — six to twelve travellers, access negotiated with the lineages, and the time to understand.

See our journeysTravel with us

How we travel

The case for the small guided group

We do not fill coaches. We take small groups to where memory is still practised, among people who know us — and we take the time to explain what you are looking at.

  • Six to twelve travellers, never more
  • A Beninese founder, Tour Director for Odysseys Unlimited and Grand Circle
  • Access negotiated with the lineages, never bought
  • Entrance fees, guiding and car with driver included
  • Field notes that prepare the journey before you leave
About Heritage and Routes
Oluwafemi (Fèmi) Kochoni, fondateur de Heritage and Routes, avec son groupe de voyageurs

Our journeys

Three ways across the Slave Coast

Each itinerary follows one line: the trade and its memory, living Vodun, or your own question.

Visiteurs dans le couloir voute des cachots du chateau de Cape Coast, Ghana
12 days · Benin, Togo, Ghana

Slave Coast Journey

From Ouidah to Cape Coast, the full route of Atlantic memory.

Scarifications rituelles sur l epaule d une vodunsi, gros plan sepia
7 days · Benin, Togo

Vodun Heritage Journey

With the practitioners: convents, ceremonies, and what is not photographed.

Petit groupe en marche avec guide dans la foret de Kakum
10 days · custom

Benin, Togo, Ghana

Your itinerary built with you, around your dates and your questions.

Cérémonie vodun sous la paillote sur la plage de Ouidah, Vodun Days

2 – 9 January 2027

Vodun Days, a full week

Ouidah hosts the largest edition since 1996: the state festival grows from three days to eight. We are taking a cohort.

The Vodun Days 2027 programme

Where we go

Our destinations

La statue de l'Amazone à Cotonou, hommage aux Agojie du DahomeyBeninL'allée du mémorial Kwame Nkrumah, Accra, GhanaGhanaStatuettes votives aux cauris du marche des feticheurs, LomeTogoProcession d Egungun multicolores devant les banderoles du Festival des MasquesPorto-Novo Mask FestivalLa Route des Esclaves de Ouidah, perspective vers l'océanThe Slave RouteGroupe sous les grands arbres d'une forêt sacrée, BéninVodun in Benin

Read before you go

Field Notes

La Route des Esclaves de Ouidah, perspective vers l'océan
Heritage

The Door of No Return

History, meaning and the real condition of the Ouidah monument in 2026.

Deux Zangbeto colorés sur la place devant le public
Notebook

Zangbeto at dusk

What you see and what is not shown: a photographer's notebook.

Groupe Heritage and Routes au mausolée Kwame Nkrumah, Accra
Diaspora

Returning to the Slave Coast

A guide for descendants coming back to the coast.

The founder

Oluwafemi (Femi) Kochoni

I hold a degree in African and Diaspora Studies from the Université d'Abomey-Calavi, and I work in tourism and cultural engineering.

I am a Tour Director for Odysseys Unlimited and Grand Circle, leading their groups across Ghana, Togo and Benin. I also run cruise ground operations in Benin for Alba Travel and Tours: in the 2026 season I directed five of the country's seven calls.

Heritage and Routes grew out of what those travellers were looking for and could not find.

Oluwafemi (Femi) Kochoni

Who I am

Oluwafemi (Fèmi) Kochoni en guidage sur une place à Cotonou

B2B

They trust us with their travellers

Rencontre avec un roi traditionnel sur son trône, Bénin
Operators

For operators

Ground handling in Benin, Togo and Ghana: logistics, guides, access.

Groupe de voyageurs devant une fresque vodun a la panthere, Ouidah
Institutions

For institutions

Museums, universities, foundations: study and field programmes.

Groupe devant le mémorial Kwame Nkrumah, Accra, Ghana
Press

For press

Accreditation, fixer, expert access and rights-free photographs.

Also:Field NotesYear of Return 2.0PodcastFixer in BeninPress kitContact

— For the diaspora

Returning to the Slave Coast

A guide for the diaspora returning to Benin, Togo and the Bight — after the DNA test, after Ghana’s Year of Return, from the receiving end. Written from Cotonou, in the lineage of Hartman, Gilroy and Sharpe. For readers who arrive with reading behind them and questions the first wave did not have time to ask.

Read the diaspora guide → Field Note: Year of Return 2.0
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