Top 20 Lakes in Côte d'Ivoire

Today the biggest free tourist attraction in Yamoussoukro, the crocodiles were a gift to the completed palace of Côte d'Ivoire founding president Félix Houphouët-Boigny. The view goes across the manmade lake to the palace, not open to the public since he died 31 years ago in 1993, the palatial halls recently served to bestow the Houphouët-Boigny Peace Price on Angela Merkel, possibly the latest German visitor invited to these hallowed halls. "Le Vieux" as he was lovingly called for the last few decades of his long, almost regal regency — albeit somewhat democratically elected in a one-party system — built his palace and the entire city of Yamoussoukro around it from scratch in the middle of practically nowhere, making his mother's village, where he had inherited the royal chiefdom as a young man, and made it his country's new capital in the 1980s. https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/212818/ He had already built, just a mile away, the world's biggest Church, larger than St Peter in Rome. His family grave is under a private chapel next to his palace in the 800 hectares park for which he razed the entire former village. https://youtu.be/W2whLTXpRL4 Respected for his wisdom, often staged to great effect in townhall-style press conferences with hundreds of international media and local journalists, and for leading his country to independence in 1960 and subsequently an economic 'miracle' in Africa, he braved all criticism for his billions in personal wealth acquired in this poor country, and the lavish, superlative buildings. His vision was remarkable, perhaps most notably in this city, with its gigantic artificial lakes and vast 6-lane boulevards in the dusty savanna that essentially went nowhere for 50 years, but today seem to be sized right for jam-free modern traffic, compared to the choked and congested old capital Abidjan, where, stubbornly, all the ministries, government and business headquarters remained. https://youtu.be/qhKu5Oak1WU The modernist palace, fronted by large lakes with hundreds of crocodiles 🐊 , was built in the 1970s on top of a now invisible mud brick structure, from where his family had reigned over their regional chiefdom. It contains HB's private residence, public reception halls, and six stories of lavish accommodations where he hosted world leaders with their families and entourage. It is decorated with invaluable French furniture from Louis XIV, medieval gobelin wall tapestries, Picasso paintings, Japanese vases, and ancient Chinese dishes. Unfortunately the Ivorian Government seems incapable or unwilling to ensure the minimal maintenance this building needs, so that meanwhile water is dripping all the way down into the priceless wooden paneling and threatens to destroy the already fragile ancient treasures housed here without climatization. Plans to turn this into a museum that could help finance its upkeep have been discussed for decades, but still seem far from happening.

Large abandoned quarry 2 kilometers south of the village and the archeological park of gigantic magmatite rocks, about 2.2 billion years old, that also served thousands of years of Neolithic and prehistoric cultures as ceremonial cult locations, stone tool workshops, and residence. The biggest danger for the site is the uncontrolled rock quarrying, exemplified by this enormous quarry along the road on the western side of the village, currently abandoned and filled with rainwater, forming a huge lake with granite walls. Maybe this site also contained similar archeological values that are now destroyed. Even if there were any archeological findings in the nearby park, they have to be buried, as anything at the surface of the unprotected park has long been pilfered. https://whc.unesco.org/fr/listesindicatives/5087

Narrow strip of sand separating the Laguna from the ocean, lined by modest fishing villages, rock bottom hotels and beach restaurants, many destroyed by the rising sea level and shrinking beach

Central village on the edge of the lagoon, with canoes to cross to the north shore of the lagoon.

Small pond wrapped by trails on the south side

Open-air restaurant next to a small pond, food was at least available on weekends. Mountain bikes available for rent, a ranger station / tent with a first aid sign, some large hammock nets and other entertainment items to entertain the school classes and urban tourists.

Great views all the way back down to the Adjin lagoon. A short section of concrete surface was needed to stabilize the fast eroding laterite soil after the trees were cut and all vegetation removed.

The eco-tourism provider offers tours in canoes, hikes, mountain bike rides, and a restaurant with snacks, meals, and drinks at tables and hammocks to recover from it all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJGob0zpElc