Hostels in BAMENDA, CAMEROON

City Bamenda in Cameroon – A City of Hills

A city in north-western Cameroon, City Bamenda in Cameroon is also the capital of the North West Province. Located at around 366 Kilometres north of the capital of Cameroon, Yaounde, Bamenda is well known for its scenic hilly locations and cool climate. Currently the city houses around 450,000 inhabitants.

Accommodation
Accommodation is available in hotels including budget hotels. A few places also serve as bed and breakfast joints and youth hostels. Conversely one may try for local rented accommodations though they may not be as convenient as the budget hotels and guest house. Travellers may have to go for self service in the B&B and hostels.

Brief History
Bamenda was created by amalgamating three villages namely Mankon, Nkwen, and Mendakwe. Its principal ethnic group is Tikar. Subjected to German colonialism in the 19th century, it became British protectorate after the defeat of Germany in the First World War. Cameroon attained independence in 1961. English and Cameroonian Pidgin English are the two main languages spoken in Bamenda. Bamenda seats the largest opposition political party in Cameroon named the Social Democratic Front or SDF.

In result, there is always large military presence in the city. It is also the birth place of Southern Cameroons National Council or SCNC, a group that supports restoration of former British Southern Cameroon. Born in 1994 after the All Anglophone Conference or AAC2, the organization issued Bamenda declaration and demanded independence of Southern Cameroon.

Getting Around
Bamenda is connected to Yaounde and Douala by road. Existing airport does not have any scheduled services. One can move to spectacular mountains of Cameroon through the Bamenda Ring Road that is 367 Kilometres long. Articles, information, and maps to guide the visitors for getting around Bamenda can be found in the tourism department as well as on the Internet.

Popular Places and Monuments
Mankon Fon’s Palace with the newly constructed museum and Bali Fon’s palace displays excellent architectural designs of the past. Mountain terrains around the city offer a highly scenic view. Mountain Sabga over the Ndop plains is a major tourist attraction. Mount Oku, Kimbi River Game Reserve, the Menchum River Waterfalls, huge chief’s palace at the Bafut, and the thatched shrine at Akum that has pyramided like structure and also known as Bagangu, are other popular places in and around the city.

Places of Entertainment
Numerous markets, banks, and offices are there in the city. Coffee products are the main industries in the city. While the shops display wide varieties of local baskets, beads, wood carvings and bronze statutes, their historic counterparts are displayed in museums in the city.

Currency
Currency operative in Bamenda is the CFA Franc code named XAF. Currently the exchange ratio for one US dollar and one Euro is 499.630 and 655.957 CFA Francs respectively. However the news on the current status every day is available on the Internet as well as in the currency exchange bulletins issued by the authorities.

Bamenda group accommodation | Hostels & budget hotels