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Mount Cameroon (Fako)
West Africa's highest peak, an active volcano the Bakweri call Mongo ma Ndemi.
History
At 4,040 m, Fako is West Africa's tallest peak and one of Africa's most active volcanoes — it has erupted more than a dozen times in the last century, most recently in 2000. The Bakweri people call it Mongo ma Ndemi, "Mountain of Greatness," and it also carries the name "Chariot of the Gods" from early Portuguese sailors who saw it steaming from the Atlantic. Every February it hosts the Race of Hope, a brutal up-and-down mountain run first held in 1973.
Beyond the facts
Culture & traditions
A living tradition or belief tied to the place, distinct from its recorded history.
For the Bakweri, the mountain is the home of Epasa Moto, a powerful spirit believed to control eruptions and to appear to those who show it disrespect. Before major climbs — and especially after an eruption — elders have historically made offerings at the mountain's base to ask safe passage, a practice some guides and porters still observe informally today.