Ring Road (Cameroon)
🌍 Cameroon
The Ring Road is a roughly 360-kilometer circular route through the Bamenda Highlands of Cameroon's Northwest Region, encircling the volcanic peaks of the Cameroon Volcanic Line at elevations between 1,500 and 2,200 meters. Starting and ending in Bamenda, the road passes through the traditional chiefdoms of the Grassfields kingdoms, one of the most culturally distinct areas in all of West Africa.
The route traverses rolling green highlands reminiscent of the Scottish Highlands but with a distinctly African character: grazing cattle on high plateaus, traditional thatched-roof fon (chief) palaces, crater lakes formed in extinct volcanic calderas, and dense montane forests harboring rare birds and primates. Key stops include the Oku crater lake and the surrounding Kilum-Ijim cloud forest (home to the endangered Bannerman's turaco), the Bafut and Bali chiefdoms with their elaborate traditional architecture, and the scenic Sabga Pass. The road surface ranges from reasonable tarmac to challenging laterite tracks.