CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
5 ordered checkpoints; recorded start 11.8842, 2.48778.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
It goes by way of W National Park of Niger, W-Arly-Pendjari Complex and back through W National Park of Niger. It crosses Benin, Niger and Burkina Faso - carry ID and check vignette or toll rules. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
West Africa's last great savanna wilderness sits where Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso meet. The W-Arly-Pendjari complex, named after the three parks that make it up, covers more than ten thousand square kilometres of grassland, riverine forest and rocky ridges, and holds the largest population of elephants in West Africa, along with lions, cheetahs, hippos and buffalo. The W takes its name from the double bend of the Niger river that traces the shape of that letter, and the whole complex was listed by UNESCO in 1996 and extended later.
Read the complete W-Arly-Pendjari Complex write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
W-Arly-Pendjari Complex is where the day begins. Next is W National Park of Niger.
The W National Park gets its name from the shape of the Niger river, which makes a double bend here that looks like a letter W on the map. The park straddles the borders of Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso, and with neighbouring Arly and Pendjari it forms the largest protected savanna area in West Africa. This is the northern edge of the Sudanian savanna, where grassland and dry woodland meet the Sahel, and the river is the lifeline that holds everything together.
Read the complete W National Park of Niger write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
W National Park of Niger comes up about 194 km into the recorded legs. Next is W-Arly-Pendjari Complex.
West Africa's last great savanna wilderness lies where three countries meet, and it is a place with a fierce beauty and a difficult present. The W–Arly–Pendjari complex spans Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger, and its name comes from the shape of the Niger river as it bends in a W through the W National Park. It is the biggest block of protected savanna in West Africa and holds the region's largest population of elephants, as well as lions, cheetahs, hippos, buffalo and many antelope. UNESCO listed it in 2017 as a transboundary site.
Read the complete W-Arly-Pendjari Complex write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 370 km into the recorded legs you reach W-Arly-Pendjari Complex. Next is back through W National Park of Niger.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete W National Park of Niger write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through W National Park of Niger, late in the day.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete W-Arly-Pendjari Complex write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at W-Arly-Pendjari Complex. That is the ride.
W-Arly-Pendjari Complex → W National Park of Niger is 194 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
W National Park of Niger → W-Arly-Pendjari Complex is 176 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
W-Arly-Pendjari Complex → back through W National Park of Niger is 176 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through W National Park of Niger → W-Arly-Pendjari Complex is 194 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.