North

North is a region in northern Cameroon, a transitional zone between the forested south and the Sahel, centred on the Benue River basin. The capital is Garoua, a historic river port founded by the Fulani emir Modibbo Adama in the early 19th century and now one of Cameroon's largest cities, with a significant cotton industry. The region is known for the Bénoué, Bouba Njida, and Faro national parks, which together with a park across the border in Chad form a large protected wildlife complex.

The dry season from November to March is the best time to visit the North Region, with hot days (30–40 °C), cooler evenings, and clear skies that make wildlife viewing in Bénoué, Faro, and Bouba Njida national parks easier as animals concentrate around shrinking water sources. The Harmattan wind blows in from the Sahel from December to February, bringing hazy mornings and dusty air but lower humidity. The wet season from May to October is the off-season: heavy rains flood unpaved roads, parks become hard to access, and wildlife disperses into the bush, though the landscape turns lush and green. April and the first half of May form a brief shoulder period before the rains arrive; by September the floods recede and a second short shoulder opens into November. Garoua hosts a Traditional Music Festival and an annual Fulani festival in the late dry season (roughly February–April), both worth timing a visit around.

• Garoua — regional capital and historic river port on the Benue River
• Guider — Mayo-Louti departmental capital, near the Chad border
• Lagdo — town beside the Lagdo Dam and its reservoir on the Benue
• Bénoué National Park — savanna wildlife reserve on the Benoue River
• Bouba Njida National Park — wildlife park bordering Chad's Sena-Oura park
• Faro National Park — savanna park on the Nigerian border, gatewayed from Poli