Bangem

Bangem is the capital of Kupé-Manengouba division in Cameroon's South-West Region, and is considered the heartland of the Bakossi people. The town sits at roughly 400m elevation on the lower slopes of Mount Manengouba, about 94km from Kumba, and covers a division of some 1,500 square kilometres. The climate is cool and rainy for most of the year thanks to the elevation.

By Plane

The nearest major airport is in one of Cameroon's main cities; there is no airstrip at Bangem itself.

By Car / Road

Bangem is reached by road from Melong, and this is the only approach reliably passable by car. Roads on to Tombel and Nguti exist but are largely motorbike-only, especially once the rains set in.

Moto-taxis cover trips further out from the town centre.

• Manengouba Twin Lakes (Female and Male Lakes) — two crater lakes on Mount Manengouba, about 10km uphill from Bangem and lightly developed as a tourist site by the local council. Local legend holds that the larger, blue-watered "Female" lake and the smaller, green-watered "Male" lake formed where an ark came to rest after a great flood; the Female lake is the only one of the two that is regularly visited, as the Male lake is considered sacred and off-limits.
• Mount Manengouba's forest and grassland — the surrounding highland is rich in wildlife, including the Goliath frog (the world's largest frog species), the endemic Mount Kupé bushshrike, and numerous hornbills.

Bangem's economy is built on smallholder farming — cocoyams, cassava, plantains, corn, and the local staple "water fufu" — sold through the town's market.

• Kumba — roughly 94km away via Melong, the nearest larger town with more transport and lodging options.