National Museum

Musée National Boubou Hama was founded on December 18th, 1959 as the National Museum of Niger. The concept is to present ethnological, archaeological, and cultural artifacts of different Nigerien cultures in its many pavilions located in a park with a cultural and a scientific section as well as a zoo. The Museum also boasts a section with a permanent exhibition of traditional art objects with artisans at work (weavers, leatherworkers, blacksmiths)

Markets and art craft centres

Niamey has many markets. One of the West Africa’s best and most diverse is the Grand Marché, howewer the Albarka Market, the Yantala Market or the Nouveau Marché and the Wadata Market could also be mentioned. Next to the Wadata Market is the Wadata Artisanal Village which, like the Musée National, maintains a good exhibition of national art and craft.

The Giraffes of Kouré

Located 60 km South-east of Niamey, the Kouré area offers the opportunity to observe the last species of giraffes from West Africa (Giraffa camelopardalis peralta). Conservation efforts since the 1990s have led to a sizable growth in population and a reintroduction programme to the Gadabeji Reserve in central Niger (designated in 2017 as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO), being carried out for an initial group of 10 giraffes.

Tillabéri

Apart from its administrative role as capital of the Region of Tillabéri, Tillabéri is a fairly active commercial centre in the western Niger with a large market on the Niger River. It is also a centre for the road transport of people and goods.

Ayourou

Ayorou is a small market town on the Niger River. Located on the border of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, it enjoys a dynamic cross-border activity. It is a meeting place of different cultures easily identifiable by their clothing.

The hippopotamus

Niger has recorded about 350 hippos, but they are threatened by the difficult cohabitation with the local population, who  fear, destruction of their fields and accidents on the river. The government is developing a protected area with a three-fold mission: to preserve hippopotamuses, facilitate scientific research and reduce tensions in cohabitation with locals.

The W National Park

The W National Park of Niger is part of a cross-border complex covering nearly one million hectares jointly managed by Benin, Niger and Burkina Faso and protected since 2007 by the Ramsar Convention. It has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1996.

There are three accommodation possibilities in connection with the W Park:

• The Hotel de la Tapoa, located at the entrance of the Park (http://hotel-tapoa.com);
• L’Ecolodge du Lamentin located on an island in the middle of the river (http: //www.iledulamantin. com);
• The Savana Lodge, also located on the river.

Northern Niger comprises three main regional units

• To the west, the semi-desert plains of Azawagh, sparsely populated and used for nomadic livestock activities by Tuareg and Fulani.
• In the centre, 400 km from north to south and up to 200 km wide, the Aïr Mountains with a more favourable climate and where the local inhabitants live off agricultural activities, livestock and trade.
• To the east, the desert of Ténéré and the plateaus of Djado constitute a desert environment where the very small population survives in the oases of Kawar and Fachi by the extraction of salt, the exploitation of the palm groves and the exchanges with caravans from the Aïr.

Agadez

The most important city in northern Niger is located in the southern part of the Air Mountains. It’s the historic city of Agadez, founded in the eleventh century. For centuries, Agadez was an important marketplace for the caravans crossing the Sahara Desert. Since the sixteenth century, the Sultanate of Air has settled in Agadez. Agadez was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013.

Major annual events

The “Cure Salée”: mid – September, Touareg, Fulani and other pastoralists gather in In-Gall, on the rich prairies of the Aïr.

Several festivals as the “Aïr Festival” in Iférouane or the Bianou Festival in Agadez.

Dosso

Dosso is a city in the south-west corner of Niger. Dosso is the seat of the Dosso kingdom, a Djerma chieftaincy in pre-colonial Niger. The traditional ruler is called Djermakoy. Attractions in the town include the Djermakoy’s Palace and museum.

Tahoua,

Situated on the boundary between the cultivated zone and the drier, pastoral zone, it is an important trading centre where pastoralists and farmers meet at the junction on the road between Agadez and Niamey.

Maradi

Maradi is a dynamic merchant city, on the route north from Kano in Nigeria. The predominant population in the city is Hausa, with a few urbanized Fulani and Tuareg. It was originally part of the Hausa State of Katsina that collapsed in the early 19^th century during the conquests of Ousman Dan Fodio. In 1807, Maradi became the seat of the Katsina-Maradi Sultanate.

Zinder

Zinder rose from a small Hausa village to become an important centre with the founding of the Sultanate of Damagaram in 1736 by Kanouri aristocrats. The large fortress in the southeast central city (Birni) was built shortly thereafter. Zinder became a major hub of the trans-Saharan trade and the trade south through Kano and east to Bornu. The French took Zinder in July 1899, and Zinder served as the capital of the Niger Military Territory from 1911 until 1926 when the capital was transferred to the village of Niamey on the Niger River.

Diffa
Diffa is the regional capital of the Diffa Region in the far southeast of Niger. The economy of the Diffa Region is primarily based upon pastoralism and farming. Apart from the subsistence crops, the seasonal Komadougou-Yobe river, which forms around 150 km of the border with Nigeria allows farmers to grow rice, maize, red pepper etc.

Leather goods

Over centuries, the artisans of Niger have acquired an unparalleled mastery of leather from tanning to finishing. The products are: sandals, traditional leather bags, handbags, backpacks, belts, poufs, carpets and mats, incense and jewellety boxes, etc…

Fabrics and Embroidery

Each of the many peoples of Niger is identifiable by their clothing and the style of their personal belongings that accompany them throughout their lives. This diversity is the result of the know-how of Niger artisans throughout the country.

Djerma weavers are known for their talent in making cotton wedding blankets and true tapestries accompany the woman throughout her life. Hausa embroiderers have an unparalleled reputation. As well as Fulani weavers, they also create canvases with monochrome geometric patterns or makes colourful clothes embroidered on indigo fabric.

Metal work

For centuries, Nigerien craftsmen have been fashioning useful objects ranging from traditional weapons to fine silver and gold jewellery. Also, tools, locks and other metallic items are fabricated..

Other traditional objects

Braiding is a traditional technique used to make mats, different sort of utility objects, hats and even mats as cover for huts. The raw material is the tagait (doum palm leaf). It is transformed, cooked and coloured by the craftsmen themselves.

Many other objects mark Nigerien craft traditions: talc stone sculptures, red clay pottery, wooden objects, drums and other musical instruments.