Mount Kloto
Mount Kloto
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TMR1004
Valley Forge, PA392 contributions
Feb 2019 • Solo
1. Introduction
Mt. Kloto is a beautiful, small mountain located near the town of Kpalime. Kpalime is Togo’s main center for crafts, such as wood, weaving, painting, pottery, etc. The hike itself is short, not difficult, and appropriate for almost anyone. It is a wonderful blend of forest trails, creeks, and an immersion into the mountain life of rural Togo with some nice views from the summit. I had trouble getting good information about the hike before my trip, so I thought I would write a review so that it might help others enjoy this wonderful experience.
2. Trailhead
Mt. Kloto is located 13km west of Kpalime, near the border with Ghana. There is a road that goes to the summit of Mt. Kloto so you can start anywhere along the road. This being said, most people start fairly close to the top at Bar Mini Resto Chez Paul. There is a small restaurant/bar here with ample parking. Guides can also be hired here. I will refer to this place for the remainder of the review as the CP Trailhead.
3. Information Sources
I used Passi Wogodo to coordinate everything for me. He answered all of my questions ahead of time, provided transport from Lome and arranged my guides, permits, etc. for the climbs of Mt. Agou and Mt. Kloto. He can be contacted at: wogodopascal@gmail.com.
4. Level of difficulty
This is a very easy hike. It is appropriate for almost everyone, including people who do not normally hike.
5. Best time of year
Mt. Kloto can be climbed year-round. October – January are drier and hotter. July and August have more rain, but it is usually cooler and it is paradise for butterfly watchers.
6. Options
As I had mentioned, you can start anywhere along the road that leads to the summit. Most people start at the CP Trailhead. If you start here, you have the option of taking the trail or the road to the summit. I highly recommend the trail. It is a beautiful, single track trail with a few small creek crossings. Some sections are also on the road. For a short hike, it is wonderfully diverse. The other option is to just walk up the road to the summit. I chose to ascend by the trail and descend by the road.
7. Guides
A guide is not required and if you just want to walk up the road from the CP Trailhead, you really don’t need one. If you choose to hike the trail vs. the road, I would recommend using a guide. The trail splits off in many different places and without a guide; I would not have known which way to go numerous times. Guides are inexpensive and can be hired at the CP Trailhead or prearranged by Passi.
8. Trail distances
1) Road from the CP Trailhead to the Summit
½ mile (one way)
2) Trail from the CP Trailhead to the Summit
1 ½ miles (one way)
9. Elevations
CP Trailhead 1,810 ft.
Mt. Kloto Summit 2,215 ft.
10. Vertical Elevation you will climb
1) Road from the CP Trailhead to Summit is 400 vt. ft.
There are no ups and downs, just up, but it is a gentle climb.
2) Trail from the CP Trailhead to Summit.
Although the difference in elevation is only 400 ft., due to some ups and downs
along the trail, you will actually ascend 600 vt. ft.
There are a few short steep sections.
11. Trail description
Using the “trail” option, you will be on a single track trail about 60% of the time and on the road 40% of the time. The trail is wonderful for its natural beauty. Some of the mango trees are magnificent. There are some ups and downs, but the climbs are mostly gentle. But the road is interesting also, and makes for a quick but interesting descent. From the road, you can see a lot of local farmers working in the fields, kids playing and just people going about their normal lives.
12. Water along trail
There is water along the trail, but it is best to just carry what you need. 1 liter is more than adequate.
13. What to bring
Even though the trail is mostly forested, there is a good amount of sun exposure, especially when you are on the road.
1) Sun protection – Lotion, hat, sunglasses, etc. Consider bringing a long sleeved
light weight shirt
2) Water + snacks
3) Camera
4) Raincoat
14. Time estimates
Trail – ¾ - 1 ½ hours to summit (one way)
Road – 20 - 45 minutes (one way) to the summit
Descending either route takes a little less time than the ascent.
15. Conclusion
Although the views from the summit down into the local village and the frontier with Ghana were beautiful, the highlight of this experience for me was the trail itself. For a short hike, it was surprisingly diverse and beautiful. And it was as much a cultural experience as it was a hike. I loved it! I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Mt. Kloto is a beautiful, small mountain located near the town of Kpalime. Kpalime is Togo’s main center for crafts, such as wood, weaving, painting, pottery, etc. The hike itself is short, not difficult, and appropriate for almost anyone. It is a wonderful blend of forest trails, creeks, and an immersion into the mountain life of rural Togo with some nice views from the summit. I had trouble getting good information about the hike before my trip, so I thought I would write a review so that it might help others enjoy this wonderful experience.
2. Trailhead
Mt. Kloto is located 13km west of Kpalime, near the border with Ghana. There is a road that goes to the summit of Mt. Kloto so you can start anywhere along the road. This being said, most people start fairly close to the top at Bar Mini Resto Chez Paul. There is a small restaurant/bar here with ample parking. Guides can also be hired here. I will refer to this place for the remainder of the review as the CP Trailhead.
3. Information Sources
I used Passi Wogodo to coordinate everything for me. He answered all of my questions ahead of time, provided transport from Lome and arranged my guides, permits, etc. for the climbs of Mt. Agou and Mt. Kloto. He can be contacted at: wogodopascal@gmail.com.
4. Level of difficulty
This is a very easy hike. It is appropriate for almost everyone, including people who do not normally hike.
5. Best time of year
Mt. Kloto can be climbed year-round. October – January are drier and hotter. July and August have more rain, but it is usually cooler and it is paradise for butterfly watchers.
6. Options
As I had mentioned, you can start anywhere along the road that leads to the summit. Most people start at the CP Trailhead. If you start here, you have the option of taking the trail or the road to the summit. I highly recommend the trail. It is a beautiful, single track trail with a few small creek crossings. Some sections are also on the road. For a short hike, it is wonderfully diverse. The other option is to just walk up the road to the summit. I chose to ascend by the trail and descend by the road.
7. Guides
A guide is not required and if you just want to walk up the road from the CP Trailhead, you really don’t need one. If you choose to hike the trail vs. the road, I would recommend using a guide. The trail splits off in many different places and without a guide; I would not have known which way to go numerous times. Guides are inexpensive and can be hired at the CP Trailhead or prearranged by Passi.
8. Trail distances
1) Road from the CP Trailhead to the Summit
½ mile (one way)
2) Trail from the CP Trailhead to the Summit
1 ½ miles (one way)
9. Elevations
CP Trailhead 1,810 ft.
Mt. Kloto Summit 2,215 ft.
10. Vertical Elevation you will climb
1) Road from the CP Trailhead to Summit is 400 vt. ft.
There are no ups and downs, just up, but it is a gentle climb.
2) Trail from the CP Trailhead to Summit.
Although the difference in elevation is only 400 ft., due to some ups and downs
along the trail, you will actually ascend 600 vt. ft.
There are a few short steep sections.
11. Trail description
Using the “trail” option, you will be on a single track trail about 60% of the time and on the road 40% of the time. The trail is wonderful for its natural beauty. Some of the mango trees are magnificent. There are some ups and downs, but the climbs are mostly gentle. But the road is interesting also, and makes for a quick but interesting descent. From the road, you can see a lot of local farmers working in the fields, kids playing and just people going about their normal lives.
12. Water along trail
There is water along the trail, but it is best to just carry what you need. 1 liter is more than adequate.
13. What to bring
Even though the trail is mostly forested, there is a good amount of sun exposure, especially when you are on the road.
1) Sun protection – Lotion, hat, sunglasses, etc. Consider bringing a long sleeved
light weight shirt
2) Water + snacks
3) Camera
4) Raincoat
14. Time estimates
Trail – ¾ - 1 ½ hours to summit (one way)
Road – 20 - 45 minutes (one way) to the summit
Descending either route takes a little less time than the ascent.
15. Conclusion
Although the views from the summit down into the local village and the frontier with Ghana were beautiful, the highlight of this experience for me was the trail itself. For a short hike, it was surprisingly diverse and beautiful. And it was as much a cultural experience as it was a hike. I loved it! I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Written March 18, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GoranWembley
United Kingdom4,058 contributions
Dec 2018 • Friends
Mount Kloto near Kpalime: villages, hills, waterfalls, plants, butterflies and people. We did Balade Botanique hike arranged by Chez Fanny
Written July 3, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
debsletters71
34 contributions
Nov 2018 • Solo
Just finished a 5 week The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo & Benin trip.
This is just a little bit of info on transport as pre-trip was difficult to find much info on travelling around.
Flew into Gambia since you don’t need a visa. Went down South the beaches & vibe the best, can go by bush taxi or private, depends on how much time/cash you have, as you know traveling from A to B can be slow in Africa.
Serrekunda bit rubbish thanks to the beach boys and their continual offers for pretty much everything and anything.
Got my visa for Sierra Leone, of course the embassy is nowhere near where it says it is on their website, its actually not too far from Serrekunda, you have to pay for the visa in cash at the bank, get the receipt then take it back to the embassy with your passport, 2-3 days to get the visa.
Looked at the option of going by bus taxi thru GB & Guinea visa too, but since I only had 5 weeks in West Africa, 5 days by bush taxi didn’t sound fun – anyway at that time Guinea embassy staffer had lost the key to the visa drawer anyway. By the time you read this he may have found it.
Flew to Freetown. Freetown has pretty expensive hotels since they are not getting a lot of tourist trade, while waiting for the Liberian visa which would take 3 days, went down to the River #2, Tokeh beach area for couple nights, great beaches but if you swim in the wrong area you will probably drown given the hectic currents. you have to go the long way around to Tokeh since the roads along the coast are so bad, but its chilled and super nice down south. Went out to Tiwai island a couple day, it’s very pretty but the whole set up is pretty funny by all accounts..
From the intersection at Potoru in Sierra Leone, took a motor bike taxi down to the Liberia border (actually they kept changing my motorbike and motorbike driver & handing the cash over to the next one for the next leg, took about 3-4 hours. At the Liberian border, you have to visit 4 different offices for various reasons they have thought up, some total DB (think his name Mustafa) at the ‘health control office’ tried to extort some cash since I did not have a cholera vaccination stamp in my yellow fever card, which of course is total rubbish & you don’t need it, had a 30 minute stare down and the ok fine send me back the 12hours by road to Freetown argument before he finally let me go, very upset not to have collected some $$. Total DB this guy, don’t give him a cent.
Over the border into Liberia, took at shared taxi to Monrovia, good roads 2.5 hours, $5-$7 I think?. Not much to see in Monrovia, got the visa for Ivory Coast in 2 days, tried to get down to the monkey island but no-one had any idea how to get there. Gave up, took a taxi to the border, even though there are many many many road blocks in the region, never got asked for money except along this road quote, ‘I am an officer, give me money’ 10,000 (.75) I refused but my driver did pay. Stayed the night at the beer Garden hotel in Ganta . Next morning 7am went to the ‘taxi’ rank to get to the Cote D’Ivore border, sat for 4 hours waiting for the shared taxi (6 people) to fill. Ended up paying for the 2 front seats so try leave bit quicker, drove off for 20 m and broke down. After 20 more minutes, exchange of a leaky battery, a push start off again.
Reached the border very late afternoon, crossed over the Cote D’Ivoire border guard went thru EVERYTHING in the backpack with a fine tooth comb, very interested in everything thing and I mean absolutely everything, (except taking my $) nice but slow going. Finally released late afternoon, there is NOTHING at the border, 2 dudes with a motorbike, no other transport, no hotels, no choice, with that in mind I ended up paying $15 for the motorbike taxi to Danane, quite a distance had to visit the police station to get a stamp (in addition to the stamp at the border crossing) to prove my arrival to Ivory Coast. Weird, but anyway. As the sun was almost setting agreed to take a private taxi to Man as I didn’t want to stay in Danane. So all day actual driving time was from 11am – 7pm. Stayed a couple days in Man, first night in the fanciest hotel in town, the second night in the absolute least fancy hotel. Took an English speaking guide Sidiki which actually turned out to be brilliant, took me all around town then a super nice walk out to the second waterfall. This is a cool chilled town.
From Man I really wanted to go to see the chimps out at Parc National de Tai, could not get any info about the hotel at the park or the guided walks so just decided to go & see. To go by bus probably would have taken about 2 days at least, decided to pay the super fee of $140 and get a 4WD & driver to take me to the park gate, after around 7 hours of driving arrived at TAI, here there is a park office with a charming French man who can give you the best information. It was there in Tai 30km before the entrance to the gate found out everything I wish I knew a few days earlier, the road between Tai and the park was a total washout and I mean total, I saw video footage from the French chap who had filmed all the stuck trucks, you could probably take a really risky motorbike taxi through the super mud but as the sun was about to set probably not a good idea, and the biggest factor in my decision not to go though was that the park had just been sold and was now private, so the once cheap price was now going to be around $400 for hiking and accommodation. Decided I didn’t care to see the chimps anymore.
Had to drive all the way back north to Duekoue then took a bus all day to San Pedro on the coast, spent a night doing nothing much. Thought I could take the road along the coast to Abidjan, NOPE, you have to go all the way up north via Gagnoa and then back down (to Abdijan). There are nice air-con buses, I missed the ticket and got the non air-con bus, for a dollar less & a free face caked in mud as I like the window open. From Abidjan flew to Togo, here it’s like tourist central, out to the natural area and butterflies of Kplime, saw about 3 butterflies, in the wild and 50 stuck to a board. Was a really nice walk though and there is a super cool artist by the name of Agbo kosi, not the usual African tie-die cheap stuff, this is really extraordinary , afrikaart@yahoo.com , would actually purchase some of his art, if I had a house.
Anyway took the minibus up to Kande stayed the night there, negotiated a motorbike taxi for the touristy stuff, they will find you the moment you arrive to town, little cowboys, so here is their scam …your motorbike driver picks you up early whenever you want, just outside town you enter ‘the park’ they stop at the ‘entrance gate’ you pay the fee & with that you get some local guide who also rides on the motorbike with you and supposed to be entrance to the Koutammakou village, the DB at the gate absolutely refused to give me my ticket,’ why do you need it blah blah blah, youre already at the entrance so nothing to worry about’ I told him 5 times I want the ticket, he refused, my motorbike guy said ‘I’m sure its fine’ so of course they took the money, again there is no option unless you turn around and go back to Kande…long way for nothing….so anyway they took me to the guides village which is nice, but certainly not the main houses of Koutammakou, the guide said ‘no that washed away in the last rain’ I asked him if that happened to that village why didn’t that also happen to his village. Guess he had not considered that in his web of BS. Regardless it was cool to go to this village, but then I would have still expected to go to koutammakou. We drove further on and low and behold arrived at the entrance to Koutammakou, of course they wanted my ticket, another heated discussion about how they never gave it to me, I knew I had been scammed, but really hard to get an alternative. I did not pay for the ‘second’ ticket just told them they were lying DBs & continued with my ‘dear’ motorbike driver to the border,…. except there is no border to speak of – at all - so you must go to the police station in Boukoumbe and they will stamp your passport, so now you are in Benin. DO NOT miss getting this stamp
Took motorbike taxi to the next town of Naitingou, they are upgrading the road right now so it’s pretty dusty on the motorbike – actually super dusty. Did stop off at more of the fortress like mud houses, these ones were really nice 7 the people better IMO. From Nati stayed overnight then took the (cotonou) bus with WIFI, but got off at Bohicon intersection, then took another motorbike taxi to Come and stayed couple nights Grand Popo. Then shared taxi to Cotonou. Had to fly back to work early so ended up missing a few other things I might have liked to see.
This is just a little bit of info on transport as pre-trip was difficult to find much info on travelling around.
Flew into Gambia since you don’t need a visa. Went down South the beaches & vibe the best, can go by bush taxi or private, depends on how much time/cash you have, as you know traveling from A to B can be slow in Africa.
Serrekunda bit rubbish thanks to the beach boys and their continual offers for pretty much everything and anything.
Got my visa for Sierra Leone, of course the embassy is nowhere near where it says it is on their website, its actually not too far from Serrekunda, you have to pay for the visa in cash at the bank, get the receipt then take it back to the embassy with your passport, 2-3 days to get the visa.
Looked at the option of going by bus taxi thru GB & Guinea visa too, but since I only had 5 weeks in West Africa, 5 days by bush taxi didn’t sound fun – anyway at that time Guinea embassy staffer had lost the key to the visa drawer anyway. By the time you read this he may have found it.
Flew to Freetown. Freetown has pretty expensive hotels since they are not getting a lot of tourist trade, while waiting for the Liberian visa which would take 3 days, went down to the River #2, Tokeh beach area for couple nights, great beaches but if you swim in the wrong area you will probably drown given the hectic currents. you have to go the long way around to Tokeh since the roads along the coast are so bad, but its chilled and super nice down south. Went out to Tiwai island a couple day, it’s very pretty but the whole set up is pretty funny by all accounts..
From the intersection at Potoru in Sierra Leone, took a motor bike taxi down to the Liberia border (actually they kept changing my motorbike and motorbike driver & handing the cash over to the next one for the next leg, took about 3-4 hours. At the Liberian border, you have to visit 4 different offices for various reasons they have thought up, some total DB (think his name Mustafa) at the ‘health control office’ tried to extort some cash since I did not have a cholera vaccination stamp in my yellow fever card, which of course is total rubbish & you don’t need it, had a 30 minute stare down and the ok fine send me back the 12hours by road to Freetown argument before he finally let me go, very upset not to have collected some $$. Total DB this guy, don’t give him a cent.
Over the border into Liberia, took at shared taxi to Monrovia, good roads 2.5 hours, $5-$7 I think?. Not much to see in Monrovia, got the visa for Ivory Coast in 2 days, tried to get down to the monkey island but no-one had any idea how to get there. Gave up, took a taxi to the border, even though there are many many many road blocks in the region, never got asked for money except along this road quote, ‘I am an officer, give me money’ 10,000 (.75) I refused but my driver did pay. Stayed the night at the beer Garden hotel in Ganta . Next morning 7am went to the ‘taxi’ rank to get to the Cote D’Ivore border, sat for 4 hours waiting for the shared taxi (6 people) to fill. Ended up paying for the 2 front seats so try leave bit quicker, drove off for 20 m and broke down. After 20 more minutes, exchange of a leaky battery, a push start off again.
Reached the border very late afternoon, crossed over the Cote D’Ivoire border guard went thru EVERYTHING in the backpack with a fine tooth comb, very interested in everything thing and I mean absolutely everything, (except taking my $) nice but slow going. Finally released late afternoon, there is NOTHING at the border, 2 dudes with a motorbike, no other transport, no hotels, no choice, with that in mind I ended up paying $15 for the motorbike taxi to Danane, quite a distance had to visit the police station to get a stamp (in addition to the stamp at the border crossing) to prove my arrival to Ivory Coast. Weird, but anyway. As the sun was almost setting agreed to take a private taxi to Man as I didn’t want to stay in Danane. So all day actual driving time was from 11am – 7pm. Stayed a couple days in Man, first night in the fanciest hotel in town, the second night in the absolute least fancy hotel. Took an English speaking guide Sidiki which actually turned out to be brilliant, took me all around town then a super nice walk out to the second waterfall. This is a cool chilled town.
From Man I really wanted to go to see the chimps out at Parc National de Tai, could not get any info about the hotel at the park or the guided walks so just decided to go & see. To go by bus probably would have taken about 2 days at least, decided to pay the super fee of $140 and get a 4WD & driver to take me to the park gate, after around 7 hours of driving arrived at TAI, here there is a park office with a charming French man who can give you the best information. It was there in Tai 30km before the entrance to the gate found out everything I wish I knew a few days earlier, the road between Tai and the park was a total washout and I mean total, I saw video footage from the French chap who had filmed all the stuck trucks, you could probably take a really risky motorbike taxi through the super mud but as the sun was about to set probably not a good idea, and the biggest factor in my decision not to go though was that the park had just been sold and was now private, so the once cheap price was now going to be around $400 for hiking and accommodation. Decided I didn’t care to see the chimps anymore.
Had to drive all the way back north to Duekoue then took a bus all day to San Pedro on the coast, spent a night doing nothing much. Thought I could take the road along the coast to Abidjan, NOPE, you have to go all the way up north via Gagnoa and then back down (to Abdijan). There are nice air-con buses, I missed the ticket and got the non air-con bus, for a dollar less & a free face caked in mud as I like the window open. From Abidjan flew to Togo, here it’s like tourist central, out to the natural area and butterflies of Kplime, saw about 3 butterflies, in the wild and 50 stuck to a board. Was a really nice walk though and there is a super cool artist by the name of Agbo kosi, not the usual African tie-die cheap stuff, this is really extraordinary , afrikaart@yahoo.com , would actually purchase some of his art, if I had a house.
Anyway took the minibus up to Kande stayed the night there, negotiated a motorbike taxi for the touristy stuff, they will find you the moment you arrive to town, little cowboys, so here is their scam …your motorbike driver picks you up early whenever you want, just outside town you enter ‘the park’ they stop at the ‘entrance gate’ you pay the fee & with that you get some local guide who also rides on the motorbike with you and supposed to be entrance to the Koutammakou village, the DB at the gate absolutely refused to give me my ticket,’ why do you need it blah blah blah, youre already at the entrance so nothing to worry about’ I told him 5 times I want the ticket, he refused, my motorbike guy said ‘I’m sure its fine’ so of course they took the money, again there is no option unless you turn around and go back to Kande…long way for nothing….so anyway they took me to the guides village which is nice, but certainly not the main houses of Koutammakou, the guide said ‘no that washed away in the last rain’ I asked him if that happened to that village why didn’t that also happen to his village. Guess he had not considered that in his web of BS. Regardless it was cool to go to this village, but then I would have still expected to go to koutammakou. We drove further on and low and behold arrived at the entrance to Koutammakou, of course they wanted my ticket, another heated discussion about how they never gave it to me, I knew I had been scammed, but really hard to get an alternative. I did not pay for the ‘second’ ticket just told them they were lying DBs & continued with my ‘dear’ motorbike driver to the border,…. except there is no border to speak of – at all - so you must go to the police station in Boukoumbe and they will stamp your passport, so now you are in Benin. DO NOT miss getting this stamp
Took motorbike taxi to the next town of Naitingou, they are upgrading the road right now so it’s pretty dusty on the motorbike – actually super dusty. Did stop off at more of the fortress like mud houses, these ones were really nice 7 the people better IMO. From Nati stayed overnight then took the (cotonou) bus with WIFI, but got off at Bohicon intersection, then took another motorbike taxi to Come and stayed couple nights Grand Popo. Then shared taxi to Cotonou. Had to fly back to work early so ended up missing a few other things I might have liked to see.
Written April 27, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Golden Tours Togo
Kpalime, Togo16 contributions
Sept 2024 • Business
Mount kloto is a joyful and attractive place you will have panoramic views of the city of kpalimé and its surroundings..
Automatically translated
Written September 28, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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