Foumban travel guide

Foumban, Cameroon

By the Travel Wiki editorial team

Foumban

Introduction

Foumban, also spelled Fumban, lies northeast of Bafoussam in Cameroon and is the major town of the Bamoun people. It is known for its political significance in the formation of Cameroon's history as well as its cultural, tourism and economic potential.

You can visit a museum of traditional arts and culture, a market and a craft centre. The Foumban Royal Palace contains a museum with information on Ibrahim Njoya, who invented a new language script, Bamum script, and the artificial language Shümom.

Before you go

Foumban was the centre of the Bamoun Dynasty, a rival of the Bamileke Kingdom, with the Noun River separating the two. Understanding this history will deepen your visit: one of its rulers, Sultan Ibrahim Njoya, created a wholly new language called Shumom, along with a religious order called Bamun script. He was a scholarly figure who instilled Islamic ways of life in his kingdom, which rose as a centre of arts and learning.

Njoya also worked with German colonialists and pushed to have a palace built; that palace, together with Foumban's artwork, stands out as a major draw for tourism today. Read up on the Bamoun Dynasty and Sultan Njoya before you arrive so that the palace and the town's artistic traditions carry their full meaning.

Getting there

Foumban has no airport of its own, so you'll arrive overland. The town sits on the main road running north from Bafoussam, the regional hub, and buses and bush taxis cover that stretch regularly; from Bafoussam you can also connect onward to Yaoundé and Douala.

Getting around

Foumban is compact, and the main sights sit close together in the centre. The Palais Royal occupies the heart of the city, and a few hundred metres south of it you'll find the Musée des Arts et des Traditions Bamoun. The road linking the two, the Rue des Artisans, is lined with sculptors, basket makers, weavers and embroiderers, and it's one of the best places in Central Africa to buy wood carvings, so allow time to stroll and browse. The art market and the tourist centre belong to the same central cluster, which means walking covers the essentials for most visitors. Base yourself centrally and the palace, the museums and the craft street are all on foot.

Taxis fill in the gaps for longer hops or when you're carrying luggage, and they also complete the final leg into town from the region's road connections. There is no direct bus from Yaoundé; a common routing is a bus to Bameda followed by a taxi onward, and you can also take a taxi directly or drive yourself. Because the trip involves a change of vehicle, confirm connections locally before setting out, build in buffer time, and agree on the fare before you set off, since prices vary by operator and leg. Bring cash for the art market and craft centre, and sort out where you'll stay before arriving, as accommodation in Foumban is limited.

Where to stay

For proximity to the sights, the area around the palace is the obvious place to base yourself. Hotel Pekassa De Karche sits just a couple hundred steps from the palace, putting both the palace and the museum within a short walk. Rooms are on the basic side, and hot water can be unreliable, but the location compensates. The hotel has a restaurant, and the foyer is decorated with artwork and handicrafts.

Food & drink

You'll find plenty of eateries to choose from around Foumban's main attractions, so you can plan a meal around your sightseeing rather than the other way round. One option in that area is Cafe Royal Plus.

What to see and do

Foumban's main draw is the Palais des Sultans Bamoun, reached just off the N6 road once you are in town. The palace is a medieval château-style structure built through Sultan Ibrahim Njoya's cooperation with German colonialists around 1917, and it takes the striking form of a double-headed snake with a spider perched on top. Inside, you can visit the Sultan's Museum, where many aspects of Bamoun culture and chiefdom are on display, from masks to weaponry to thrones. Down the way from the palace, the Musée des Arts et des Traditions Bamoun (sometimes known as the Musée de Foumban) complements the palace museum with further displays of Bamoun art and tradition. Between the two venues you get a broad view of the chiefdom's material culture, so plan to see them together rather than choosing one over the other.

Three days in Foumban

Day one: Start in Foumban itself, the town at the heart of the Bamoun country. Begin at the Foumban Royal Palace, the seat of the Bamoun Dynasty, and take in the adjoining museum, the Musée des Arts et Traditions Bamoun, where the history of the kingdom and the legacy of Sultan Ibrahim Njoya are laid out. Understanding the Bamoun court is the key to the rest of your stay, so give the palace and its collections time rather than rushing through. In the afternoon, wander the streets around the Rue des Artisans, where craftsmen work and sell what they make.

Day two: Follow the thread of Sultan Njoya, who is remembered for the Shümom script he devised for the Bamum language. Look for traces of that writing in the town's collections and among local crafts, and read up on how the script was later studied by German scholars. The Islamic heritage of the Bamoun court is part of the same story, so notice how it sits alongside older traditions. Keep the pace slow and let the town's history settle.

Day three: Use Foumban as your base for the wider region. Taxis and road links connect the town with Bafoussam and onward toward Yaoundé and Douala, so a day trip into the surrounding Bamileke country is straightforward. The Noun River runs through this part of Cameroon, and the landscapes beyond the town give a sense of the country the Bamoun and Bamileke kingdoms share. Bring what you need for a day out, and return to Foumban in the evening.

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