History

Maroua is approved by historians as the biggest post colonial city of Cameroon. A real turning platform and a bowl of people of the region, it has known many settlements of groups originating from the sub region. Pushed away by the fulbe invasion, theier descendants opted to find refuge in the mountains found in the vicinity.

At the end a colony of population composed essentialy of Giziga settled. One of the earliest chief or king ( Bui in Giziga) of Maroua was Bi-Marva. His name meant King or chief of Marva. From thas.t name is the name of the city of Maroua derived. The Giziga stil call ist Marva. In the 19th ccentury the fula coming from the Bornu empire conquer the power in Maroua. Each eoch of settlement in the city has left it traces, that is reflected in the name of the different quarters.

Today different ethnic group cohabit in a complexe mixture in hundreds of quarters that spread in and beyond the city. The main spoken languages beside English and French, both official, are Fulfulde, Giziga, Mundang, Tupuri, Massa, Mandara, Mofu, Mafa, etc.

The city

Maroua est selon les données actuelles la plus grande ville précoloniale du Cameroun et la 2ème ville du Septentrion après Garoua. Elle s''étend sur les rives du mayo Kaliao et du mayo Tsanaga. Ces mayo ou rivières sèchent completement en saison sèche et laissent place à une longue bande de sable qui est un veritable don pour les constructeurs de maisons. Les rues de Maroua sont bordées de Nimiers qui contribuent énormenent au rafraichissement de la ville surtout en saison sèche qui est souvent très sèche et chaude. Avec son commerce, sa vie artisanale florissante, et son marché ou se côtoient des groupes ethniques variés, on peut qualifier Maroua d''une ville commerciale. La vie quotidienne de la cité est rythmée par les appels à la prière du muezzin et l’influence des marabouts dans la vie communale. Cela donne l''impression que la ville est essentiellement musulmane. Et pourtant y vivent dans la ville une importante  communauté chrétienne et surtout une bonne partie qui s''adonne aux croyances camerounaises.

Maroua est certainement une des villes les plus attachantes du Cameroun. Elle jouit en outre d’une situation géographique privilégiée à quelques heures de route de Ndjaména. Elle constitue en raison de ses ressources hôtelières (plusieurs hôtels de haut standing tel que le Porte mayo, hôtel le Mizao, hôtel Maroua Palace, hôtel Féty, hôtel le Sahel, hôtel Protocole) un point d’attache à partir duquel il est aisé de rayonner vers les différentes régions et sites touristiques du grand-nord Cameroun. Depuis l''an 2008 Maroua est dotée d''une université et d''une école normale supérieure. Ainsi Maroua fait parti  de villes universitaires Camerounaises telles que Bamenda, Buea, Douala, Dschang, Ngaoundéré et Yaoundé.

Tourism in town

Maroua benefits from it exceptional geographic position, because it is situated in the center of some touristic sites.

Starting and ending point for different touristic directions in North Cameroon, Maroua is a sandy with flat relief and many umbrageous avenues that make the charme of the city. The city is surrounded by many mountains such as Mont Makaby, Marouare, Kossel Bei. The town can be reached via air, trough the airport of Maroua-Salak about 20 kilometers from the city. You can also join the city by road from Kousseri via Mora, from Mokolo, from Garoua and Guider, from Kaele, from Yagoua to just cite this one. Maroua attracts many tourists from all over the world who can appreciate following points in the town:

The museum of local art: The museum of local art is situated at the enter of the central market. At the right wing on the first floor of the building is a show of artistic objects from the region. The left wing is the artisanry center. The artisans offer you theier leather, iron, ivoiry and wood made products at reasonable prices. Around the building are also some traders selling different articles as food, books and jewels.

The quarter of tanners: The quarter is along the way to Mindif. That is the place where the tanners worked lether of different animals. Please be prepared, if you are very sensible against strong odors.

The quarter of forgers ( blacksmith): The interest of this site reside in the genius of the cecovering that lives in the north cameronian forger. Indeed the blackmithes are practicicing the real recycling. With few hammer stroke a suspension of a vehicle is transformed into knife, a car body become a garden gadget. In another place a piece of aluminium is fused and moulded to kitchen utensil. And if you want you can pass your order.

The central market: Located at the quarter of Funange, the central market is without doubt the most interesting point in the city. The market is seven days open but the market day is monday. The market is visited by almost all the people from the region (Nigeria, Niger, Tchad and The Nortern Cameroon). You will get nearly all you need from this market and beyond that you will enjoy the art and way to bargain

The quarter of tanners: The quarter is along the way to Mindif. That is the place where the tanners worked lether of different animals. Please be prepared, if you are very sensible against strong odors.

The palace of the Lamido: The lamidat (the palace of the lamido) of Maroua is located on the avenue of kakatere just after the 3rd street on the left side if you are coming from the provincial bureau in the direction to the central market. 

Tourism around the town

There are some interestant sites outside the city:

The Waza National Park is a national park in Far North region in Cameroon. It was founded in 1934, as a hunting reserve, and covers a total area of 1,700 km². The park became a National Park in 1968, and is a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 1979. Waza is home for lions and elephants and in particular for one of the last populations of the Western giraffe. Kob-antelopes have increased to 5000 in the 1990s since a strong decline in the 1980s. There is an important settlement of birds in the park. How to get there? From the city of Maroua you better plan 1 and half hours to reach the Waza village and the entrance to the park. The road between Maroua and Waza is paved. There are some mini buses that will drive you there, but a better solution is to borrow an all wheel drive car, that you can use in the park. Where to sleep? The campement of Waza on the hill in the vicinity is a good place to rest and enjoy the evening after a probably a stressful day.

Rhumsiki: Rhumsiki is a village in the Far North Region of Cameroon. Rhumsiki is located in the Mandara Mountains about 120 km from Maroua and 3 km from the border with Nigeria. Rhumsiki is one of Cameroon''s most popular tourist attractions and "the most touristic place in northern Cameroon". The attraction is the surrounding scenery. Writer and explorer André Gide wrote that Rhumsiki''s surroundings are "one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world." The spectacular effect is created by surrounding volcanic plugs (the remnants of long-dormant volcanoes), basalt outcroppings, and the Mandara Mountains.  The largest (and most photographed) of these rocks is Kapsiki Peak, a plug standing 1,224 m tall. It is even a natianol symbol, because it was once printed on some 1000 CFA bank note. 

The tooth of Mindif: The tooth of Mindif ( french: dent de Mindif) is located in the town of Mindif at about 30 km from Maroua. It is a relief that has a form of a reversed molar. The peak can be seen from Maroua. .

Moa Zip of Loulou :  Loulou is a village situated in the district of Ndoukoula about 50 km in the south of Maroua. The peak of Loulou or "Mua zip" in Giziga the local language is considered as sacred place by the population. On the plateau of the mountains chain of this place had settled the giziga until the end of seventies. From the plateau they defended theierself successfully against the fulbe conquerors and later against the european slaves hunters and colonisators. This explain the unsignificant presence even today of the fulbe in the region.

The obus huts of Pouss: The Mousgoum huts have been famous since the 19th century, but exist surely longer. Their grand size, curved features and slender shapes have surprised many travellers stopping in the Mousgoum villages. The explorers Heinrich Barth in 1852, Schweinfurt in 1868 and Nachtigal in 1872, allude to these structures in their writings as ''hutshells'', a term that was later translated by the French colonisers as ''cases obus''. Unfortunately, this magnificent architectural culture is slowly disappearing. The few huts still standing that one can admire, which include several in ruins, are located in the Canton of Pouss.