The Best Time to Visit Cameroon: Seasons, Weather & Festivals

Cameroon's two-season rhythm

Cameroon sits between the Sahel and the equator, so it doesn't have spring or autumn. Instead, life runs on a dry season and a rainy season, and exactly when they fall depends on which region you visit.

The far south and coast (Douala, Kribi, the rainforest) are humid almost year-round, while the north (Garoua, Maroua, Waza) is hotter and drier with a single, sharp wet season.

The best overall window: November to February

For most travellers, late November through February is the sweet spot. Across the country roads are passable, humidity eases, and the northern parks open up.

• Waza and Benoue National Parks are at their best from December to April, when animals gather at shrinking waterholes.
• Mount Cameroon (4,095 m), West Africa's highest peak, is best climbed in the dry months around November to March.
• Coastal Kribi and Limbe are warm and beach-ready, though brief showers can pass through.

Peak vs shoulder season

Dry-season months are effectively peak season for parks and trekking, so book guides and lodges early around Christmas and New Year. The shoulder months of October and March can offer lower prices and thinner crowds while weather is still reasonable.

Avoid the heaviest rains: the coast and southwest see torrential downpours from June to September, when Douala and Limbe are at their wettest and forest tracks turn to mud.

Festivals and events by month

• February Mount Cameroon Race of Hope, a gruelling run up and down the volcano from Buea.
• December Ngondo Festival in Douala, the Sawa peoples' water rite on the Wouri River, with pirogue races and rituals.
• Dry season (varies) Nguon ceremony in Foumban, the centuries-old Bamoun gathering honouring the sultan.
• Late dry season Nyem-Nyem festival near Ngaoundere, marking resistance history with horsemen and drumming.
• Movable Islamic celebrations such as Eid (Ramadan) shape the calendar in the Muslim north.

A quick regional cheat sheet

• North (Waza, Maroua): go December to April.
• Mount Cameroon and the West: November to March.
• Coast and rainforest: November to February for the driest spell.

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