THE NORTH PROVINCE

The North Province (French Province du Nord) makes up 66,000 km² of the northern half of The Republic of Cameroon. Neighbouring territories include the Far North Province to the north, the Adamawa Province to the south, Nigeria to the west, Chad to the east, and Central African Republic to the southeast. The city of Garoua is both the political and industrial capital. Garoua is Cameroon's third largest port, despite the fact that the Bénoué River upon which it relies is only navigable for short periods of the year.Major ethnic groups include the Fulbe (Fula), who are Islamic pastoralists, and numerous Muslim and Chadic, and Nilo-Saharan languages.

The North Province is a land of savanna. This begins with wooded savanna on the Adamawa Plateau with its thick grasses and isolated copses of trees. This territory was once more heavily forested, but repeated burning and livestock trampling has left this original vegetation only in the valleys. Moving north, the wooded savanna gradually gives way to Sudan savanna or parkland savanna in the Bénoué Depression. Here grass cover thins out, and trees become fewer and more isolated, and stunted shrubs become more prevalent. Common species include acacia, baobab, and various palms. Most of these have adapted to the region's harsh dry season and seasonal burning by growing thick bark and shedding their leaves during this period.

The Waza National Park is Cameroon's most famous national park. It is Cameroon's most accessible and rewarding wildlife-viewing experience. The park is open to visitors from 15 November to 15 June. A guide is compulsory in each vehicle that enters the park. While there is no accommodation in the park, visitors can camp near the entrance, or at the tiny village of Waza, north of the park entrance. Access to the park itself might be tricky. However, visitors get a chance to observe various animals like the elephant, giraffe, ostrich, antelope, and gazelle. Moreover, there are a variety of birds to be observed. There are lions in the park, but seeing them requires some luck and a very early start. Late March to April is the best time for viewing, as the animals congregate at water holes before the rains.

Kapsiki Mountains Rising up from The valley, just before the village is the much photographed Rhumsiki Peak. These fascinating rock formations were once the molton cores of vulcanoes, wich cooled and hardened . The exterior of the vulcanoes have eroded away leaving these volcanic necks or plugs, wich are composed of harder rock.