Squashed between Ghana and Benin, like a younger sibling on the backseat of the family car, Togo was once a favourite West African tourist destination. Although things have changed since its 60s heyday when wealthy European tourists wined and dined in the five-star restaurants of Lomé, Togo's capital, visitors still praise the country's beauty.
If there's one reason to go to Togo, it has to be the beaches. Reminiscent of the literary 'Brazzaville Beach', there's a feeling of splendid isolation standing here with the waves lapping at your ankles.
It's hard to imagine these postcard-perfect beaches as the departure point for slaves bound for Haiti, but it was in fact Togo's slaves who carried voodoo and perhaps even carnival across the Atlantic.
Carnivals and festivals are plentiful. If you're there in September try to catch the four day Guin festival revelry in Glidji, just outside the capital.
Sounding rather like a large Parisian department store, the Grand Marché is in fact an animated three-storey market, which sells everything from soap to farm implements. Local crafts people can be seem at work in the Village Artisanal, where you can purchase batiks, sculpture and leather work.
When you tire of the beaches, Lake Togo and Fazao-Malfacassa National Park offer pursuits for the less sedentary. Hiking in the Malfacassa mountains is spectacular. A poor conservation record means you are unlikely to see many wild animals in the park, but it might be as well to watch out for the odd hungry lion.
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