The W-Arly-Pendjari (WAP) complex is the transboundary protected area that links Pendjari with the W National Park in Niger and Burkina Faso and the Arly reserve in Burkina. Together, the three parks form a single conservation unit listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2017 (an extension of the original W listing) and managed in coordination across the three countries. For wildlife on the ground it functions as one big ecosystem — animals move freely between Pendjari and Arly, less so across the river into W, but the long-range migration of elephants in the wet season ties the whole landscape together.
For visitors, the complex matters mostly as a conceptual frame: when you stand at the Pendjari River looking north, you are looking at the southern edge of one of the great surviving wildernesses of West Africa, not the end of the park. Cross-border travel inside the complex is possible but bureaucratic — most travellers stay on the Benin side. Security in Burkina Faso has been difficult since the late 2010s, and visits to W and Arly from the Burkinabé side are not currently practical.