Bondoukou is one of the oldest trading towns in West Africa, sitting close to the Ghana border in the northeast of Côte d'Ivoire. It was a major crossroads on the trans-Saharan caravan routes and grew rich on kola nuts, gold, and cloth. That mercantile past is still visible in the town's architecture and in the makeup of its population — Dyula Muslim traders have been here for centuries, living alongside the Kulango, the original inhabitants of the region.
The town is best known for two things: its Grand Mosque, one of the oldest in Côte d'Ivoire, and its spectacular masquerade traditions. The Bedu masquerades of the Kulango minority and the Sakaraboutou carnival of the Dyula majority are performed around the same time each year, creating an unusual juxtaposition of Christian and Muslim West African performance traditions in a single town. If you can time your visit around one of these festivals, do it.
Bondoukou is not on most tourist itineraries, which is part of its appeal. The old quarter around the mosque rewards a slow wander. The weekly market draws traders from across the region. It makes a reasonable base for exploring the Zanzan region, and the border crossing into Ghana at Sampa is only a few hours away.