The dry, cool season from November to February is the best time to visit. Days are hot but bearable, nights cool, and the harmattan haze lends a soft light to the granite hills. This is also when the great pilgrimage to the Sacred Heart Cathedral takes place — usually in November — which is a remarkable spectacle but means accommodation is impossible to find.
March, April, and May are punishingly hot, with daytime temperatures regularly above 40°C. The rains from June to September turn the countryside green but make secondary roads difficult and bring mosquitoes.