I visited Pendjari National Park during my 2-week Benin itinerary. I stayed for 1 night in the luxury lodge inside the park. This way I could do an afternoon safari and an early morning safari.

It’s the only park in West Africa now that is suitable for a great game safari. The park is located about 50-60 kilometers north of Natitingou and borders Burkina Faso. It’s inscribed as a transborder UNESCO World Heritage Site together with Arly National Park (Burkina Faso) and W National Park (Niger) as the W-Arly-Pendjari Complex. Its total area is 2755 square kilometers and is home to a lot of wildlife.

Don’t expect the big five but it is home to the West African lion, elephants, hippos, 12 species of antelopes, some smaller game, and an abundance of birds for which the park is most famous. If you’re lucky you can also spot cheetah and leopard but just a dozen are left in the whole park though

I was able to spot most of the animals but no elephants (and no cheetah or leopard). The herds were too close to the Burkina Faso border and at the time of visit the park rangers didn’t allow to go there due to the area not being safe.

Normally I try to visit transborder nomination at least 1 location in each country. I'm not sure if I want to visit the parts in Bukrina Faso and Niger. I'm not sure if this adds anything rather then a tick on a list.