Tanguieta Travel Guide

Lions, leopards and cheetah all live in the Pendjari Park. We saw Lions twice on our visit - one sighting each day. The first lion was stalking some antelope but suddenly stopped and roared, basically announcing its presence. We couldn't understand why it did this but then I thought I saw a hyena through the binoculars so maybe the lion was put off by it being there.
Although there are quite a few cheetahs we didn't see one.
We didn't see leopard either but they are very shy and difficult to see here.

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There are many crocodiles and hippos in the "Mares" in Pendjari park. You can sit in the shaded hide at Mare Bali and watch the hippos, which are usually lazing around in the water in the middle of the Mare.
The crocodiles can be seen surfacing sometimes or basking at the edges of the Mare. They are quite small crocodiles - even so I wouldn't walk close the the edge of the Mare!

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There are many birds in Pendjari Park and they are easiest to see by the waterholes or "Mares". We saw -
Marabou Storks
Cory Bustards
Pied Kingfishers
Blue Kingfishers
Fish Eagles
Weavers
Bee Eaters
Crowned Cranes
Hammerkops
Ducks
Geese
Herons
Rollers
Guinea Fowl
Vultures

The Pendjari River Comes from the Atakora Mountains and flows into the sea in Togo.
It runs through the Pendjari Park which is named after it.
We visited in the dry season so the river was not at its fullest but there is still plenty to see from the river banks. We saw -
Fish Eagles
Bee Eaters
Pied Kingfishers
Herons
Warthogs

There are 7 Mares in the Pendjari park, all natural waterholes and quite large. This is where the animals concentrate so they are good places to visit.
We saw hippos and crocodiles in the water, many birds and many animals coming to drink.
Mare Bali is in the centre of the park and has a hide (a covered observation platform) where you can sit in the shade and see what comes along to drink from, fly over or wade in the Mare. There is a family of baboons that like to sit by the hide but they tend to ignore people. Watch out for the baboon poo on the seats though!
At Mare Bali we saw -
Baboons
Roan Antelope
Hammerkops
Crocodiles
Hippos
Guinea Fowl
Kingfishers
Herons
Storks
Impala
Warthogs
Geese
Ducks

Mare Bori is closest to the Batia entrance and the other 5 are concentrated at the top end near the campement and the Koaba entrance. These are
Mare Koudjedegou
Mare Fogou
Mare Diwouini
Mare Yangouali
Mare Sacree
At Mare Sacree we saw-
Herons
Kingfishers
Hippos
Lion
Antelopes
Elephants

Tanougou Waterfall is close to the Tanguieta entrance to Pendjari National Park and is worth a detour on your way. We visited at the end of the dry season so the waterfall was quite small but in the wetter season it must be very spectacular.
There is a pool in front of the falls where you can swim so take swimming gear and towels as there are no facilities actually at the falls.
When you turn off the road there is a camping area and small restaurant with basic but clean toilets (We didn't stay here) where you pay to see the falls and can get a guide to show you the way and help you up. This is quite a good idea as the climb is over rocks and lesser falls and quite steep. I expect it can get very slippery in the wet season. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to reach the falls.
Unfortunately the restaurant didn't have cold drinks when we visited, I don't know if this is normally the case.
There are a few craft shops by the restaurant - you need to haggle quite firmly if you want to buy!