Mount Cameroon, Active volcano in Fako, Cameroon

Mount Cameroon is an active stratovolcano rising to 4,095 metres above the Gulf of Guinea. Its broad dome has a summit plateau at about 3,400 metres, with the Fako crater forming the highest point. Below the summit, radiating ridges and gullies alternate bands of dark rock and green vegetation, and a large smooth face of tan rock is exposed on the left flank.

European explorers first reached the summit in the 19th century, though local communities had long known the volcano. Eruptions occurred as recently as 2000, with earlier outbursts taking place during the 1980s.

The Bakweri, a Bantu people living on the mountain's slopes, consider it the home of their gods; they attributed the 2000 eruption to the death of their chief Monono Otto. The peak is called Fako, and in Bakweri Mongo ma Ndemi means "Mountain of Greatness". Each February, the Mount Cameroon Race of Hope sends runners from Buea to the summit and back.

Hikers need at least two days for the ascent and descent, with overnight stays in simple huts or tents on the mountain. The best months for climbing fall during the dry season, when trails are less slippery.

The coastal side receives extreme rainfall, among the highest amounts anywhere on the planet, creating dense cloud forests on the slopes. Frost sometimes forms at the summit, even though the mountain stands only a few miles from the tropical ocean.