Nzulezo

The village's name "Nzulezo" in Nzema language, means "water surface". According to local legend, the village was built by a group of people from Oualata, a city of the ancient Ghana Empire and in present-day Mauritania, which came about from following a snail.

Nzulezo was built over Lake Tadane, the settlement of Nzulezo consists of stilt-supported structures integrated seamlessly with the water-dominated natural landscape.[1]

It is not known why the village has been built over the water, the main activities of its inhabitants is agriculture, while the fishery plays a secondary role. The lake is however perceived by the local population to protect against certain risks (e.g. a fire).[1]

This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on January 17, 2000, in the Cultural category.[1]

The village was nominated to become a World Heritage Site for its importance in anthropology: in addition to being one of the few ancient settlements on stilts and platforms left in the world, there is a preserved wealth of local traditions connected with the cult of the lake.[1] Lake Tadane occurs on the banks of all religious rites, and Thursday, is a day sacred to the lake, and it is forbidden to use and work on the lake for any activity throughout the day of Thursday.[1]

In recent times the village has been opened to tourism, but with certain constraints (visitations are allowed only once a week).[1] The village can be reached only by a canoe; the route, which crosses the rain forest, takes about an hour to 5 km away. In the village there is a church and a school. As the village is extremely isolated, Nzulezo suffers from numerous health problems, including the vast spread of malaria.[1]