L’eau verte du lac au pied d’une haute paroi de roche, vue depuis le bord de la carrière
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The green lake of Akak: the quarry that became a lake

On the edge of Yaoundé, a pit of red rock and, at the bottom, deep green water. Nothing about this landscape is natural: it is an old quarry. Its story, how to get there, and the golden rule: you look, you do not swim.

12 October 20263 min read

There are landscapes you think you must travel far to find. This one is about fifteen kilometres from the centre of Yaoundé. A huge pit, walls of red and brown rock cut vertically and, at the very bottom, water of a green so deep you would think it painted. People call it the green lake of Akak.

The green water of the lake at the foot of a high rock wall, seen from the edge of the quarry
A quarry that became a lake
The green water of the lake of Akak, at the foot of the old quarry wall.

A lake that is not natural at all

From the sky you would swear it was a crater. Yet no volcano came this way: people dug this hole. In Akak I, on the outskirts of the capital, a quarry took out rubble stone, the stone that is sold for building. When the rock had nothing more to give, the work stopped.

Then the water came. It filled the pit, and the quarry became a lake. That is what makes the place so strange and so beautiful: a landscape born of an abandoned work site, slowly taken back by plants, in the middle of the neighbourhood’s houses.

Here, the stone was taken to build elsewhere. The hole became a landscape.

A dark rock wall above the lake's water, under a wide blue sky
The wall of the old quarry, above the water.

The golden rule: you look, you do not swim

  • Never alone. Come in a group, and by day.
  • Stay well back from the cliff edge: the rock and the earth can crumble, especially after rain.
  • Keep children close, hand in hand near the edge.
  • Leave nothing behind: no bottle, no wrapper.

How to get there

  • Where: in Akak I, in Soa council area, north of Yaoundé, about fifteen kilometres from the centre.
  • Once there: the point on the NiceThings map sits on the lake; for the last metres, ask local people for “le lac vert” or “la carrière”. It is an old work site, not a developed one: respect what they tell you.
  • Bring: good shoes, water, a charged phone.

Your turn to tell

  • Have you been there? What did you feel when you reached the edge?
  • What do people in the neighbourhood say about this lake?
  • Do you know another place near you that was born of an abandoned work site?

Answer in a comment, just below.

Sources: Mongabay, February 2023 for the story of the quarry.

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