the cacao swollen shoot virus entered Togo from Ghana through the cocoa fields around Mount Agou. A particularly virulant variant of the virus was called "Agou 1". In the 2000s there were plans for commercial exploitation of the bauxite deposits on the mountain, which were met with protests from local environmental organisations. In the present day, the summit area is used for communications; the equipment includes an antenna on the mountain top. Tourism The slopes are lined with several villages and with cocoa and coffee fields that are interspersed with banana plants and other fruit trees. There is a paved road to the top that can be travelled by motorbike or car. Most tourists however prefer to take the unpaved foothpaths that are used by the local population to commute between the villages and to the fields. These paths cross several streams, and pass by a waterfall. Depending on where one leaves the paved road, the walk to the summit can take from a few minutes to up to 3 hours. There are several check points in the area, and local authorities charge a fee from tourists wishing to climb the mountain. Occasionally, a full marathon is organised under auspices of the Togo Leading Athletics Association that includes a climb to the top of Mount Agou. Flora and fauna The mountain and the surrounding areas were densely covered with rainforest in the past, with strong biological connections from Mount Agou to the rest of the Atakora chain. Starting from the second half of the twentieth century, strong deforestation has taken place for logging and agriculture, associated with considerable biodiversity loss, leaving only patches of original forest on isolated spots along the mountain slopes. Nevertheless, biological research has been done, for example on butterflies (Heliconiinae, Papilionoidea, Hesperioidea) and on Pteridophytes. Cultural references An exoplanet (planet orbiting another star) has the name Agouto, which is derived from Mount Agou. It circles the star WASP-64 at a distance of 1200 lightyears in the constellation of Canis Major It received its name from Togolese amateur astronomers in the NameExoWorlds contest of 2019, organised by the International Astronomical Union. References External links "Mount Agou" on Peakery.com Agou Highest points of countries