With a population of around 20,000 people, it is probably the largest lake village in Africa and is very popular with tourists.

The village was created in the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries by the Tofinu people who took to the lake to avoid Fon warriors who were taking people hostage to sell them to European enslavers.

Making the shallow waters and islands of Lake Nokoue a haven, the Ganvie villagers are often referred to as "water men"[1] and the area itself is often called the "Venice of Africa.

[3] The village was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on October 31, 1996 in the Cultural category.

They found refuge in the middle of the lake thanks to deities that protected them.