[1] The population is of the Bulu clan, part of the Beti-Pahuin tribe.

The Bulu migrated to the area during the 19th century, having been slave hunters until the British sent elements of the Royal Navy in 1827 to the coastal areas in bid to stop the slave trade.

Cameroon's President Paul Biya is a Bulu, from a village near Sangmélima.

The Dja Faunal Reserve ('Réserve du Biosphère du Dja') is a 5,260 km2 reserve that extends to the east of the town, and which was designated a World Heritage Site in 1984.

UNESCO calls it: "one of the largest and best-protected rainforests in Africa, with 90% of its area left undisturbed".