Afrinkong
Mangrove, Savanna and Gallery Forest
Salt mangrove at the mouth, freshwater swamp in the middle, dry savanna at the top.
West Africa · Afrinkong
The Gambia
A river with a country around it.
Three hundred kilometres of river with a strip of land either side, six hundred bird species, chimpanzees on the river islands, and the beaches that made it Europe's first West African destination.
Where it is
Africa · West Africa · The Gambia
The land in brief
- Spans
- 300 km E–W, 80 km N–S
- Latitude
- 14°N to 13°N
- Borders
- 1 country
- Sea
- Has a coast
- Best time
- November to April. Birding is best from November to February when the migrants are in.
Also in West Africa
BeninWhere vodun comes from, and the palaces of DahomeyBurkina FasoThe best cinema and the best masks in West AfricaCôte d'IvoireLagoons, forest and the AtlanticGhanaThe forts, the forest and the highlifeGuinea-BissauThe Bijagos, and eighty-eight islands
Compare The Gambia with another countryAll fifty-four, worked through the same twenty-seven categories.When to come
JFMAMJJASOND
November to April. Birding is best from November to February when the migrants are in.
01Highlights
What The Gambia is known for.
Six of the twenty-seven, and the ones most people come for. The rest are below — and none of them is filler.
Wildlife
Six Hundred Bird Species
In a country you can drive across in twenty minutes. It is one of the great birding places.
Mountains
Flat
The highest point is fifty-three metres. This is river country, not hill country.
Eighty Kilometres of Atlantic
Kotu, Kololi and Cape Point, and the quieter sand south towards Kartong.
Bijilo and Abuko
Small forest reserves close to the coast, with colobus, vervets and a great deal of birdlife.
Culture
Mandinka, Fula, Wolof, Jola
Four main peoples in a country of three million, and a griot tradition across all of them.
02Experiences
25 ways to spend the time.
Every country we cover works through the same twenty-seven categories, so you can hold two of them side by side and compare like with like rather than one brochure against another. Compare The Gambia with another → The two not listed here are the hero picture and the case for going, which has a section of its own below.
Landscapes
- Mangrove, Savanna and Gallery ForestSalt mangrove at the mouth, freshwater swamp in the middle, dry savanna at the top.
- FlatThe highest point is fifty-three metres. This is river country, not hill country.
- NoneNo falls. The river drops so little across the country that the tide runs a hundred kilometres up it.
- The Gambia ItselfTidal for half its length, and every town on it is a landing.
- Eighty Kilometres of AtlanticKotu, Kololi and Cape Point, and the quieter sand south towards Kartong.
- Bijilo and AbukoSmall forest reserves close to the coast, with colobus, vervets and a great deal of birdlife.
Wildlife
- Six Hundred Bird SpeciesIn a country you can drive across in twenty minutes. It is one of the great birding places.
- Chimps at Baboon IslandsA rehabilitated chimpanzee population on river islands, watched from boats only.
- Community BirdingVillage guide associations have run the birding here for decades, and the money stays.
- Birding on FootAbuko, Tanji and the Kotu creek — three of the best birding walks in Africa, all near the beach.
People and culture
- Mandinka, Fula, Wolof, JolaFour main peoples in a country of three million, and a griot tradition across all of them.
- The GriotsThe Jali families hold the histories, and the kora is how they are told.
- KankurangA masked figure of the Mandinka initiation, and a UNESCO-listed tradition.
- Batik, Carving and BasketsTie-dye and batik along the coast, and coiled baskets from the upper river.
- Benachin and DomodaBenachin — one-pot rice — and domoda, groundnut stew with lamb.
- Easy for EverybodyShort flights, short distances, warm shallow sea and a country used to visitors.
- The Fish Landing at TanjiThe boats come in mid-afternoon and the beach becomes a market in twenty minutes.
Places
- Banjul and SerekundaA small capital on an island, and the much larger market town that outgrew it.
- Colonial and CompoundColonial Banjul, and the walled family compounds that are the real unit of Gambian building.
- Kunta Kinteh IslandA slaving island in the river, eroding, and the reason a great many people come.
- Stone Circles and the Slave RouteThe Wassu stone circles are a thousand years old; the river route is four hundred.
Ways to travel
- Upriver by BoatFour days up the river from Banjul to Janjanbureh, watching the country change.
- Long EstablishedEverything from big beach hotels to small river lodges, and forty years of practice.
- River LightThe upper river at dawn, when the mist sits on the water and the fish eagles call.
- KartongThe far south, a river mouth, a crocodile pool and almost nobody.
03Why go
The case for The Gambia.
Why Visit This Country
Why The Gambia
Six hundred bird species and four hundred years of river history, in a country you cross in a day.
Hidden Gems
Kartong
The far south, a river mouth, a crocodile pool and almost nobody.
Eco Tourism
Community Birding
Village guide associations have run the birding here for decades, and the money stays.
Heritage
Stone Circles and the Slave Route
The Wassu stone circles are a thousand years old; the river route is four hundred.
04Go deeper
All of The Gambia, four ways in.
Who would take youAfrinkong
The ground is ours right across Africa: your vehicle, your driver for the whole journey, and the days shaped around what you came for.
In Cameroon, Uganda and Namibia you travel with companies of our own as well.
Plan your journey →
Begin
Your The Gambia starts here.
Tell us the month, or simply the thing you want to see, and a guide who works there will answer.