Afrinkong
Nature & Landscapes
Where the Rivers Rise
The Niger, the Senegal and the Gambia all begin within a hundred kilometres of each other.
West Africa · Afrinkong
Guinea
The water tower of West Africa.
The Niger, the Senegal and the Gambia all rise in the Fouta Djallon, a sandstone highland of waterfalls and cliffs — and Conakry has produced more of the region's music than anywhere except Bamako.
Where it is
Africa · West Africa · Guinea
The land in brief
- Spans
- 750 km E–W, 650 km N–S
- Latitude
- 13°N to 7°N
- Borders
- 6 countries
- Sea
- Has a coast
- Best time
- November to March. The Fouta is best just after the rains, when the falls are still running.
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 AtlanticThe GambiaA river with a country around itGhanaThe forts, the forest and the highlife
Compare Guinea with another countryAll fifty-four, worked through the same twenty-seven categories.When to come
JFMAMJJASOND
November to March. The Fouta is best just after the rains, when the falls are still running.
01Highlights
What Guinea 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.
Nature & Landscapes
Wildlife
Chimpanzees at Bossou
One of the best-studied wild chimpanzee groups anywhere, and one that uses stone tools.
Mount Nimba
1,752 metres on the Liberian border, with species that live on that mountain and nowhere else.
Three Hundred Kilometres of Atlantic
Mangrove coast with the Iles de Los off Conakry, and beaches on Roume and Kassa.
The Guinean Forest
Ziama and Diecke in the southeast — some of the last high forest in West Africa.
Culture
Where the Music Came From
Bembeya Jazz, the Ballets Africains, and a state that funded orchestras for two decades.
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 Guinea 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
- Where the Rivers RiseThe Niger, the Senegal and the Gambia all begin within a hundred kilometres of each other.
- Mount Nimba1,752 metres on the Liberian border, with species that live on that mountain and nowhere else.
- Ditinn and KinkonDitinn drops a hundred metres off a sheer cliff; Kinkon runs through a gorge below Pita.
- The Upper NigerIt rises near the Sierra Leone border and is already wide by the time it leaves the country.
- Three Hundred Kilometres of AtlanticMangrove coast with the Iles de Los off Conakry, and beaches on Roume and Kassa.
- The Guinean ForestZiama and Diecke in the southeast — some of the last high forest in West Africa.
Wildlife
- Chimpanzees at BossouOne of the best-studied wild chimpanzee groups anywhere, and one that uses stone tools.
- The Forest, Not the PlainThere is no savanna circuit. What Guinea has is forest primates and the Nimba massif.
- Nimba's EndemicsThe mountain has species found on it and nowhere else, and an iron deposit under them.
- Trekking the HighlandsThe Fouta has marked routes, village guides and huts, which is rare in the region.
People and culture
- Where the Music Came FromBembeya Jazz, the Ballets Africains, and a state that funded orchestras for two decades.
- Fulani, Malinke, SusuFulani in the Fouta, Malinke in the upper Niger country, Susu on the coast.
- Masked Dance in the Forest RegionThe forest peoples of the southeast keep mask societies that are not for visitors, and some that are.
- Weaving and IndigoFouta indigo cloth, Malinke weaving, and the leatherwork of the highland towns.
- Riz Gras and FoutiRice with palm oil and fish, and the sour milk and maize of the Fouta.
- Waterfalls You Can Swim InMost of the Fouta's falls have a pool at the bottom and a path down to it.
- Market Day in LabeThe highland market fills with Fulani from every village within a day's walk.
Places
- ConakryA capital on a peninsula, with the Grande Mosquee and the sea on both sides.
- Colonial and Fouta VernacularFrench colonial in Conakry, and round thatched houses with painted walls in the highlands.
- The Almamy's FoutaThe Fouta Djallon was a theocratic Fulani state for a century and a half before the French came.
- Nimba, ListedMount Nimba is a World Heritage site for its endemic toad, viviparous, that lives on the ridge.
Ways to travel
- Hiking the FoutaVillage to village between waterfalls and cliffs, with the best walking network in the region.
- ModestHotels in Conakry and a few in Labe and Dalaba. The Fouta runs on homestays.
- Cliffs and WaterThe Fouta escarpments in the hour after the rain stops, when everything is running.
- The Dame de MaliA rock face near Mali-ville shaped like a woman's profile, at the top of the Fouta.
03Why go
The case for Guinea.
Why Visit This Country
Why Guinea
The best walking in West Africa, and the rivers that made the whole region.
Hidden Gems
The Dame de Mali
A rock face near Mali-ville shaped like a woman's profile, at the top of the Fouta.
Eco Tourism
Nimba's Endemics
The mountain has species found on it and nowhere else, and an iron deposit under them.
Heritage
Nimba, Listed
Mount Nimba is a World Heritage site for its endemic toad, viviparous, that lives on the ridge.
04Go deeper
All of Guinea, 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 Guinea starts here.
Tell us the month, or simply the thing you want to see, and a guide who works there will answer.