Afrinkong
Nature & LandscapesWhere the Rivers Rise
The Niger, the Senegal and the Gambia all begin within a hundred kilometres of each other.
Photo Bobby Dimas / Pexels
GUINEA · Tourism
The Fouta Djallon
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.
West AfricaRegion
27Tourism experiences
The water tower of West AfricaKnown for
01
Featured destinations
Where the country actually takes you.
Nature & Landscapes
Mount Nimba
1,752 metres on the Liberian border, with species that live on that mountain and nowhere else.
Ditinn and Kinkon
Ditinn drops a hundred metres off a sheer cliff; Kinkon runs through a gorge below Pita.
Photo Labskiii / Pexels
Lakes & RiversThe Upper Niger
It rises near the Sierra Leone border and is already wide by the time it leaves the country.
Photo Tom Fisk / Pexels
Three Hundred Kilometres of Atlantic
Mangrove coast with the Iles de Los off Conakry, and beaches on Roume and Kassa.
Photo Jeffrey Eisen / Pexels
The Guinean Forest
Ziama and Diecke in the southeast — some of the last high forest in West Africa.
Photo Keith Lobo / Pexels
02
Wildlife & safari
What lives here, and how you see it without disturbing it.
Wildlife
Chimpanzees at Bossou
One of the best-studied wild chimpanzee groups anywhere, and one that uses stone tools.
SafariThe Forest, Not the Plain
There is no savanna circuit. What Guinea has is forest primates and the Nimba massif.
Photo Daneswara Eka / Pexels
Eco TourismNimba's Endemics
The mountain has species found on it and nowhere else, and an iron deposit under them.
03
Culture & heritage
The part of a country you cannot photograph from a vehicle.
Culture
Where the Music Came From
Bembeya Jazz, the Ballets Africains, and a state that funded orchestras for two decades.
Photo Tim Oun / Unsplash
Traditional PeopleFulani, Malinke, Susu
Fulani in the Fouta, Malinke in the upper Niger country, Susu on the coast.
Food & CuisineRiz Gras and Fouti
Rice with palm oil and fish, and the sour milk and maize of the Fouta.
Festivals & CelebrationsMasked Dance in the Forest Region
The forest peoples of the southeast keep mask societies that are not for visitors, and some that are.
Photo Bob Brewer / Unsplash
Weaving and Indigo
Fouta indigo cloth, Malinke weaving, and the leatherwork of the highland towns.
The Almamy's Fouta
The Fouta Djallon was a theocratic Fulani state for a century and a half before the French came.
Photo Hany Nafady / Pexels
HeritageNimba, Listed
Mount Nimba is a World Heritage site for its endemic toad, viviparous, that lives on the ridge.
Photo Baptiste D. / Pexels
04
Cities & everyday life
Where people actually live between the landmarks.
Conakry
A capital on a peninsula, with the Grande Mosquee and the sea on both sides.
ArchitectureColonial and Fouta Vernacular
French colonial in Conakry, and round thatched houses with painted walls in the highlands.
Photo quang vinh / Pexels
Local LifeMarket Day in Labe
The highland market fills with Fulani from every village within a day's walk.
Family & CommunityWaterfalls You Can Swim In
Most of the Fouta's falls have a pool at the bottom and a path down to it.
05
Adventure & outdoors
For travellers who would rather walk it than watch it.
Adventure
Hiking the Fouta
Village to village between waterfalls and cliffs, with the best walking network in the region.
Photo Ama Journey / Pexels
Trekking the Highlands
The Fouta has marked routes, village guides and huts, which is rare in the region.
Photo Arpit Rastogi / Unsplash
Luxury TravelModest
Hotels in Conakry and a few in Labe and Dalaba. The Fouta runs on homestays.
Photo Jelilah Kum / Unsplash
06
Travel inspiration
The frames people come home with.
Cliffs and Water
The Fouta escarpments in the hour after the rain stops, when everything is running.
Hidden GemsThe Dame de Mali
A rock face near Mali-ville shaped like a woman's profile, at the top of the Fouta.
Photo DeLuca G / Pexels
Why Visit This Country
Why Guinea
The best walking in West Africa, and the rivers that made the whole region.
Why Guinea
The best walking in West Africa, and the rivers that made the whole region.
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