Afrinkong
Nature & LandscapesMangrove and Tide
The tidal range here is five metres, and the channels between the islands change with it.
GUINEA-BISSAU · Tourism
The Bijagos
An archipelago of eighty-eight islands with saltwater hippos, nesting turtles and a matrilineal society that still chooses its own kings — and a mainland of mangrove and rice paddy behind it.
West AfricaRegion
27Tourism experiences
The Bijagos, and eighty-eight islandsKnown for
01
Featured destinations
Where the country actually takes you.
Nature & Landscapes
Flat Country
The highest point is three hundred metres. This is a country of water, not relief.
WaterfallsNone to Speak Of
No falls — the land has nowhere to fall from. The water here moves sideways with the tide.
Photo Vincent Eshun / Pexels
The Geba and the Corubal
Two rivers cutting deep estuaries into the mainland, navigable a long way up.
Photo Pok Rie / Pexels
Island Sand
Bubaque, Rubane and Orango have empty palm-backed beaches and warm water.
Photo Denys Gromov / Pexels
Palm and Sacred Grove
Oil palm through the islands, and groves that are ceremonial ground and off limits.
02
Wildlife & safari
What lives here, and how you see it without disturbing it.
Wildlife
Saltwater Hippos
The hippos of Orango swim in the sea between islands, which almost no others do.
Photo K / Pexels
Turtles at Poilao
One of the largest green turtle nesting sites in the Atlantic, on an uninhabited island.
Photo Nitin Yadav / Pexels
Eco TourismCommunity Conservation
The island communities police the turtle beaches themselves, and it works.
Photo Mikhail Nilov / Pexels
03
Culture & heritage
The part of a country you cannot photograph from a vehicle.
Culture
Matrilineal, and Still So
Bijago women choose husbands, own the houses, and hold the religious authority.
Photo Sani Maikatanga / Pexels
Traditional PeopleThe Bijagos
Age grades govern life, and the vaca-bruto initiation is danced in a bull mask.
Rice, Cashew and Bica
Rice from the paddies, cashew as the whole export economy, and Portuguese coffee.
Photo Jay Gleaton / Pexels
Festivals & CelebrationsCarnival in Bissau
Masks, drums and neighbourhood competition, Portuguese in form and entirely local in content.
Photo Alex Fanaso / Pexels
Traditional Arts & CraftsCarving and Cloth
Bijago bull and shark masks, and the woven pano de pente cloth used as currency.
Photo David Ramsamy / Pexels
Cacheu
A slaving fort of 1588 on the river, and one of the oldest European buildings in West Africa.
Photo MAG Photography / Pexels
The Bijagos Biosphere
The whole archipelago is a UNESCO biosphere reserve, run with the island communities.
Photo Isaac Naph / Pexels
04
Cities & everyday life
Where people actually live between the landmarks.
CitiesBissau
A small Portuguese-built capital with a decaying Bissau Velho quarter and very good music.
Portuguese Colonial and Palm Thatch
Tiled colonial fronts in Bissau, and rectangular palm-thatch houses through the islands.
Photo Vincent Rivaud / Pexels
Local LifeSunday at the Beach
Bissau goes to Bubaque and the near islands at weekends, by ferry, with a stereo.
Boats and Beaches
Not for very small children — the boats are open and the tides are serious.
Photo Prince Enos / Pexels
05
Adventure & outdoors
For travellers who would rather walk it than watch it.
Adventure
Island Hopping by Pirogue
There are no bridges. Everything is boats, tides and waiting, and that is the pleasure of it.
Fishing the Channels
Barracuda and tarpon in the passes between islands, on light tackle.
Photo Ben Khatry / Pexels
Luxury TravelTwo or Three Lodges
Small fishing and eco-lodges on Rubane and Orango, and not much else anywhere.
Photo Ana Kenk / Pexels
06
Travel inspiration
The frames people come home with.
Photography / Scenic ViewsTide and Palm
The channels at low water, when the mangrove roots come out and the light goes flat.
Orango
Hippos, an island king, and a lodge with no road on the island at all.
Photo Hugo Sykes / Pexels
Why Visit This Country
Why Guinea-Bissau
Saltwater hippos, nesting turtles, and a society run by its women.
Why Guinea-Bissau
Saltwater hippos, nesting turtles, and a society run by its women.
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