What to do in The Gambia

It’s one of the most unusual places I have been to. And there are two main reason why I liked it: people were extremely nice (there's a reason why it's called 'The Smiling Coast') and the food, particularly fish, was the best I have ever eaten.

1. One of the most popular excursions with tourist companies is the cruise on the vast river of

Gambia, up to 13km in width, to the local villages of Albreda and Juffareh as well as St James’s Island. Juffareh became famous in the 1970ties due to the miniseries ‘Roots’ based on Alex Haley’s book of the same name – a story about slave trading. Albreda has a small museum devoted to slavery. And St James’s Island has ruins of a fort were the slaves were kept in horrific conditions before being transported to the New World. This is a must-see due to its significance in the country’s, and worlds’, history. Nevertheless, it was not a highlight for me and made me and my husband cancel the other trips we booked with the tourism agency and hire local guides instead. Hiring the guides was cheaper anyway, even with the big tips we gave them, and gave us a much more personal and enjoyable insight into Gambia and its people.
 

2. The highlight of Gambia must be the sacred Crocodile Pool. Gambians believe that it can cure infertility so it is visited by many local women who are washed in the waters’ of a pool that contains over a hundred crocodiles. Now it has become a major tourist attraction as well, visited by many foreigners. And the reason for that is tourists are allowed to touch Charlie – the friendly crocodile. As well as walk among many other crocodiles – this is a place you really have to watch where you put your feet!

 

 

3. Foodie highlight was Lamin Lodge  restaurant. Built over the river and surrounded by mangroves, it's a stunning place - a feast for the eyes and the food is a feast for the stomach. I have never eaten fish so moist and tasty as in Gambia, I guess because it was so fresh.

 

4. Abuko Nature Reserve and its animal orphanage. It is the oldest National Park in Gambia as well as the most visited one. It's a great place to visit, nature trail takes you through a jungle past swampy ponds and open savannah. Here, you can catch glimpses of the parks various monkeys and birds as well as Dwarf and Nile crocodiles. The trail leads to the animal orphanage which houses vultures, hyenas, parrots and baboons. We also got to feed the vervet monkeys and baboons. A great day out.

5. Bigilo Forest Park where you get to play with monkeys: you can hand-feed them and let them sit on your shoulder (they're really heavy!). They are great fun and very greedy, you need to take a big bag of peanuts and hold it tight or they will run away with the whole bag. Just make sure you don't get bitten, we were told they carry HIV.

6. Banjul, the capital of Gambia. It's worth spending a day walking around this very small city and it's worth hiring a local guide to show you around. Albert Market is a good place to start where the sights and smells can be quite overwhelming. National Museum offers history. My favourite place in Banjul, however, was Arch 22 - a 35m high structure that offers great views of the city and its surrounding areas.



Whether you choose to do these things or something else, Gambia is an experience you are not likely to forget anytime soon.