The Gambia
Though the Gambia is small it offers a wide variety of sites offering tourist excursions and attractions. There are numerous land-based tours, mixed excursions and river trips organised by tours operators freelance official tourist guides.
Atlantic Coastline & Beaches
Numerous kilometers of coastline alternate with public beaches, equipped with sun loungers and restaurants, as well as wild beaches, picturesque landscapes, bays, cliffs. Everyone can find the beach of their dreams here.
African Markets in The Gambia
The Gambia has a large number of markets where locals and tourists can purchase a wide variety of goods, ranging from food and clothing, to local artisans.
The most famous are Albert Market and Serekunda Market. Among tourists also popular Kotu and Senegambia Craft markets.
The items are sourced in The Gambia and made locally. There are a wide range of art and craft for sale such as tie dye bags, hats, wooden carved masks, gourds, silver jewellery, numerous variations of drums, leather wallets and sandals and chains.
Kunta Kinteh Island (James Island)
The old Fort of James Island (re-named Kunta Kinteh Island in Gambia) is located about 30 km upstream on the river (see map) and is home to the ruins which once belonged to colonial Britain. This was the last bit of African soil that many slavessaw before being transported in the bowels of transatlantic slave ships to the Americas.
Abuko Natural Reserve
Abuko National Park is a nature reserve in the Gambia lying south of the town of Abuko. It is a popular tourist attraction and was the country's first designated wildlife reserve. The flora consists of a typical savanna and gallery forest landscape. There are a three primate species: vervet monkeys, red colobus monkeys and patas monkeys. Other mammals include antelope, squirrel, porcupine, African palm civets, mongooses, galagos, and several types of rodents, including cane rats.
Among the reptiles at the park are monitor lizard, Nile crocodile, dwarf crocodile, spitting cobra, black cobra, python, puff adder and green mamba.
Tanji Bird Reserve
Tanji Bird Reserve covers an area of 612 hectares. It is also known as Karinti or Tanji River Reserve or National Park. There are around 300 species of birds recorded within it, including 82 species of Palearctic migrants. Species seen regularly on the reserve's lagoons include Black-headed heron, white-fronted plover, Caspian tern, spur-winged plover, sanderling, Western reef heron, royal tern and lesser black-backed gull. While the Bijol Islands are an important feeding and roosting area for substantial numbers of shorebirds, seabirds, ospreys, and other birds, including Gambia's only breeding seabirds, including colonies of grey-headed gulls, slender-billed gulls, royal terns, Caspian terns, long-tailed cormorants and Western reef herons.
Fajara Golf & Tennis Club
Operating from 1937, Fajara Golf Club offers visitors 18 holes 4700m long golf course, as well as 2 tennis courts, a swimming pool and a UK owned family restaurant.
Restaurants and Nightlife
Nightlife is virtually non-existent in Banjul, with its daytime population leaving the city for the Kombos, where many of those who work in Banjul live. For something slightly more exhilarating, see if you can catch a traditional music and/or dance performance at one of the local hotels, or head to the Senegambia strip where something is always happening despite the country's generally rather hushed and low-key night time entertainment.
