Travel to Gambia with travel insurance from Essential Travel

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Information on Gambia with single trip travel insurance from Essential Travel

Gambia, the smallest country in Africa, is a sliver of land on both sides of the Gambia River. From the Atlantic coast in the west, it stretches just over 300kms inland; on average it is only 32kms wide and is surrounded on three sides by Senegal. Despite its small size, Gambia boasts abundant exotic flora and fauna, a vibrant African cultural heritage and genuinely warm and welcoming people.

On the Atlantic coast, you can find resorts with miles of deserted, palm-fringed beaches, where during the day you can relax, swim and fish for barracuda. In the evening, you can sample some of the wide variety of Gambian and international cuisine.

The capital, Banjul, at the mouth of the river, is the main entry point for most tourists but apart from its market has little to offer the visitor. Craft markets (known locally as ‘bengdula’) are common in many towns and tourist areas. They offer a vast array of bargains, from small souvenirs like silver bangles or music cassettes, to large carvings and colourful African clothes. The most popular items are batik and tie-dye materials, antique masks and other wood carvings.

Gambia has no great monuments, but it does have some interesting stone circles believed to be the ancient burial grounds of kings. The greatest concentration are to be found inland on the northern bank of the river at Kerr Batch and Wassu, where there is a museum dedicated to the mysteries of the stones. There are also some colonial era forts that are worth a visit; among them, Fort James and Fort Bullen.

The village of Juffureh, just upriver from the coast, achieved worldwide fame as the birthplace of Kunta Kinteh, the ancestor of the African-American novelist Alex Haley, who wrote about him in his bestselling book Roots.

Journey upriver and stay at one of the many lodges. Go on boat trips through mangrove creeks, cycle to mud-hut villages and visit colourful weekly markets to get a flavour of the Gambian heartland. Surprisingly, perhaps for such an important waterway, you will find little other traffic on the river apart from the occasional fisherman in a dugout canoe. The river is home to much wildlife, including crocodiles and hippos, and in the estuary, dolphins.

Gambia has nearly 450 recorded species of birds and bird-watching is popular. There are seven protected bird sanctuaries, the best known of these being Abuko Nature Reserve, 24kms outside Banjul.

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