The Gambia

by Philip Briggs

Overview

With 16 well-researched chapters and 26 useful maps, this new thoroughly updated second edition of Bradt's The Gambia remains the most comprehensive guide available in any language to what is the smallest country on mainland Africa. Significant development has taken place in recent years and this new edition offers all the latest updates, including new restaurants and hotels, detailed coverage of the many new eco lodges and camps that have sprung up, information on festivals, music workshops and opportunities to experience the unique local culture, and informed advice about birdwatching possibilities in a country very popular with first-time birders to Africa. As well as encompassing the popular coastal resorts, the guide also provides all the detailed information required to explore the relatively undeveloped interior, making it ideal for both visitors on organised packaged holidays and independent travellers alike.


Bradt's The Gambia reveals all the background and practical information needed to explore arguably Africa's most welcoming and safest country with its plethora of beach resorts - catering to all tastes and budgets - that line the 80km stretch of tropical coastline running from the capital Banjul to the remote southern border. Small in size but rich in African character, The Gambia offers perhaps the closest English-speaking ‘winter sun' destination from Europe. Justifiably popular with birdwatchers, the lush mangrove- and jungle-fringed river is also home to crocodiles, hippos, chimpanzees and a variety of monkeys. Historic attractions include the mysterious megalithic stone circles at Wassu and Ker Batch, and the fortified James Island and former slave-trading village of Juffureh (to where Alex Haley traced his ancestry in the book and TV programme Roots) - all of which form part of the country's two UNESCO World Heritage Sites and offer rich pickings to moderately adventurous travellers.


Bradt's The Gambia is the perfect companion for discovering this safe, welcoming and decidedly tourist-friendly English-speaking country which makes for an ideal short-stay introduction to the unique atmosphere of Africa.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781784771041
Publisher:	Bradt Travel Guides Ltd
Publication date:	10/14/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	32 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Philip Briggs has been exploring the highways, byways and backwaters of Africa since 1986, when he spent several months backpacking on a shoestring from Nairobi to Cape Town. His association with Bradt started in 1991 when he wrote the first guidebook to South Africa to be published after the release of Nelson Mandela. Over the rest of the 1990s, Philip wrote a series of pioneering Bradt guides to destinations that were then - and in some cases still are - otherwise practically uncharted by the travel publishing industry. These included the first dedicated guidebooks to Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Ghana and Rwanda, all of which are now in their 4th-7th edition. More recently he wrote the only guidebook to Somaliland, also published by Bradt. He first visited The Gambia in the late 1990s as part of an extended trip to West Africa and returned there twice, most recently in 2013. He has visited more than two dozen African countries in total and written about most of them for specialist travel and wildlife magazines including Africa Birds & Birding, Africa Geographic, BBC Wildlife, Travel Africa and Wanderlust.

This edition has been updated by travel writer and photographer Simon Fenton. After an early career as a biologist, he lived, worked and travelled in Asia for several years before returning to 'settle down' and set up the award-winning social enterprise StreetShine before a perfect storm of events re-ignited his wanderlust. He eventually found himself in Senegal, where he and his Senegalese partner Khady have built – and run – an eco-guesthouse in Abene, a few miles south of the Gambian border. As a member of a jola family, a tribe widespread across the Gambia and southern Senegal, Simon speaks a smattering of the local languages and regularly travels across the region with a particular interest in documenting the local jola culture.

Table of Contents

Introduction


PART ONE GENERAL INFORMATION
Chapter 1 Background Information
Facts and figures, A historical background, Economy and infrastructure, People and culture, Sports and games, Language, Religion, Education
Chapter 2 Natural History
Geology and geography, Habitats, The wildlife
Chapter 3 Practical Information
When to visit, Tourist information and tour operators, Red tape, Getting there and away, Safety and hassles, What to take, Money, Getting around, Accommodation, Eating and drinking, Public holidays, Media and communications, Interacting with Gambians
Chapter 4 Health
Preparations, Common medical problems, Other safety concerns


PART TWO GREATER BANJUL AND KOLOLI
Greater Banjul and Kololi: An Overview, Highlights, Getting around, Other practicalities
Chapter 5 Central Banjul
History, Getting there and away, Orientation, Security, Getting around, Where to stay, Where to eat and drink, Other practicalities, What to see and do
Chapter 6 Bakau and Cape Point
History, Getting there and away, Where to stay, Where to eat and drink, Entertainment and nightlife, Other practicalities, What to see and do
Chapter 7 Serekunda, Fajara and Kairaba Avenue
History, Orientation, Getting there and away, Where to stay, Where to eat and drink, Entertainment and nightlife, Other practicalities, What to see and do
Chapter 8 Kotu and Palma Rima
Getting there and away, Where to stay, Where to eat and drink, Entertainment and nightlife, Other practicalities, What to see and do
Chapter 9 Kololi and Environs
Northern Kololi, The ‘Senegambia' Strip, Bijilo and Sukuta


PART THREE THE COASTAL BELT
The Coastal Belt: An Overview, Highlights, Getting around, Other practicalities
Chapter 10 Brufut, Tanji and Surrounds
Brufut, Tanji Bird Reserve, Tanji and around
Chapter 11 South to Kartong
Sanyang, Gunjur and Madina Salaam, Kartong and surrounds
Chapter 12 Inland to Brikama and Pirang
Abuko Livestock Market, Abuko Nature Reserve, Lamin, Yundum, Brikama, Pirang and Faraba Banta
Chapter 13 Niumi and the North Coast
Barra and surrounds, Albreda, Juffureh and surrounds, Niumi National Park


PART FOUR UPRIVER GAMBIA
Upriver Gambia: An Overview, Highlights, Getting around, Other practicalities
Chapter 14 Inland to Soma and Farafenni
The road east to Kalagi, Tendaba, Kiang West and Bao Bolong, Soma and surrounds, Farafenni
Chapter 15 Janjanbureh and Central River Division
The South Bank from Soma to Janjanbureh, The North Bank from Farafenni to Janjanbureh, River Gambia National Park, Janjanbureh and surrounds, Bansang
Chapter 16 Basse and Upper River Division
Getting there and away, Orientation, Where to stay, Where to eat and drink, Other practicalities, Activities and excursions


Appendix 1 Language
Appendix 2 Glossary
Appendix 3 Further Information
Index