THE GAMBIA > AFRICA > INDEX


In West Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and Senegal. Primarily an agricultural nation growing groundnuts, rice, maize, millet and other cereals, and horticulture. Agriculture and fisheries combined account for nearly 6o per cent of Gross Domestic Product.

Administrative divisions Gambia : Banjul City, Lower River, MacCarthy Island, North Bank, Upper River, Western

Capital City of Gambia: Banjul


car hire, hotels, travel agencies, travel guides, transportation / traveling to gambia

links


Car Rental Gambia

 AB Rent a car
AB rent a car is Gambia's leading car rental company, boasting over 9 years of experience.
next to the Senegambia Beach Hotel, Senegambia Highway, Kololi,
 Avis [ Banjul ]
 Bikes n Buggies - Ride Bikes and Buggies in The Gambia

Hostels / Guest Houses

 Malawi Guesthouse, Kairaba Avenue
 Newtown Guesthouse, Newtown Road, Newtown
 The Atlantic Guesthouse, Atlantic Road, Bakou

Hotels in Gambia

 Senegamba Beachhotel - 20 km van Banjul, 5 km van Serrakunda
 The Kairaba Beach Hotel, Serrekunda, Tel: (220) 462940-4

National Parks

 National Parks in Gambia
Baobolong Wetland Reserve, River Gambia National Park, Bijilo Forest Park [ viele Vögelarten ], Niumi National Park, Abuko Nature Reserve en Tanji Bird Reserve.

 Baboon Island National Park - wildlife sanctuary

Travel Agents / Tour Operators



Inbound

 Discovery Tours, Serrakunda
 Gambia Birding Goup - Guides for up river trips and on the coast
 Gambia Tours, Banjul
 Gamtours, Kanifing
 R.M. Tours, Banjul

Travel Guides Gambia / Related books

Books about The Gambia

 The Rough Guide to the Gambia - Richard Trillo, Emma Gregg
"The Rough Guide to the Gambia" should prove a useful companion for a visit to Africa's most accessible country. Detailed maps and plans are complemented by expert and upbeat guidance on the beaches, villages and music, the mangrove creeks and the Gambia River itself. There are first-hand reviews of pretty much every accommodation, restaurant and bar option in the country, both on and off the beaten track and for everyone from shoestring travellers to luxury tourers. The guide is also full of trademark candid insights into Gambian history, politics, music, language and culture.
Paperback 304 pages (November 6, 2003); Publisher: Rough Guides; Language: English; ISBN: 184353083X.
 The Good Tourist in the Gambia: A Guidebook for the Conscientious Tourist 
Ann-Britt Sternfeldt
This guide tells visitors how to enjoy the best the Gambia has to offer, and to enjoy it more responsibly and respectfully - all described clearly and simply. The Gambia offers: guaranteed sunshine and warmth; African wildlife and nature; one of the most fascinating waterways in Africa: the River Gambia; a rich and vibrant musical tradition; and the history of slavery - with buildings and monuments from time. This guide provides readers with the facts and background to the country, its wildlife and its culture. Sections in the book also include: fitting in, food and drink, cafes and bars, handicrafts, textiles, music, music and dance courses and a clear and conscientious ABC to the Gambia, helping visitors to appreciate everything the Gambia has to offer, with consideration for surroundings a primary concern.
Paperback 96 pages (June 15, 2002); Publisher: The Good Tourist; Language: English; ISBN: 9197401048
 Michael Tomkinson's Gambia 
The Gambia is the closest tropical country to Europe in which English is spoken and Winter sunshine guaranteed. A microcosm of West Africa, in its peoples, languages, cultures and religions. A floral and ornithological delight of gardens flamboyant with flowers, of savanna, forests creeks and beeches vibrant with birds. For the smallest independent state in Africa, The Gambia does not lack superlatives. It is however lacking in up-to-date documentation that does justice to its visual attractions as well. In this second edition of his second book on the country, Michael Tomkinson combines the colour of 300 illustrations with well -researched writing. Revised in 1999-2000, this new Gambia also sets out to mark a new departure in travel publishing.
Paperback 128 pages (June 2001); Publisher: Michael Tomkinson Publishing; Language: English; ISBN: 0905500644
 The Gambia: The Bradt Travel Guide - Craig Emms, Linda Barnett
Whether you wish to explore the lush forests or walk along the golden beaches, drink green tea in mud -walled villages or seek out the secretive hippos, this guide will help you celebrate the gateway to Africa.
Paperback 272 pages (July 2001); Publisher: BRADT Travel Guides; Language: English; ISBN: 1841620408
Lonely Planet West Africa
by Anthony Ham (Author), James Bainbridge (Author)
Paperback: 904 pages; Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; 6 edition (October 2006); Language: English; ISBN-10: 1740597710; ISBN-13: 978-1740597715

Transport / How do I travel to Gambia

 Banjul International Airport, 24 km van Banjul
 Gambian Yundum International Airport

 SN Brussels Airlines - Flights to Gambia
 Swiss

 Gambia International Airlines - Flight tickets Gambia

  Airline Tickets / Bargain Flights - price comparison possible

Ocean going vessels can navigate upriver as far as Kuntaur, 150 miles inland.

 Map of Gambia [ Uni Texas - Perry-Castañeda Library - Map Collection ]


Links 

 Travel Insurance

 Government - Republic of Gambia - see 'Directory' for links
 National Tourist Guide Association
 Gambia.com - official website Gambia

 Banjul - Capital City of Gambia
In pre-independence days called Bathurst, Banjul is the capital city and seat of government of The Gambia. Beautiful batiks, silver filigree jewellery and other craft objects are in the shops.
 Bajul - Gambia Ports Authority

 Lower River
 MacCarthy Island
 North Bank
 Upper River
 Western

 Bakou
 Banjul
 Basse Santa Su
Major trading centre for the upper reaches of the Gambia river. Handsome trading houses built at the turn of the century can be seen there.
 Brikama
 Brufut
 Fajara [ beach resort ]
 Farafenni
Main ferry crossing for the Trans-Gambian highway. Link between the two parts of Senegal separated by The Gambia.
 Georgetown
The old 'second' city of colonial days and still administrative and trading centre of the region.
Georgetown is, net als Juffureh, een plaats die an important role in the history of the slave trade. De historical buildings in a better state then in other towns and villages, maar zijn slecht onderhouden. De Armitage High School , former chiefs school is hier nog steeds gevestigd.
 Janjanbureh
 Juffure / Joffure
Alex Haley, author of 'Roots' traced his ancestry back to this village. Kunta Kinta was alleged to have been abducted from here and sold into slavery in America.
 Karantaba Tenda
The great English explorer, Mungo Park, set out from a point near here to trace the source of the Niger in the early 19th century. An obelisk marks the spot.
 Kololi
 Kotu [ beach resort ]
 Mansa Konto
 Sukuta
 Serrekunda
 Sutukoba
Once a thriving trading town and the ancient Portuguese entrepot from the interior of the continent.
 Tendaba / Camp Tendaba
100 miles from Banjul. Can be reached by road or boat. Superb place to enjoy the richly varied bird and animal life by the river.

 Wassu - - Wassu Stone Circles from the 8th century
Her you find stone circles, comparable with, but smaller and younger in time then those of Stonehenge in England. They mark the places where ancient tribes buried their leaders and warriors. Made of hewn laterite there are scores of these sites dotting the landscape

 Albreda
The main French trading post before they withdrew from The Gambia. Slaves who escaped could claim their freedom if they reached its flagpole.
 Fort Bullen - Barra Point
The fortress was built by the British two hundred years ago to cover the approaches to Banjul and the river. It succeeded James Island Fortress, destroyed by the French. It can be reached by direct ferry from the capital.
 Julbrew - Banjul Breweries Limited
 News - Gambian Daily Observer

Cuisine - Gambian Foods / Recipes

Gambian dishes: Chere, Chew i Kong, Chew i Yappa, Chicken Yassa, Domoda, Fufu, Jollof Rice, Plasas, Superkanja

 Gambian Recipes
 South of the Sahara: Traditional Cooking from the Lands of West Africa 
By Elizabeth A. Jackson
Come and discover the rich and sultry blend of meats, tropical fruits, vegetables, grains, spices and oils that served as the foundation of West African life for centuries. The history of these lands is as rich as the spicy food. Learn about ancient empires and the origins of modern nations as you choose from a selection of 120 tempting dishes.
Paperback 204 pages (June 25, 1999); Publisher: Fantail

The Best of African Cooking 
By Manjase Banda (Author), Esanjam (Producer)
Paperback: 144 pages; Publisher: Esanjam; 2 Revised edition (March 14, 2007); Language: English; ISBN-10: 0954682130; ISBN-13: 978-0954682132
 
 African Recipes

History of Gambia

Independent from the UK: 18th of February 1965

Gambia and Senegal became a federal nation on the 12th of December 1981, called 'Senegambia'. It ended on yhe 30th of September1989.

The Gambia was once part of the Ghana and Songhai Empires. In 1588, the claimant to the Portuguese throne, Antonio, Prior of Crato, sold exclusive trade rights on The Gambia River to English merchants; this grant was confirmed by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I. In 1618, King James I granted a charter to a British company for trade with The Gambia and the Gold Coast (now Ghana).

 History of the Gambia - Wikipedia
 Nova Scotia Gambia Association
Canadians & Gambians Working Together on Programs for Youth
 Songhai Empire
From the early 15th to the late 16th century, the Songhai Empire was one of the largest African empires in history. This empire was centered around the city of Gao, and its base of power was on the bend of the Niger river in present-day Niger and Burkina Faso. Outside of this, the Songhai lands reached far down the Niger river into modern day Nigeria itself, all the way to the Northeast of modern day Mali, and even to a small part of the Atlantic coast in the West.
 Tanje Village Museum
Come by and walk through a small open-air village museum, which is made to model the situation of Gambian homes of about a hundred years ago. As a visitor you can enter the houses and have a closer look and feel of the various ways of common household activities and situations.

Music, Culture & Entertainment

 Roots - Alex Haley
This is the extraordinary account of Alex Haley's own 12 year search for his family's origins. Tracing his ancestry through six generations, he discovered a 16 year-old youth, Kunta Kinte. It was this young man who held the key to Haley's deep and distant past
Paperback 688 pages (January 21, 1994); Publisher: Vintage; Language: English; ISBN: 0099362813
 Cora Connection - The Manding Music Traditions of West Africa
 Mande Music: Traditional and Modern Music of the Maninka and Mandinka of Western Africa
By Eric Charry
most comprehensive source available on one of Africa's richest and most sophisticated music cultures. Using resources as disparate as early Arabic travel accounts, oral histories, and archival research as well as his own extensive studies in Mali, Guinea, Senegal, and the Gambia, Charry traces this music culture from its origins in the thirteenth-century Mali empire to the book studios of Paris and New York. He focuses on the four major spheres of Mande music--hunter's music, music of the jelis or griots, jembe and other drumming, and guitar-based modern music--exploring how each evolved, the types of instruments used, the major artists, and how each sphere relates to the others.
 Mandinko: The Ethnography of a West African Holy Land
The portrait of the Mandinko that emerges in this case study is one of a particularly religious people who have a deep sense of their own history and of their importance to the history of their particular region of West Africa.
By Matt Schaffer and Christine Cooper
 The Roots of the Blues, An African Search by Samuel Charters
American author and musicologist Charters sets out on an adventure's in the Gambia. Hoping to find the link to American Blues, he discovers something quite different. This book is not a comprehensive scholarly work, such as Eric Charry's book "Mande Music," Instead it is more of a travelog. Join the author on his long excursion overland from Banjul upriver in to the Gambian 'provinces,' up to Dakar, Senegal, to join the Bamako -Dakar International Express train, and then down the West African coast via boat for a stop in Freetown. As you travel with Charters, you discover the music of the griots and many stories of West Africa.
 Village Pulse Outpost - recordings of Mandinka drum music
 Kora
The kora is a 21-string harp-lute. The sound of a kora resembles that of a harp, though when played in the traditional style, it bears a closer resemblance to flamenco guitar techniques. See for more Wikipedia and Kora-music.com [ with sound samples ].

Web Portal / Gambian Search Engine / Gambia Directory

 VisitGambia.com
Fact Sheet, Getting There, Accomodation, Restaurants & Bars, Excursions, People & Culture, Shopping,  Getting Around, Gallery, Wildlife, Historic Sites, Eco-tourism, Events, Roots, River Gambia and more
 Visit the Gambia
Fact Sheet, Getting There, Accomodation, Restaurants & Bars, Excursions, People & Culture, Shopping, Getting Around, Gallery, Wildlife, Historic Sites, Eco-tourism, Events, Roots, River Gambia and more
 Gambianet
 Gambia Resource Page
 Hooked on Gambia - Fishing in The Gambia
 Mandarin Productions - small company specializing in bird song CD's
Bird Song of The Gambia and Senegal recorded by Clive Barlow, John Hammick and Pat Sellar
 Nijii - Homepage of Momodou Camara from Nijani in the Central River Division
The Bantaba | Culture, Serrekunde, Gambia Daily News, the Stone Circles and more
 The Gambia -
 West Coast Radio

 Contemporary African Database *****
 Allafrica.com [ English and French Language ]
Posting over 700 stories daily in English and French and offering a diversity of multi-lingual streaming programming as well as a 400,000-article searchable archive [which includes the archive of Africa News Service dating from 1997].
 The Good Tourist
Publishing company which focus on Fair Travel. A kind of travel where we show consideration and respect for animals, nature and humans at the same time as we ourselves get a more memorable vacation. To be responsible doesn't mean to deny yourself, rather the reverse, often it gives opportunities for new experiences. It is possible to combine business with pleasure!


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