Things to do in Gambia

Visit this UNESCO World Heritage Site in the River Gambia where thousands of enslaved Africans were held before being shipped across the Atlantic.

Get up close with dozens of sacred Nile crocodiles at this holy pool in Bakau, believed to hold fertility-giving powers.

Wander through Banjul's bustling main market where vendors sell everything from colourful wax-print fabrics and handcrafted leather goods to fresh fish and spices.

Cruise through mangrove-lined waterways spotting some of the 560+ bird species found in Gambia, including ospreys, African fish eagles, and malachite kingfishers.

Walk through the village made famous by Alex Haley's 'Roots' and meet descendants of Kunta Kinteh's family.

Sink your toes into the golden sands of Kololi, the most popular tourist beach on Gambia's Atlantic coast.

Share a communal bowl of benachin, Gambia's version of Jollof rice cooked with fish or meat, tomato, and vegetables in a single pot.

Glide in a traditional dugout canoe through the mangrove creeks of this 1,000-acre community forest reserve near Brikama.

Witness the Kankurang, a masked figure covered in red bark or leaves who roams the streets enforcing social order during initiation rites.

Browse exhibits on Gambian archaeology, ethnography, and colonial history housed in a modest downtown building.

Stand among towering laterite pillars arranged in mysterious circles, dating back over 1,500 years to a forgotten megalithic civilisation.

Haggle for woodcarvings, batik fabrics, leather bags, and hand-painted masks at this lively open-air market in the tourist strip.

Cheer alongside passionate crowds as muscular grapplers compete in Gambia's beloved traditional sport.

Board a motorised pirogue and drift past mangrove islands where hippos surface and wallow in the warm brown waters of the upper River Gambia.

Dine on freshly harvested oysters and cold Julbrew beer at this quirky, multi-storey wooden lodge perched on stilts over Lamin Bolong creek.

Join thousands of diaspora visitors and locals for this biennial celebration of African heritage held in Juffureh and Banjul.

Walk shaded forest trails to a secluded beach, spotting green vervet monkeys, monitor lizards, and dozens of bird species along the way.

Cross the wide mouth of the River Gambia on the battered but iconic government ferry alongside trucks, livestock, and dozens of traders.

Climb this imposing 35-metre gate built in 1996 to commemorate the military coup that brought Yahya Jammeh to power.

Sit on a low wooden stool at a roadside tea stand and watch the theatrical pouring of strong, sweet Chinese green tea through three rounds of increasing sweetness.

Explore this open-air museum displaying traditional Gambian housing, tools, and costumes, then walk to the adjacent beach where hundreds of women smoke fish over smouldering wood fires in one of West Africa's most photographed scenes.

Paddle a sea kayak through narrow mangrove channels teeming with herons, egrets, and mudskippers near the Tendaba Camp.

Sit under a baobab tree as a griot — West Africa's hereditary storyteller and musician — performs epic oral histories accompanied by the kora, a 21-string harp.

Walk boardwalk trails through gallery forest just 25 km from the coast, spotting vervet monkeys, bushbuck, Nile crocodiles, and over 290 bird species.

Join the lively open-air bars and beach clubs along the Senegambia strip in Kololi, where live Afro-Manding bands play mbalax and Afrobeat until the early hours.