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Off the Beaten Path in The Gambia
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The Gambia Off the Beaten Path

Tips and photos of unusual, out-of-the-way The Gambia attractions, posted by real travelers and locals.
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The Gambia Off the Beaten PathTips 11 - 20 of 69  
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Flowers
  • Tip Rating:
    • JustinJansen
  • Updated By JustinJansen on March 31, 2005
  • The Gambia Page by JustinJansen
    • Yundum flowers... - The Gambia
    Yundum flowers...
    by JustinJansen
    I basiccaly have no clue what kind of flower this is, as with most flowers the case is. A good reference should be Jones, M. 1994. Flowering plants of the Gambia. photographic guide to wild flowers, info on geography, geology, climatem botanical exploration, vegetation types. 160 color photos of species and 173 species not depicted in the text, descriptions.
    But I don't have it!
    We encountered while driving many flowers in the landscape, from pretty fresh to stonedead looking!

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    Green country
  • Tip Rating:
    • JustinJansen
  • Updated By JustinJansen on March 31, 2005
  • The Gambia Page by JustinJansen
    • The bush - The Gambia
    The bush
    by JustinJansen
    One of the most fascinating things about The Gambia was that the landscape all around is looking green. Many trees around and hardly large open spaces with slashed down trees.
    Between Boabtrees loads of other vegetation, but on average the trees are not very high!

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    Termite Mounds
  • Tip Rating:
    • traveldave
  • Updated By traveldave on February 9, 2007
  • The Gambia Page by traveldave
    • The Gambia Off the Beaten Path
    by traveldave
    Termite mounds are a common feature of the grassy savanna zone in Gambia, and elsewhere in Africa for that matter. Reaching heights of ten feet (three meters) or more, they are made of sun-baked mud brought up from below by termites during the construction of their underground nest chambers. Inside, numerous tunnels exit through chimneys on top of the mounds. These chimneys capture breezes to ventilate the termites' nest. The termites do not actually live in the mounds, but rather in a system of tunnels and chambers three to six feet (one to two meters) below the surface. Up to 1,000,000 termites can live in a colony, and they depend upon the air drawn into the nest by the structure of the mound. The termites therefore continually mold the mound to maintain the proper atmosphere in their nest below.

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    The Guinea Savanna
  • Tip Rating:
    • traveldave
  • Updated By traveldave on February 9, 2007
  • The Gambia Page by traveldave
    • The Gambia Off the Beaten Path
    by traveldave
    Away from the Gambia River and coastal areas, the main habitat type in Gambia is the Guinea savanna. This savanna zone is characterized by various types of wooded grassland, in which there is a gradual decline in the number and height of trees as one moves northward, reflecting the decrease in rainfall. The grasses that grow under and between the trees is tall, reaching six to ten feet (two to three meters).

    One of the most recognizable trees of the Guinea savanna is the baobab (seen on the left of the picture), a tree which flourishes in dry savanna zones throughout much of Africa. They can survive long periods of drought and live for many hundreds of years. The baobab is characterized by a thick, swollen trunk and short, root-like branches. Many local legends tell of the baobab angering a god who plucks the tree out of the ground and thrusts it back into the ground upside down.

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    The Kapok Tree
  • Tip Rating:
    • traveldave
  • Updated By traveldave on February 9, 2007
  • The Gambia Page by traveldave
    • The Gambia Off the Beaten Path
    by traveldave
    Originally native to Central and South America, the kapok tree has been introduced to tropical Africa and Southeast Asia. It is now the tallest species of tree in Africa, reaching heights of 150 feet (46 meters) or more. Kapoks produce large pod-like fruit and white, pink, or yellow night-blooming flowers which are pollinated by fruit bats.

    In Gambia and Senegal, villages are often found around and under kapok trees since the trees are believed to possess spirits which protect the inhabitants from bad luck. The village elders also meet under the kapok tree because it produces shade and its roots make comfortable benches.

    The large kapok tree pictured here is the largest tree in Gambia. It is in the middle of the village of Pirang, which is protected by the tree's spirits. Pirang is also protected by large beehives which hang under the tree's massive branches. It is believed that the bees will attack anyone who comes into the village with bad intentions.

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    The Bansang Quarry
  • Tip Rating:
    • traveldave
  • Updated By traveldave on February 9, 2007
  • The Gambia Page by traveldave
    • The Gambia Off the Beaten Path
    by traveldave
    Located just outside the tiny village of Bansang which is upriver from Janjangbureh, the Bansang Quarry is a place that not many visitors to Gambia would ever consider seeing. It is just a small quarry with no cultural, historical, or even scenic attributes. However, it is one of the top sites along the birdwatching circuit due to its large colony of nesting red-throated bee-eaters. The birds dig tunnels into the sand banks where they lay their eggs and raise their young. The quarry is therefore one of the best places in Gambia to observe these gorgeous birds at close hand.

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    Ker Serigne, marketstalls
  • Tip Rating:
    • sachara
  • Updated By sachara on February 9, 2005
  • The Gambia Page by sachara
    • Ker Serigne - The Gambia
    Ker Serigne
    by sachara
    We liked to stay a few days in Ker Serigne away from all the touristic hotels and be part of the local life in the village.

    In the centre of the village, a few blocks of our house, were several streetstalls. It was a small market, where the women were selling vegetables, fruits, fire wood and lots of other goods.

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    Rural Gambia
  • Tip Rating:
    • David&Pauline
  • By David&Pauline on May 23, 2003
  • The Gambia Page by David&Pauline
    • Bah family well - The Gambia
    Bah family well
    by David&Pauline
    Ebou (Abraham) Bah, a casual plumber at the Badala Park invited us to share the end of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr with his family in the north of the country. They farm groundnuts in the bush not too far from Jufureh but a long way from any electricity supply. Fortunately the farmers co-operative, who collect the nuts, had helped them acquire a well making their life a little more comfortable. If you do plan to visit these small communities please take the largest sack of rice you can afford and a bag of sweets for the hoards of children.

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    Kotu Creek
  • Tip Rating:
    • JustinJansen
  • Updated By JustinJansen on April 3, 2005
  • The Gambia Page by JustinJansen
    • Kotu Creek - The Gambia
    Kotu Creek
    by JustinJansen
    Kotu Creek is a small tiday creek, fringed by mangroves and bordered by the Fajara Golf Course to the north and rice fields (and sewage dump) and Oil Palms to the south. It is, for the most part, easily accesible and it is a good spot to watch birds.
    Kotu Creek lies immediately to the south of the main Kotu Beach tourist area and is crossed by two bridges. The lower Bridge which carries the Kotu Beach road itself, and the upper bridge about 1 km upstream where the Kololi-Bakau road crosses.

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    Ker Serigne, colourful gate
  • Tip Rating:
    • sachara
  • Updated By sachara on February 9, 2005
  • The Gambia Page by sachara
    • Ker Serigne - The Gambia
    Ker Serigne
    by sachara
    It was not easy to find our way in Ker Serigne. There were hardly any landmarks and no streetnames. So we had to count the blocks and look out for minor details.

    For me this beautiful gate of the neighbours was a landmark. When I saw this gate I knew I had the right block.

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