Is Banjul worth visiting?

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Gambia which is one of the smallest countries in the African continent was not known to many till 1977.

But after 1977, this very small country became very popular and attracts many tourists every year.

Banjul is worth visiting, to understand why I traveled there and this is what I found:

There are many interesting places in this small country Gambia, one of such interesting and attractive place for tourists across the world is Banjul, Gambia.

In spite of being just a small part of Gambia country, this place has a lot to offer to its tourists from across the world.

If you are planning for an exotic holiday along with your family or friends, then Banjul is definitely a good choice.

This place pampers its tourists with authentic African culture.

You have tourist hotels, resorts, beautiful beaches and all facilities that you need on your trip to any place. The white sand beaches of Banjul are very popular.

 

Things To Do in Banjul

 

Banjul is a friendly village with cool atmosphere and it has fantastic shopping and museums for its tourists. Banjul is the capital city of this small country Gambia.

Being the capital city of Gambia, it has a rich history and architecture which reminds the colonial past of the town.

Best time to Visit Banjul

You can plan your trip to Banjul at any time of the year. This is an excellent place for those tourists who make their plans suddenly.

Yes, the climate of this place is normal throughout the year and hence making it favorable for tourists from all parts of the world.

The temperature would normally be 30 degree Celsius. In the spring season it may go up to 34 degrees Celsius, but not more than that.

 

Things To Do in Banjul

 

It is not just Spring that you have to enjoy in Banjul, you also have rainy season, but this is just for a very short period.

The spring season is the most common season in this place, but you don’t have to worry about the hot climate at all.

You will have the cool breeze from the Atlantic Ocean, which is going to blow away the heat and give you a relaxing trip here in Banjul.

Best things to do in Banjul

There are a lot of things to do and see in the capital city of Gambia, Banjul, here are a few of my favorite places to visit.

Let’s  have a look them:

Top Things to do in Banjul beach – Kotu Beach

Banjul is the perfect place for beaches.

Whether you are planning a trip with your family, you are lone adventure on a tour to Banjul or whether you are spending an excellent holiday along with your partner, the Kotu Beach is definitely a good choice.

The hot atmosphere of a beach along with the cool breeze of Atlanta is going to be a perfect combo.

This is a beach with white sand and warm blue water and coconut trees all around you make it soothing to see and enjoy as well.

 

Kotu Beach

 

You have sun beds available on the beach and you can enjoy them under the shade of palm trees.

You also a plenty of restaurants and bars around this beach to serve you some hot food and cool beverages.

You will have many people around you who sell many different things. If you are interested then you can buy any of that stuff, but remember to bargain before you buy them.

You also have many juice stalls around the place where you get fresh juice and there is also a saloon available on the beach.

What else to do in Banjul?

River Gambia National Park

This is a definitely a place that you should never miss on your trip Banjul.

River Gambia National Park, which is also known as Baboon Island is having five islands on the River Gambia. These islands are considered as home for the Chimpanzees, which are captured.

This place is specially for those Chimpanzees so that they can live their normal wildlife.

Tourists are not allowed to visit these islands, but you can still hire the boats and take a tour around these islands and this is definitely going to be very pleasant.

 

River Gambia National Park

 

It is definitely going to be a memorable trip to the Chimpanzee rehabilitation project. You can stay there and take the tour.

The tour starts every day at 4pm in the evening and you will get a chance to see the Chimpanzees and a few more wild animals like red colobus monkeys, green vervet, baboons, crocodiles, hippo and a few varieties of birds as well.

The entire trip in these boats will last for almost five hours and you will not be bored even for one second on this boat trip.

You get a chance to see real Banjul and Gambia, so never miss this chance.

The people who are going to take you in this boat camp can even recognize the Chimpanzees and call them by their names. The animals also look very friendly.

Fun things to do in Banjul Gambia

Makasutu Culture Forest

It is another interesting and beautiful place which you should not miss at all. Lawrence and James, founded this place who were two Englishmen.

It took almost 20 years for them to make this place. It is the beauty of this place that inspired them. This a package of thousand of hectares.

You will fall in love with this place and its setting, it has beautiful palm trees, mangroves, wetlands, savannah plains which are covered by many animals like monitor lizards, baboons, some varieties of bird species and many more things.

 

Makasutu Culture Forest

There are a lot of things that you can enjoy at this place.

You have mangrove tour, palm forest tour where you will be able to witness the tapping of palm sap, you also have a craft center to visit at this place and last but not the least traditional dance of Banjul.

This is going to be an excellent trip for those people who are bored of visiting the same old beach every day. You will have an excellent staff who is going to guide you on a day out in the Makasutu Culture Forest.

All nature lovers will enjoy the trip into this forest.

Top Banjul tourist attractions

Kachikally Crocodile Pool

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Banjul is Kachikally Crocodile Pool.

The place is really small and the tour is going to be for a very little time. But this is definitely going to give you a great experience.

This place is considered sacred for the people living in the local areas. Crocodiles are considered as the power of fertility in Banjul and hence any women who is unable to get pregnant will visit this place and offer players.

It is believed that offering prayers at this place will help them in getting pregnant. This culture has been followed for years and you can see women doing this even now.

Kachikally Crocodile Pool

You will have a small pool which is a home for almost 70 plus fully grown crocodiles and you can also find a few small crocodiles in the pool.

If you are someone who loves animals and are daring enough to touch a crocodile then you can definitely enjoy that as well.

You can also feed the crocodiles there. But you should remember that you will have to take the instructions from the guide before you do it.

It can dangerous if you are not doing it in a right way. You also find a very small museum inside the premises which exhibit the cultural artifacts and a few musical instruments which are popular in Banjul and Gambia.

You will just have to spend 40 minutes to one hour for this Katchikally Crocodile Pool tour, but it is definitely going to be memorable for you as you get a chance to touch the animals like crocodiles directly.

This is definitely a wonderful and unique experience in your life.

You hardly get a chance to touch a crocodile in your life, but that is possible here at this Katchikally Crocodile Pool.

Places to visit around Banjul

Bijilo Forest Park

It is a community forest and a small reserve. This is a lovely place where you will have to walk for 4.5 kilometers to reach a series of traits.

You get a chance to see many wild animals here like patas monkey, red colobus monkey, green vervet and many other animals. You can buy nuts in this forest at a very cheaper rate and feed the monkeys in the forest.

You can feed them but make sure to have a guide around you when you are doing this. There are many people who feed them every day and this has made them very naughty.

They come close to you to eat what you are giving them, but sometimes there are chances that they steal away what you are holding in your hands.

You also get a chance to see more than hundred bird species at this Bijilo Forest Park. You will also have monitor lizards which keep staring at you when you get close to them.

This forest park is just a few acres long, but is it is very interesting for both kids and adults as well. Kids love watching monkeys and hence do not miss the chance to watch these monkeys.

Hiring a guide to help you know more about the place can be a good idea. There is a lot that you can know when you are hiring the guides.

What else to see in Banjul?

Abuko Nature Reserve

It is a very rare wildlife reserve’s in Africa. You can reach the place with ease, you will not need any vehicle to go inside the reserve as this is very tiny.

This place is well maintained by the staff and you will enjoy both animals and vegetation in this place. You can definitely feel that this the mightiest place in Banjul, Gambia.

If you love bird watching, then make sure you are not missing this place in your to do list of Banjul trip. You get a chance to see more than 250 species of bird in this place.

It is just your patience that is required else, this is an excellent place.

You also have mammals of around 52 species and is especially famous for green mambas, puff adders, Nile crocodiles, forest cobras and pythons as well.

This place is simply amazing and full of fun both adults and kids as well. But you should be a little careful if you are going along with your kids.

Arch 22

This Arch 22 is a massive building which is 36 meters high. This building was constructed for celebrating the military coup of 1994 22nd July.

This is a very good place to visit on your trip to Banjul. You also have a small museum and café. You can also witness a few exhibitions being held in that place frequently.

This place may not have a lot to offer to its tourists, but is something that you should not miss when you are going for a trip to Banjul.

If you are expecting something high from this place then you would be disappointed anyway

. It is just an interesting landmark in the capital city of Gambia, Banjul. Do not take your kids to this place as they will get bored watching this place.

My favorite places to visit in Banjul

Stone Circles of Senegambia

If you have seen the temples and pyramids of ancient Egypt and liked them, then this place is also going to interest you.

This place Stone Circles of Senegambia is very similar to those pyramids and temples which is attracting many tourists.

You can see similar kind of things in many other parts of the world, but you will not get a chance to see such huge collection in a single place.

The area of this Stone Circles of Senegambia is 15 thousand square miles and it lies between the Gambia river and Saloum.

You will find some hundreds of circles here, but some of them are so different and have curious features.

One of such curious shapes is Lyre Stone which is also called as V stone. There are many such stones circles and shapes which are interesting and are still confusing to the people who visit that place.

The place is called Stone Circles of Senegambia as you will find stones standing in a group in the shape of a circle.

You can find not less than 10 stones in place and it can be up to 244 stones at the same place. The height of these stones varies between 60 cms to 245cms.

There is a lot of history associated with this place. You should definitely not miss this place. You may not have too many things to see here, but you will definitely see something that you have never seen in your lifetime.

West Kiang National Park

This West Kiang National Park is the largest national park in Gambia Country.

You get a chance to see a lot of animals here like baboons, bush babies, warthogs, bush bucks, marsh mongoose and colobus monkeys as well.

 

West Kiang National Park

 

There is no limit for bird watching here.

You get a chance to see more than 300 species at this National park. You get a chance to see a very few animals, but this definitely a place where you will be able to see some special animals.

If you are on a trip along with your kids then you should not miss it.

Banjul Market

This market is definitely a place to see in Gambia.

At Banjul Market you get a chance to see many interesting things. The people here are very friendly and you can buy a lot of things at this place.

 

Banjul Market

 

You should spare at least one complete day to wander in this market and buy things that you like.

You should hire a guide who is having complete knowledge about the market. You can also ask your car driver to help you if he is having good knowledge about it.

Arch Tours

It is a travel company which is very popular in Gambia. You get many different packages to every part of Gambia from this travel company.

You can book your tour trip at Arch tours and you don’t have to worry about anything. They will help you in seeing almost all parts of Banjul. They are having packages for educational tours, cultural tours and many other packages.

The staff of the company is very friendly and they provide you complete guidance when you are visiting each place in Banjul.

You do not have to hire a separate guide at each place as this company is going to take care of everything on your trip.

 

Arch Tours

 

This is the list of top attractions that you should not miss on your trip to Banjul but there are many more things that you can add to your to do list in Banjul.

The most important thing that you should take before you start your trip is make the booking for accommodation and other things that required prior appointment. This small village is full of fun, entertainment and a lot of learning.

You should also not miss the local dances and drums of Africa.

You have many great restaurants which offer you mouthwatering food and you should definitely taste the special food of Banjul than trying the routine food that you get in your place.

You can taste the food of your place at any time, but never miss the signature dishes of the place which you are visiting. Have a great trip to Banjul, the capital city of Gambia.


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ABOUT ME

I’m Jeff – I’m like a human GPS, but instead of giving you directions, I give you the inside scoop on how to have the time of your life on your next holiday.

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