HOLIDAY THE GAMBIA   >   AFRICA 


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

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 60 per cent of Gross Domestic Product.

Capital City of Gambia: Banjul. 


hotels the gambia, tour operators - gambia tours, travel guides, travel to the gambia

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Hotels in Gambia

 
Centrally located hotels ranging from small family run budget accommodation to world-class five star hotels.

 

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

National Parks

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

    
Holidays from dozens of leading specialist tour companies and accommodations who are passionate about conserving Africa's wildlife and benefiting its people.



  Hidden Gambia Holidays
Adventure holidays off the beaten track to explore up-river Gambia by boat and road. Discover the rich variety of birds, wildlife and people that live along the river banks of this peaceful West African country.
See hippos, monkeys & chimpanzees, Relax on a tropical river island, Meet the people and appreciate the culture, Fishing trips on the river and Atlantic Ocean
  The Gambia Experience   -   specialist UK tour operator to The Gambia

Inbound

  Discovery Tours, Serrakunda
  Gambia Tours, Banjul
  Gamtours, Kanifing
  R.M. Tours, Banjul

Travel Guides Gambia / Related books

  The Gambia (Travellers) - 1848481543
Lindsay Bennett (Author), Lisa Voormeij (Author)
Paperback: 160 pages; Publisher: Thomas Cook Publishing; 2nd edition (23 July 2009); ISBN-10: 1848481543; ISBN-13: 978-1848481541.

  Gambia (Bradt Travel Guide) - 1841621374
Craig Emms (Author), Linda Barnett (Author)
The Gambia has an excellent tourist infrastructure, allowing all areas of the country to be explored. Plenty of information is provided on the country's ecology and wildlife especially the superb birdwatching opportunities, which can be discovered with the aid of this thorough guide. A wide range of options for travellers to enjoy a luxurious holiday are included: hotels, golden beaches, music and dance. For off-the-beaten-track explorers places such as the Makasutu Cultural Forest, Wassu stone circles and Berending Sacred Crocodile Pool are covered.
Paperback: 280 pages; Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides; 2 edition (29 Jun 2006); ISBN-10: 1841621374; ISBN-13: 978-1841621371.

  The Rough Guide to The Gambia - 1843537036
Emma Gregg (Author), Richard Trillo (Author)
The Rough Guide to The Gambia is the most comprehensive guide to Africa's most accessible country. This second edition, the result of detailed on-the -ground research, reports on exciting new developments including beautiful eco-retreats and imaginative wildlife conservation projects where visitors can see birds, monkeys and chimps at close range. Detailed maps and plans are complemented by expert and upbeat guidance on the beaches, villages and music, the mangrove creeks and the River Gambia itself. There are first-hand reviews of all the best accommodation, restaurant and bar options in the country, both on and off the beaten track, for everyone from shoestring travellers to luxury tourists. The guide is also full of trademark candid insights into Gambian history, politics, music, language and culture.
Paperback: 320 pages; Publisher: Rough Guides; 2 edition (30 Nov 2006); ISBN-10: 1843537036; ISBN-13: 978-1843537038.

Transport / How do I travel to Gambia

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

 
Book cheap flights to Gambia at ebookers and benefit from discounted airfares. View their latest offers and book your flights, accommodation, car hire and insurance online

  Airline Tickets /  Bargain Flights   -   Flights to Gambia / Price comparison possible

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

  Maps International   -    
Mapsinternational.co.uk is one of the largest map shops online.
  Map The Gambia [ Uni Texas  -  Perry-Castañeda Library  -  Map Collection ]


Links 

  Government Gambia   -   Republic of Gambia   -   see 'Directory' for links

  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.

  Central River   -   capital city is Janjanbureh on MacCarthy Island
Districts in Central River Division : Fulladu West, Janjanbureh, Lower Saloum, Niamina Dankunku, Niamina East, Niamina West, Niani, Nianija, Sami, and Upper Saloum. 
  Lower River   -   capital city is Mansa Konko
Districts in lower River : Jarra Central, Jarra East, Jarra West, Kiang Central, Kiang East, and Kiang West .
  North Bank   -   capital city is Kerewan
Districts : Central Baddibu, Jokadu, Lower Baddibu, Lower Niumi, Upper Baddibu, and Upper Niumi
  Upper River   -   capital city is Basse
Districts : Fulladu East, Kantora, Sandu, and Wuli
  Western Division   -   capital city is Brikama
districts : Foni Bintang-Karenai, Foni Bondali, Foni Brefet, Foni Jarrol, Foni Kansala, Kombo Central, Kombo East, and Kombo North / Saint Mary

  MacCarthy Island

  Bakou
  Basse Santa Su   -   Capital city Upper River Division
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   -   capital city Western Division
  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.
  Kerewan   -   capital city North Bank
  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.
  News   -   Gambian Daily Observer

Cuisine   -   Gambian Foods / Recipes

The basis of the Gambian cuisine consists of rice, couscous and / or cassava. Used along with sweet potato and various vegetables. And of course there is much fresh fish, chicken or meat. The finishing touch includes delicious spicy sauces.

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

  Gambian 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.

Music, Culture & Events

  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

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


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