Location: Banjul
Top Things to do in Banjul
Countries
What to do and see in Banjul, Gambia: The Best Places and Tips
At the mouth of the Gambia River, Banjul is an oft overlooked seaport hub of economic and cultural activity. Welcoming visitors into town is Arch 22, a historical monument that also houses a modest textile museum. The city itself is home also to the African Heritage Museum as well as numerous bustling markets. The surrounding area boasts sunny beach resorts as well as nature reserves and national parks where monkeys, birds, hippos and hyenas go about their daily routines in the wild.
Restaurants in Banjul
1. Bijilo Forest Park
Overall Ratings
4 based on 312 reviews
This park contains a wide variety of birds.
Reviewed By Beaubleep - Birmingham, United Kingdom
Basically a small forest where the uneducated selfish tourist can come and ruin the local "wildlife" with the encouragement of the local guides/bumsters.
I wonder what the now totally dependent "friendly" monkeys eat in the low season when the selfish tourists are trashing somewhere else.
To anyone who has a photo of themselves or the family feeding the "friendly" monkeys peanuts if you'd like a photo of what these monkeys look like once people like you leave please drop me a line and I'll forward one to you. Be aware though I don't think you'd use words such as delightful or friendly to describe them anymore, but what do you care you've got your shot to show them down the pub.
2. River Gambia National Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 80 reviews
Five flat Islands comprise this national park, which is also known as Baboon Island. Primates are plentiful, as well as reptiles and birds.
Reviewed By Caroline S - London, United Kingdom
On arrival at the project we were greeted by the friendly and welcoming manager Kelly, who showed us to our amazing safari tent, perched high on a cliff overlooking the river Gambia. A few moments later a huge troop of baboons crashed through the forest in the valley far below us, with a few climbing up into the trees, giving us a perfect view of each other!! This was just the start of many fantastic wildlife encounters during our brief stay. Unfortunately we could only stay one night, but we really wish it had been more and would highly recommend a longer stay. The boat safari to see the chimpanzees was the highlight of our visit to the Gambia! We saw many individuals and small groups, and got some amazing photographs, including that of a first time mother chimp cradling her baby lovingly. The staff at the project were lovely, friendly and knowledgeable and our boat man and guide pointed out so many bird species, crocodiles hidden on riverbanks and told us the names of the chimpanzees we saw. We also saw hippos, green monkeys and red colobus monkeys - overall an amazing experience for wildlife enthusiasts and a fantastic place to visit to experience a successful rehabilitation project.
We plan to return again one day...thank you Kelly and all the staff for an amazing adventure!
3. Albert Market
Overall Ratings
4 based on 199 reviews
Reviewed By pinchetravels - San Juan, Puerto Rico
1. It was like any market in the world that had all the products there. The difference was that this one was truly disgusting. Fruits were rotting, there were thousands of flies everywhere.
2. The people can be pretty annoying too. They hiss at you and try to call you in, but in a rude matter.
3. No real places to eat and if you want to eat a proper meal, don't ever eat here. You might even get cholera if you are not careful.
Seriously, don't waste your time and energy visiting, unless you have nothing to do and have time to kill.
4. Abuko Nature Reserve
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 144 reviews
This comparatively small and easily accessible wildlife reserve is home to a number of indigenous African birds.
Reviewed By TraavelGeek - Bengaluru, India
This is a good reserve if you are really interested in exploring the nature and go without any set expectations. There is no point going there just to tick the box on the places you visited. You need a proper, experienced and knowledgable guide with you to enjoy this park. I do not recommend taking "any" guide at the park as most of them are useless. Also do not go in large groups as you will scare the animals out and will only be able to see the ones in the cage. You need to have a lot of patience and stamina to walk for at least 90 minutes. The best time to visit is in the morning when the sun is not heavy on you. We went during the rainy season so it was a different experience altogether. However, the walking paths were a bit muddy and we had to be extra careful but we thoroughly enjoyed our outing. We had an excellent guide with us who was very knowledgable and knew everything about the park. He was our private guide, not costly at all. If you are visiting this country then spend a little extra it will be worth the experience you get compared to others. We saw many beautiful birds on our way as well lot of red monkeys. They are very shy of humans so make sure you do not make any noise when you spot them. It is a treasure to see them jumping from the tree branches or just sitting over there. We spotted two chameleons and our guide said that you must very lucky to have them. He got one of them before it ran away and put them on a stick and handed it over to us. We could see it changing colors before we let it go free in the wild and had enough of pictures with it. The experience with Hyena was great as well as this was the first time I saw them and so close. They do look dangerous but we had a
Ranger protecting us while we take our picture with them having behind us in the close proximity. The Rangers will be quite supportive if you go with a known guide and that is the difference. They too will share lot of knowledge with you. Eventually, you need to be friendly and taking interest and then everything else will automatically fall in place. Don't be like another tourist.
5. Arch 22
Overall Ratings
3 based on 115 reviews
Reviewed By pinchetravels - San Juan, Puerto Rico
Just an arch and you can take pictures. There were some seatings to the side across the judicial hall.
Seriously, nothing exciting.
If you are traveling, make sure to take your passport. There were several checkpoints and the police give you a hard time without one.
Easily accessible.
6. National Museum
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 6 reviews
7. Roman Catholic Cathedral
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 5 reviews
8. West Kiang National Park
Overall Ratings
3 based on 11 reviews
A diverse population of birds, mammals, reptiles and fish live in this vast wildlife preserve.
Reviewed By travellerNEEngland - NE England
I was disappointed by our trip to West Kiang National Park. Perhaps we did not spend enough time there, but could find as many birds in hotel Gardens etc. Accommodation in the area is very basic.
