Kunta Kinteh Island
A rock in the Gambia River with the ruins of a fort and a few baobabs, listed by UNESCO for its place in the slave trade and in the story of its abolition.
- Arrival
- Banjul International · BJL
- To the island
- About 32 km from BJL in a straight line
- Private jets
- At Banjul, with customs on arrival
- Best time
- October to June
The city
Thirty kilometres up the river.
The island sits in mid-river about 30 kilometres from the Atlantic, which is why the Portuguese wanted it: by 1456 they had it from local rulers and were building a fort. The fort was wrecked again and again; the French knocked it down for the last time in 1779, and the walls have stood in ruin ever since, among baobab trees.
On the north bank opposite are Albreda, with an old trading post and a museum of slavery, and Juffureh, the village Alex Haley traced his family to in Roots. Tours from the coast take the ferry from Banjul to Barra and follow the road to Albreda. The dry season, November to May, is the time to go.
- The fort ruins Broken walls on a rocky outcrop, left as they fell in 1779.
- Albreda and Juffureh A Portuguese chapel, a restored colonial warehouse and the slavery museum, a short way from the island.
- Fort Bullen A British fort of 1826 at the river mouth, built to enforce the end of the slave trade after the 1807 Abolition Act.
Arriving
Fly to Banjul, cross the river.
Banjul International, at Yundum, is about 32 kilometres from the island as the crow flies; the way there crosses the river mouth by ferry to Barra.
- Dakar 35 min
- Abidjan 2 h 25
- Geneva 5 h 45
- Frankfurt 6 h 20 long-range jet
- Cape Town 8 h 35 long-range jet
When to go
October to June.
Banjul figures, from the coast downstream. Barely a drop of rain falls between November and May, though March and April touch 35 °C. June brings the first storms, and August is the wettest month by far.
- 32° J 1
- 34° F 1
- 35° M 0
- 35° A 0
- 34° M 5
- 33° J 71
- 32° J 232
- 31° A 380
- 31° S 276
- 32° O 88
- 33° N 5
- 32° D 1
Where to stay
Stay on the coast.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
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Coco Ocean Resort & Spa A beach resort of about ninety-eight suites, with three restaurants and a spa.
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Ngala Lodge A small clifftop hotel of eighteen suites, all of them looking out to sea.
-
Kairaba Beach Hotel Seven bars and restaurants and a spa, on the beach at Kololi.
Where to dine
Dinner back on the coast.
No MICHELIN Guide covers The Gambia. Saffran is the fine-dining room of Coco Ocean; Ngala Lodge’s clifftop restaurant is the best rated of the country’s top-priced tables on Tripadvisor. Both are on the coast, about 40 km from the island.
- Saffran Signature restaurant, Coco Ocean Resort & Spa Moroccan, international Coco Ocean, Bijilo, about 42 km from the island
- Ngala Lodge Restaurant Rated 4.5 on Tripadvisor International, seafood $$$$ Ngala Lodge, Fajara, about 39 km from the island
Flying to Kunta Kinteh Island?
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