Makasutu
A private forest reserve on a mangrove creek near Brikama, with baboons in the trees, canoes on the water and lodges that float.
- Arrival
- Banjul International · BJL
- To the forest
- About 14 km from BJL in a straight line
- Private jets
- Land at Banjul, local agents handle
- Best time
- October to June
The city
A sacred forest on Mandina Creek.
Makasutu means "sacred forest" in Mandinka. Two British travellers, James English and Lawrence Williams, began protecting this stretch of riverbank in 1993, and it now takes in gallery forest, savannah, palm groves, wetland and mangrove along Mandina Creek, a few kilometres north-east of Brikama. More than a hundred people from the villages around work here as guides, cooks, gardeners, carvers, musicians and dancers.
Most visitors come for the day by canoe and on foot. Those who stay sleep at Mandina Lodges, in two-storey jungle lodges set back from the water or in river lodges that float on the creek or stand on stilts. The dry months run from November to May; the rains arrive in June and are heaviest in August.
- Mandina Creek by canoe A slow paddle through the mangrove, with monitor lizards on the banks and the odd crocodile.
- The Guinea baboons A troop of about two hundred, used to people and easy to watch at close range.
- Dances in the forest Musicians and dancers from the nearby villages perform for visitors in a clearing.
Arriving
Banjul, then a short drive inland.
Banjul International, at Yundum, lies some 14 kilometres from the forest in a straight line.
- Dakar 35 min
- Abidjan 2 h 30
- Barcelona 5 h 00
- Paris 5 h 55
- Miami 9 h 00 long-range jet
When to go
October to June.
Figures for Banjul, on the coast to the north. From November to May there is almost no rain, and March and April reach 35 °C. The wet season lasts from June to October, with close to 400 mm in August.
- 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
On the coast, half an hour north.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
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Coco Ocean Resort & Spa Close to a hundred suites on Bijilo Beach, a spa and nine pools, eight of them warmed by the sun.
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Ngala Lodge Eighteen suites facing the ocean from the top of the cliff, some of them with their own Jacuzzi.
-
Kairaba Beach Hotel Pools and a spa in wide gardens behind Kololi beach.
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.
- Saffran Signature restaurant, Coco Ocean Resort & Spa Moroccan, international Coco Ocean, Bijilo, about 26 km from Makasutu
- Ngala Lodge Restaurant Rated 4.5 on Tripadvisor International, seafood $$$$ Ngala Lodge, Fajara, about 29 km from Makasutu
Flying to Makasutu?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.