You will visit:
Our first stop of the day is at Gunjur beach, where we feast our eyes with the sight of the magnificent mosque, which has a fascinating history and is visited by Muslims and scholars on pilgrimage from all over The Gambia and West Africa. The mosque, associated grounds, buildings and rocks are all considered sacred because the site provided a sojourn for the Kalifat'ul Tijanniyya Sheikh Umar Taal (Leader of the Tijaaniyya Sect in West Africa) during his Islamisation mission in West Africa.
People visit the Sand Dune Mosque to pray for life-changing situations ranging from marital status to reversing the plight of barren women for childbearing.
Visit the turtle protection project and learn about the importance of sea turtles for the marine environment.
The main aim of the project is to locate turtle nests during the season of laying and securing eggs by transferring them to the hatchery until the time of the release of baby turtles.
Some turtles remain in the tank until they increase their chances of survival to the highest.
The Gambian Reptiles Farm (locally known as snake farm) is located near Kartong. Inside a well-preserved forest, you will see various Gambian reptiles such as puff adders, rock pythons, royal pythons, sand snakes, beauty snakes, herald snakes, spitting cobras, wolf snakes, night adders, geckos, Agama lizards, Nile monitor lizard, African mud turtle, African helmeted turtle, bell's hinged back turtle, crocodiles, Senegalese chameleons, geckos, as well as non-reptiles such as centipedes.
Some are extremely dangerous, some are not, and some have been tamed. If you want, you will be able to touch some of them and take a photo with them. The dangerous reptiles are kept at a safe distance.
The Gambia Reptile Farm is set up not as a zoo but as a research centre to collect more information about reptiles and educate local people about the benefits of snakes in their local environment, for example, keeping the mice and rat population under control. The Reptile Farm encourages people to get rather closer to snakes than they might normally choose.
Visit the most southern point of The Gambia and enjoy the boat trip on the Halahin River to the Pelican Island while observing the oyster harvesting areas, mangroves and colourful fishing boats. With a bit of luck you might spot pelicans, moreover, when visiting during nesting period, you might be lucky to see many of them.
One of the oldest villages in The Gambia, Kartong is in the extreme south of the country, tucked inland just beyond the reaches of the lapping waters of the Atlantic. Beyond Kartong, there is only an immigration post, a small hamlet and a fishing centre before the Halahin River and Casamance in southern Senegal. Kartong is a pleasant town which has always been famous amongst Gambians because of its sacred crocodile pool. Today it is also the centre of the sand-mining industry in The Gambia.
We will enjoy delicious seafood lunch before we take a road back to the north.
We stop at Tunbung Art Village in Tujereng. In this small hidden artistic jewel, we will visit a gallery with a permanent exhibition of the work of Baboucarr Etu Ndow, known as Etu. He was one of the leading, talented, well-known and beloved artists in painting, tie-dye, batik, furniture making, screen printing, sculpturing and producing films in the Gambia.
He created art village as a centre of creation and to pass on the knowledge and love for art to younger generations and other artists.
Around the gallery, in the shady garden grounds, you will also find Etu’s sculptured works and other creations from natural and recycled materials, as well as the artistically designed buildings from the guesthouse.
Tanji Village Museum is located at Tanji, 2km south of the fishing village along the Kombo coastal road. The museum is the first privately operated museum that was founded in 1997 by Mr Abdoulie Bayo. Mr Bayo was the former curator of The National Museum in Banjul. When he retired to his community, he decided to set up a museum with a unique setting.
The museum is a natural history and ethnographic museum, divided into different galleries which exhibit the authentic Gambia. Part of the museum is open-air, portraying the traditional Gambian compound and nature trail. When you walk into the museum, every piece of information is self-explanatory and easy to understand as everything is written in English and detailed. You will be led through by an excellent guide with many years of experience and passion for cultural preservation.
The colourful, coastal fishing village where you can enjoy the beaches and birdwatching. It is a very special experience to see the hectic, noisy, colourful scene of a Gambian fishing community at work. When the fishing boats land with the day's catch in the late afternoon, people descend on the beach in their hundreds, briefly transforming a tranquil fishing village into a loud, colourful marketplace. Ladies are running into the water, shouting to barter for the fish—a perfect place to try out your negotiation skills.
The trip is easy to moderate. The most activity expected from you is when you have to board a boat (and climb off to the river to collect the oysters, if you decide to). It will include some walking, but there will be no serious activity. If you decide to go for all activities possible the trip is quite long.
We recommend to bring sun protection (headwear, long lightweight clothes, sunglasses, sun cream) and mosquito repellents.
Private trips can be organised completely by your preference. You select the activities in the itinerary and the place for lunch. We take care of all the rest.
The trip is organised by the Insitute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia (ITTOG) in collaboration with Ninki Nanka Encounters (NNE).
ITTOG specialises in hands-on training mainly in the Travel and Tourism sectors with special emphasis on travel agency, tour operations, tour guiding, ground operations, events management, entrepreneurship/business skills development, responsible/sustainable tourism, community-based tourism, and general tourism business management.
NNE Foundation is a small, new Gambian charity and UK community interest company (CIC) working towards the responsible development of the Ninki Nanka Trail as a community-based tourist destination.
They work on projects with communities, tourism businesses and local government to develop experiences, products and community-based tourism designed to create inspiring, cultural interaction between travellers and local people and use tourism to create livelihood opportunities for host communities along The River Gambia.
We do believe it's time for another adventure. Don't spend all of your time in The Gambia in one place. Go out and explore! There are so many beautiful experiences waiting for you. Let us help you pick one - and take care of all the rest.