Freetown (Commonwealth Union)_Sierra Leone is making great efforts to get back on track after more than ten years of civil conflict, one of the bloodiest and most destructive that West Africa has ever witnessed. The initiatives are succeeding as well. The conflict between the government and the rebels is over. People who once supported coups and countercoups have now been reintegrated into society and the crises of the 1990s are rarely ever mentioned.
Freetown
The nation’s capital, Freetown, is a great site to start your adventures because it cascades down the lush Western Area hills, down to the edge of its own horseshoe bay.
It’s a small-scale version of Sierra Leone, with a mix of bustling port activity (the city is home to one of the largest natural deep-water harbours on the planet) and relaxed seaside living.
As you travel between the fine sands of Lakka Beach and Lumley, through the party area of Aberdeen, and out to the industrial sprawl of the suburbs, you’ll understand what we mean.
Bunce Island
The rock known as Bunce Island, located in Tagrin Bay’s depths and only a short ferry journey from the capital city of Freetown’s jetties, provides a window into the region’s troubled past. The location is known to have been one of the main points from which British ships laden with captured people crossed the Atlantic to the colonies of South Carolina and Georgia. It was just one of 40 distinct citadels built by Europeans along the region’s shoreline during the height of the slave trade. Visitors can still visit the castile today to view it and learn more about this sobering period in Sierra Leone’s history.
Banana Island
The spit of land that makes up Banana Island is located off the coast of the Western Area, south of the country’s capital at Freetown, and it features all the glistening, alabaster-hued beaches and thick vegetation you’d expect from a destination so far into the tropics.
In fact, the combination of stunning natural attractions has likely made this the most popular weekend retreat from the large metropolis, and as a result, there are now several excellent guesthouses and hotels in the fishing communities of Dublin and Ricketts.
You can also go inland and look for the crumbling remnants of former slave warehouses and processing facilities.
