Sierra Leone Cultural and History Tour

Day 1: ARRIVE FREETOWN

Welcome to Sierra Leone. On arrival at Freetown Lungi International Airport, you will be met, assisted and transferred to the city. Our Expert Cultural Guide will await your arrival in Freetown to transfer you to your hotel.

Hotel: Country Lodge Complex or similar

Day 2: FREETOWN

After breakfast, we will depart for a tour of the City of Freetown. We will show you some the historic sites around the centre of the city. Highlights of the tour include:

• National Museum: A tour on Sierra Leone’s history and culture. A wonderful display of our various ethnic artefacts can be seen.
• Famous Cotton Tree: This proud landmark holds great significance to the freed slaves that settled in this country.
• Maroon Church: The oldest church in Freetown built by former Jamaican Slaves in 1808.
• State House formerly known as Fort Thornton: the office of the Governor during the years of colonial Administration.
• Martello Tower (1805): A replica of the towers as in south of England during the Napoleonic wars.
• Old Fourah bay College (1845): The 1st university in Sub – Saharan Africa which was the citadel of learning that won Sierra Leone the reputation “the Athens of Africa”.
• Railway Museum (1896): Displays an array of 2ft 6in gauge trains that were commuting the 277 miles railway from Freetown to Pendembu.
• Big Market: Arts and craft market, masks, batiks, beaded necklaces etc. This market is a treasure trove for souvenir buyers. Be warned! Bargaining is the name of the game.
• Peace Museum: Shelters the ancient U.N Tribunal where war criminals from Sierra Leone and Liberia were judged.

We will have lunch in a local restaurant and then continue via Mount Aureol to Leicester Peak where you will see a magnificent overview of the city of Freetown.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Hotel: Country Lodge Complex or similar

Day 3: BUNCE ISLAND

After breakfast, you will be picked up for transfer to Bunce Island by boat. Bunce Island was the largest British slave castle on the Rice Coast of West Africa. Founded in 1670, it exported thousands of captives to North America and The West Indies until the British Parliament closed it in 1808. The Gullah people of South Carolina are thought to have come from ships boarded at Bunce Island. While there, take a look around the old fort wall, the slave quarters, the ruined fort, the ancillary buildings, the grave sites and check out the remains of the canons.

Return to Freetown to visit River Number 2 located in the Western Peninsula region of Sierra Leone. It is one of Sierra Leone’s finest white sand beaches backed by luscious tree-covered mountains that slope down to the sea. You can play around in the shallow current of the river before it meets the sea, sunbathe, take a guided walk in the forest, go on a boat trip, buy some arts and crafts, or chat to the friendly locals.

OPTIONAL: For a full day trip to Bunce Island, you can continue to Tasso Island for lunch and free time to explore on your own. Visit to River Number Two will be skipped.

Tasso Island is one of the most unique tourist destinations the continent has to offer. With its touching colonial history, outdoor activities that leave your heart pumping, and stunning views of ocean and tropical forest, Tasso Island has gained the interest of a myriad of travelers, historians and preservationists.

Afternoon free time at leisure on the beach or motorized pirogue ride (optional).

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Hotel: Country Lodge Complex or similar

Day 4: ROGBONKO VILLAGE

After breakfast, we will start our trip to Rogbonko Village Retreat with a stop in Makeni to have a look around this provincial town after which you will have lunch before setting off to Rogbonko.

Thirty minutes beyond Magburaka, deep in the heart of Sierra Leone, approached by a dirt track winding through palm trees and past fields of rice, lies Rogbonko Mathaka – “The Place in the Forest. “With no electricity, running water, telephones and little contact from the outside world, you will be sleeping in a traditional house, eating local food, and joining in the everyday life of the village.

Take a free time to meet the community and witness their daily activities.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Hotel: Traditional Hut

Day 5: ROGBONKO VILLAGE

Today, you will spend a full day in Rogbonko familiarizing yourself with the villagers and witnessing their traditions and sharing their daily lives. You have the options of taking short rides in a local dugout canoe or visiting the farming fields such as the Sugar Cane Plantation or the Cashew Plantation.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Hotel: Traditional Hut

Day 6: THE BANANA ISLAND

After breakfast, say farewell to the Rogbonko community and start your journey to Kent Village for your transfer by boat to the Banana Islands. During the tour, you will discover the role of the Banana Islands during the slave trade and see the structures of the first European settlers in Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone was one of the countries heavily involved in the slave trade between the 16th and 19th century. Many strongholds have been created by the European powers to gather large numbers of slaves and keep them to be sold and transported to the Americas. Two major centers to assemble slaves were Bunce Island and the Banana Islands. The Banana Islands was the smaller one where it is said that up to two thousand slaves could be on the island simultaneously.

We will visit the ruins of the Slave Hole, the Old Fort, the old St. Luke’s Church, and a small museum with tools and chains from the slave trade are reminders of the vivid activities of the prosperous slave trade. A tour to these historical sites is combined with a leisure stroll through the village of Dublin with a glimpse of the past and the present of the Banana Islands.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Hotel: Bafa Resort

Day 7: FREETOWN – DEPART

After breakfast, return to Freetown for your transfer to the airport. You will be assisted by our representative at the airport with all check-in procedures.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast