07/17 NFI NL. Introducing Janjanbureh

Informations from the Landscape of the Year 2018/2019 – Senegal/The Gambia

The section “Information from the Landscape of the Year“ of NFI Newsletter is designed to present various aspects of the region on a regular basis. Today you find here information on Janjanbureh as potential destination for sustainable tourism as well as a report of a stakeholder meeting in Koungheul: Janjanbureh: Sustainable Tourism Development for the Destination

Janjanbureh, formerly known as Georgetown and at present capital of the Gambian Central River Region, was founded in 1832 on McCarthy Island in the Gambia River. In 1995, both the city of Georgetown and McCarthy Island were renamed Janjanbureh respectively. The island is accessed by a bridge from the south bank, and small boat ferries or a government ferry on the north bank. Though rich with tourist visiting sites, Janjanbureh is today hardly visited by tour operators. The island has many historic sites relating to the settlement of freed slaves and early Christian settlers who were from the Wesleyan Mission (1823) and introduced the peanut (groundnut); a crop still exported downstream on the Gambia River. The Wassu stone circles lie 22 km northwest of Lamin Koto, on the north bank across from Janjanbureh. They are inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Janjanbureh is also noted for being the site of the first church in Gambia and the first high school. Read more.