Until some days ago, if you had asked me to inform you about Sierra Leone, I would have needed to assume lengthily and difficulty to tell you much about this West African u. S. I should have defined more or less where the United States is placed. I may additionally have referred to something about the slave change being connected to Sierra Leone. I may want to truly have instructed you that they had experienced brutal civil warfare. I might have admitted that I wasn’t sure whether or not the warfare became one hundred over. And it is about it.
Slavery and conflict. A pretty terrible view of what’s, in reality, an exceedingly advantageous u. S . A. I see Sierra Leone from a completely distinctive perspective today.
It is tough to disregard Sierra Leone’s history and cognizance merely of its existence. Once a fertile place inhabited with the aid of dozens of tribes, it was settled by the Portuguese in the 1400s, who constructed a castle as a buying and selling publish for gold, spices, and ivory enslaved people. A British protectorate in later years, Sierra Leone had the dubious honor of turning into a domestic to more than forty 000 formerly enslaved people who gave Freetown its name.
Sierra Leone was exploited as a protectorate for its mineral and diamond wealth in the 1900s. Sierra Leoneans fought against the Germans in Cameroon during the First World War and alongside the British during the Second World War. In 1961, Sierra Leone accomplished independence from Britain and governed itself peacefully for 30 years. The peace became now not too final and was followed by a decade of brutal civil battle that destroyed the financial system, brutalized the people, and left a rustic rich in resources as one of the poorest inside the globe.
The conflict was formally declared over in January 2002, and President Kabbah was reelected in May 2002. Since then, the people of Sierra Leone have been working collectively to repair, renew, and regenerate.
While researching a new internet site looking at travel and tourism in Sierra Leone, I got her in touch with Sierra Leoneans from all backgrounds in Sierra Leone and elsewhere. Their ardor for the country becomes infectious: they wanted to convey that Sierra Leone has some distance greater to offer than an unhappy latest history and that reconstruction is moving ahead at a speedy tempo. And certainly, proof of reconstruction is everywhere – new roads are being built, mines are being re-opened, dam tasks commenced before the battle is again underway, and markets are thriving and humming with life.
There is also an extraordinary deal of self-assurance in Sierra Leone’s capacity as a tourist destination: a Chinese agency has recently invested a reputed US$270 million within the lodge infrastructure; enterprising businesses like Kevin McPhillips Travel (based totally in the UK, USA, and the Netherlands) offer extraordinary two times weekly flights to Sierra Leone; African Tour specialists are studying feasible package holidays within the region. The exciting investment component in Sierra Leone is that extra is ready to follow!
They have a right to be confident. The seashores, alongside Sierra Leone’s golden peninsula, are stated to be one of the world’s first-rate kept secrets and techniques. Secluded, easy, and stretching for miles on the stop, seaside tourism is one of the pinnacle items on the authorities’ tourism advertising schedule. Beaches with very British names like Kent, Lumley, Sussex, and York mix with extra African names like Bureh Town, Tokey, and Mammah Seashore, and
Although many of the forests and lots of the natural world have been disturbed and, in some instances, destroyed by using the battle, eco-tourism is an important focus of Sierra Leoneans and herbal treasures like Outamba-Kilimi National Park, populated by recreational animals including elephants, chimpanzees, and pygmy hippos. Mount Bintimani, the best factor in West Africa, is one of the most profitable natural world sights. Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary rescues orphaned and captured chimps. It has been described as one of the most hit Sierra Leonean wildlife endeavors, while Tiwai Island is domestic to over 3000 chimps and different recreation.
Lakes, rivers, and dams are ideal for picnics and relaxing. The marshlands conceal a myriad of colorful birds – indeed, the chicken life has been less affected by the warfare than the animals, and anywhere you pass, the air is packed with birdsong. Sierra Leone is a fowl-watchers dream! Tiwai Island, for one, boasts over one hundred thirty-five extraordinary chicken species!
For traditional vultures and those with historical pastimes, the remnants of the slave trade make thrilling and, although upsetting, expeditions. Bunce Island, a slave-trading castle, is a quick boat ride up the river; Freetown is itself a monument to formerly enslaved people, and its Cotton Tree, which stands in the heart of what’s considered a vintage slave marketplace, is now an excellent countrywide image. Graves, monuments, and forts are all that remains of British and Portuguese electricity in Sierra Leone: each has a story to inform. Over 16 special ethnic groups are using a, along with the Krio, descendants of formerly enslaved people who communicate an English-based total Creole known as Krio; traveling villages and chatting to humans in markets and inside the streets is worthwhile for all parties!
Freetown is probably the most advanced town, imparting a level of safety that is difficult to match even in Western nations. Hotels, restaurants, and nightspots are sprouting like mushrooms, and eating out in Sierra Leone promise quite a few traditional and worldwide threats and seafood. This is a past notion!
One must marvel at what enchantment will tip the scales in making Sierra Leone the famous vacation spot it once was before civil warfare. Based on my stories with Sierra Leoneans in the latest weeks, I experience that it will be those who make the difference. Without exception, every Sierra Leonean that I have met or worked with has been pleased with their country, pleased with its development, and excited about its destiny. They are consistently welcoming, greeting resource-employees and visitors alike with smiles that you can simplest discover in Africa, with an optimism – no, positivity – that different international locations might do well to emulate.
For travelers searching for a “diamond inside the rough,” Sierra Leone offers a holiday like no other. My best advice is to visit sooner rather than later to avoid what’s certain to be a stampede as soon as holiday-makers and tour operators latch directly to this gem of a destination.
Suzanne Whitby is the founder of Naturally Africa Dot Org ([http://naturallyafrica.Org/]), which presents tour, tourism, enterprise, and occasion statistics about international locations in Africa. The website has featured South Africa, Sierra Leone, and Madagascar.
