President Yayah Jameha, who discovered a wonderful tea curing AIDS and the world's largest deposits of oil - about two inventions, unfortunately, nothing is known; Kachikally Pool - full of crocodiles bajorka treating infertility; Kunta Kinta - slave to the Mandinka tribe, whose fortunes appeared to Alex Haley in his book Roots - Saga of the American Family, "" smiling paragraph Senegal "- the specific shape of the country, which was apparently in such a way: the British battleship entered the River Gambia and fired toward the shores: where the cannon balls were falling, laid out the boundaries. Gambia extends around the French-speaking Senegal. When you look at the map it looks like the face of the Senegal and Gambia as her smiling mouth. Country is famous for a female sex tourism, but also from diverse birdlife, stone circles and the Isle Wassu James, who once was an important point during the slave trade.

Gambia is also known that one of the few countries went back the way of democratization: the dekolonializacji was relatively democratic until the coup in 1994. The authorities then took the 29-year-old Yayah Jameha.

The area of the Gambia is dominated by the equatorial climate. Wilgotniejsza variety is characteristic of the coast, where the annual amount of precipitation reaches 1500 mm. Drier climate prevails in the interior of the country - there rainfall of 750 mm / year.

The rainy season lasts from June to October. Average annual air temperature ranges from 25 ° C over the Atlantic Ocean to 28 ° C in the east of the country.

The best period to travel to the Gambia is October-February, when the country is dry and relatively cold (maximum temperature of the day is about 24 ° C). It is also the best time to observation of wild animals and birds. The rainy season lasts from June to late September, the temperature at this time is about 30 ° C.

On the Gambia often say 'smiling mouth of Senegal ". Gambijczycy are known for great music and dance. Culture of The Gambia is the result of various influences. Important role in the life of the nation plays the River Gambia, known simply as "The River" ("The River"). The country became home to most of the tribes of West Africa (Mandinka - 42%, Wolof - 13%, Fulani - 18%, Sarakola - 7%, Jola - 7%). In the history of the country enrolled in the slave trade, carried out most intensively in this area by Europeans between the fifteenth and seventeenth century. Gambia is one of the most densely populated in Africa - 153 persons per km.

About Islam. 90%, the remaining inhabitants belong to different Christian denominations. Some also practice traditional indigenous beliefs.

According to tradition, on top of the social ladder are the warriors and their families, then farmers, merchants and craftsmen (successive blacksmiths, saddler, wood-cutters, weavers). The lowest caste are the so-called. 'Griots', occurring throughout the West African poets and musicians whose goal is preserving oral traditions of cultural and historical - on the ground surrounded by their great respect.

Family have a pivotal role in Gambian society. Having a large family is considered a symbol of high social status - often three generations live under one roof.

The fact that naming more than one person "mother" or "father" and "relatives" of those who do not belong to the family, it is quite normal in the Gambia.
According to tradition, the family head is male, while keeping the house takes a woman. On the education of the children is more emphasis on education than daughters

In general, living in the Gambia ethnic groups appreciate the quiet life and try to keep such. The inhabitants of the country are rather meek and gentle in the refinement, avoid high-profile conflicts and seeking ways for their amicable settlement. Much emphasis is placed on the welcome rituals. The members of the Wolof tribe and Mandika welcome, for example, for nearly half a minute. During this time, express the traditional Islamic greeting, "Salaam aleikum" ("Peace be with you") and then ask a few questions about their families, villages, health, etc.

State Motto: Progress, Peace, Prosperity (English) - Progress, Peace, Prosperity.

Moving in the tourist areas you should not expect to meet with tribal traditions.

Wolof, Mandinka, Fula

In theory, everyone, but english Gambijczyków sometimes difficult to understand.

Illiteracy 60%

VISA, PROVISIONS OF ENTRIES:

Visas for Polish citizens, and for people permanently residing in the Polish territory, issued by the Consulate of the Republic of Gambia in Warsaw. Visa information posted on the website of the consulate: www.gambia.pl. The passport must be valid for at least 3 months. At the entrance is not required to show a return ticket, border authorities can ask for the resources needed to stay in the Gambia (usually is the amount of $ 100 per day). , The international customs regulations on tourism.

Coming overland, the visa can be obtained on the road in Dakar, Bissau, Freetown and Lagos, where it is often cheaper and requiring less formality than in Poland. A visa to Gambia can be obtained also on the border of the country.

LEGAL PROVISIONS:

The use of any narcotic drugs is prohibited. All drug-related crimes are severely punished, in some cases even the death penalty.

INSURANCE:

Valid car insurance (in addition to the information: "recognized in the Gambia) and personal insurance.

State House Banjul in Banjul

Banjul Court House in Banjul

Polish Embassy in The Gambia:

lack. Nearest:

Ambassador of Poland in Dakar (Senegal):

Tel: 221 825 24 03

BP343 Dakar

Villa 'Les Ailes' Fann Residence Corniche Ouest x

Dakar, Senegal

Embassy of Gambia in Poland:

None of the Gambia Embassy in Poland.

Embassy of the Republic of Gambia in Belgium 126 Avenue F. D. Roosevelt
B-1050 Bruxelles
Tel. +32 2 640 10 49
Fax. +32 2 646 32 77
E-mail: info@gambiaembassy.be
Website: www.gambiaembassy.be  
His Excellency Mr.. Mamour Jagna

Consulate of the Republic of Gambia in Warsaw

Visa Department
st. No. 56 Stefan Czarnecki
01-548 Warsaw
Tel. +4822 869 40 48
Fax. +4822 869 40 49
E-mail: consulate@gambia.pl
Honorary Consul: Dariusz Nowak
H. Open: Tuesday: 14.00 - 20.00

It is not necessary.

There are no exit fees, as reported by guides.

Is required for vaccination against yellow fever (confirmed in the international health book), it is recommended that vaccination against cholera. Medical consultation costs $ 40, hospital stays $ 70 per night. Please observe rules of hygiene and tropical protect against many diseases, such as. dirty hands. Gambia is a country of high risk when it comes to malaria, so before leaving, you should consult your doctor on anti-malaria drugs.

Hospital in Banjul is located on Russell Street

You can purchase travel insurance in a number of Polish insurance companies and travel agencies.

Ambulance: tel. 16

Police: tel. 17

There is malaria risk. Please observe rules of hygiene tropical nieprzegotowanej not drink water, eat fruit from the peel.

Gambia is a safe country. Crime is not a problem in the Gambia, but this should not weaken our vigilance in the bazaars and other crowded places.

None.

Police in Banjul

Nije Harley Street.

Tel: (220) 229 961/226 986/274 269

Recommendations for the conduct of security measures do not differ from the standards of the neighboring countries: to avoid travel after dark, avoid poor neighborhoods, to protect the cash and pocket the documents from theft, etc.. Women are exposed to the taunts of men who are looking for marriage partners from the European passport. The problem in this country is sex tourism, including pedofilska; Gambian authorities have even set up special units to combat this phenomenon.

Border crossing: Karang, Amdallai, Netenbouloou, Manda, Saboya, Seleti

There are air connections with Europe, as well as Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea and Senegal. The international airport is 20 km from the capital of Gambia, Banjul - Banjul International Airport (BJL).

Airlines Slok Air Gambia fly to Conakry, Dakar, Accra, Freetown, Monrovia, Abidjan and Bamako.

Afrinat Airlines International Airlines fly between Banjul, Accra, Freetown, Bamako, Conakry and Dakar.

Cheapest air route is likely to fly to Dakar (Senegal) in Paris.

None.

The only regular link between Gambia and Senegal is a bus (one day) Gambian state lines GPTC going to Dakar with the Bara (a town situated opposite the Banjul - on the other side of the river at the mouth of the Gambia - and combined with the ferry). This "comfort" - at least in the opinion of the locals - is the vehicle bus to Barcelona, where not even taken off the information on fares, and that leaves only when it is full, but always in the morning, we can say that about 9.00.

From the capital of Senegal, Dakar, you can also get to the Gambia by taxi or mini-bus.

Relatively easy to get to the Gambia by land from Europe, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania and Senegal. Is a popular route for people who want to sell my car in West Africa.

No flights in the Gambia.

In Gambia, there are no railway lines.

BUS

Seemingly the most convenient way to travel long distances. In practice, in addition to guaranteed space, air conditioning often does not work, windows do not open and the journey takes a long time. The sluggishness of the license is due to lack of objeżdżania biggest holes in the road that must be overcome very slow and long waiting times at inspection stations police. Greedy police officer has more opportunities to find holes in the whole in a large bus with dozens of passengers than in the smaller car.
Buses and other vehicles are generally depart from the square, called the Gambia garage.

Lack of regular bus lines. There is a transport network between the capital city of Banjul, the hub Westfield Serekundzie and cities on the Atlantic coast.

MINIBUS

While this means of transportation is less convenient than a bus, a minibus may be faster than its bigger brother. This is due to the possibility of driving side of the road, and thus avoid the slow maneuvering between the asphalt wyrwami. The other side of the coin are more frequent stops, as minibuses tend to stop anywhere along the way on-demand. Sum Summarum or sooner minibus or bus depending on luck.

BUSH TAXI

Battered and twisted wire Peugeot serve local routes. As in Senegal, located in the middle of six people in a sedan (two passengers per seat in the front and four on the couch at the rear) and nine in the station wagon (the extra three people in the last row). In general, the closer to the front this is more convenient.

Traveling deep into the country requires an SUV. Note: the entire length of the River Gambia has no bridge. Crossing from one bank to another is possible in two locations: Barra-Banjul and Farafeni. Ferries run from sunrise to sunset.

Tourists traveling by car should have an international driving license, OC is mandatory.

In Gambia, there are few roads, and even they are not in the best condition.

COMMUNICATIONS River

It would seem that the Gambia River is the main route of the Gambia. This is not. In addition to ferrying, regular passenger flights is not. However, river transport can arrange for renting a boat on your own. Rather, it is not cheap.

As regards the Banjul-Barra ferry should be careful. Or you have to give a bribe, or adjust to the long queue for tickets. The space shuttle is rather weird view, sometimes cars that are parked on it, move on the move and collide with each other.

Internet cafes are available in all major cities. Their quality is declining and the price increases as the distance from Banjul. On average, the time of connection to the Internet costs 35 Dalasi. Some cafes are closed for a break in the afternoon and evening open back. The same rules apply to telephone calls, which can be achieved in general "telecentrach.

Main post office in Banjul:

Liberation Ave

Tel (220) 22 72 04

GMD Dalasi

You can pay in cash or U.S. $ Dalasi (although now probably also in EURO). Money can be exchanged at the bank.

1.5l water in a bottle - from 20 to 25 dalasi (cheaper in Banjul) 0.5l water in the bag - 2 dalasi, cola or other beverage - 15 to 25 dalasi in better premises; JulBrew Beer 280ml - 30 dalasi, a plate of rice or pasta - from 25 to 40 dalasi, depending on the selected additives.

The Gambia is a lot of shops, street trading flourishes in Banjul are huge markets. It is recommended to shopping in small shops on the street. Stand at the roadside diner, and often with piles of rags and corrugated metal. Fruit can be bought even at the beach.

Excellent batiki, gold and silver jewelry, wood carvings, leather goods, CDs.

No duty-free goods.

ATMs are in banks in Banjul, the Atlantic Ocean, in Serekundzie and at the airport.

In every large town there is a cheap hotel. The cheapest of them offer accommodation in primitive conditions, more or less dirty room and the water in the bathroom on the outside is only available at a specific time of day. Support compensates for disadvantages, which is usually very nice.

Carlton Hotel in Banjul - $ 1918-1920 per night, plus the running water in the toilets of the building. Tel. 422 1986 70th

No information available.

Sukuta Camping

WWW.campingsukuta.de

$ 3.60 / person / day

Bakau Lodge Bakau

From $ 23 per night

Come Inn in Fajara

$ 4-7 per night, European food, good beer.

Cuisine of the Gambia is similar to the cuisine of Senegal, though here the more you can eat fries. The main meal that is consumed in the street eateries (minimized in the meals served by women straight from the bowls and buckets) is rice with sauce. Allowances are paid for separately (as in our pizza). To check out, we have pasta or rice chips.

It should taste fresh and dried fish. In many markets pending the lives of entire towns and larger cities. You can buy their wonderful fruits, vegetables and seafood.

"Fufu" - a traditional dish consisting of a large rice noodles prepared with grated tubers or cassava / manioc dining / sauce and dried fish with a little chicken legs

Benechin - rice cooked in tomatoes, fish and vegetable sauce

Domada - rice with peanut sauce

Muslim local beer called JulBrew, local palm wine, liquor from sugar cane and rice.

Bissap - Juice of sorrel

Bouyi - Baobab fruit juice

Worth a try street food in pubs, but it's only for those who are "hard stomach.

Most popular in sub-Saharan part of the continent are portable buffets, serving straight from the pot on the street. These places do not have names, instead of the kitchen sign endorses a woman, or even the whole family doglądająca interest. The focal point of such property is the government of aluminum pots and pans, which is under the cover of pasta, rice and several types of meats to choose from. There is no menu, you need to know what you want or just point a finger. Under a wooden bench on which stand the dish, is a bucket of water used to wash dishes. Not everywhere are cutlery, but the bucket for the white is always will, if not at home, in the adjoining kitchens. You must eat the hands. Portions are served on plastic plates.

On the bench with pots is a little place where you can sit. A lot of customers, however, spreads out in different directions with plates in their hands to eat a meal with friends and leave them somewhere on earth. Beside the places where buses stop and stand in the bazaars sometimes dozens of women with their pots. Each plate and cup of tea are marked in some way - a notch on the edge, paint the bottom or even otherwise, that were placed back into the restaurant.

Banjul - the city with colorful fairs and shows feverish haven urbanized Africa. Monuments of the colonial era and the old museum is steeped in history.

Serekunda - cluster of stores, shops and booths, the place of regular wrestling matches, a perfect place to spend a day at the beach and nights on the dance floor.

Janjanbureh (formerly Georgetown) - formerly one of the most important commercial cities in British West Africa, now a good starting point for Wassu stone circles and nature reserves on the banks of the River Gambia

Stone circles Wassu

They are situated about fifteen miles northwest of the city Janjanbureh (formerly Georgetown) and about three miles northeast of the city Kuntaur, in the small town Wassu in Gambian Central River Division. The stones are set around the eighth century AD. and represent the oldest megalithic structures in sub-Saharan Africa. Coils consist of 10 to 25 laterytowych stones, each of which weighs about 10 tons. Their height varies from 1 to 2.5 meters. In Wassu operates a small museum of stone circles. The place is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

James Island (Eng. James Island) - Island in the west of the Gambia River Gambia. There are ruins of a seventeenth-century fort (Fort James), which, together with several other historical buildings in Gambia (mostly in the nearby village Albreda) were in 2003. UNESCO World Heritage Site. Until 1807, when slavery was prohibited, the island was an important place for these practices.

Jufureh - once one of the first European colony in what is now Gambia. In the seventeenth century. Fort Jillifree existed here - one of the points of transit of slaves. Previously, there were a small museum dedicated to the history of slavery in the areas of the Gambia.

Once in the Gambia today swept the kingdom of Ghana (V-XI centuries), then the kingdom of Mali (XIII-XV century). In mid-XV. The Portuguese arrived in the country and dominated trade on the coast of West Africa. Between 1661-1665 r. Gambia was a colony of the Duchy of Courland, a fief of the First Republic when. In 1888, r. The Gambia was granted the status of British colony, in 1965. independence.

Gambia is the main place where music is performed on the 21-stringed instrument bark

Ok. 400 species of birds (some say that the 600; m.in. herons, many species of the order Charadriiformes; rarer: flamingos, cormorants, pelicans. A lot is also small, extremely colorful and noisy birds).

Kachikaly Pool - holy holy pond in the woods, surrounded by sacred trees bantango of gigantic size, in which floats a hundred, including saints, crocodiles. Locals believe hundreds of years in the wonderful properties of water from this pond, which is why a woman having trouble getting pregnant come here to bathe in it.

In the area of the Gambia, there are 6 national parks and reserves, which together occupy 3.7% of the country.

Most interesting is Abuko, Kiang West, Gambia River, and Tanya.

Abuko Nature Reserve

www.darwingambia.gm

The diversity of flora and fauna, about 250 species of birds.

Kiang West Nature Reserve

It is the largest park Gambii.Można see here Galago, baboons, colobusy, Boar, mongoose buszboki mud and, more rarely hyenas, crocodiles and dolphins. The park is home to more than 300 species of birds.

River Gambia National Park

Also known as the island of baboons, consists of five islands lying on the River Gambia. It is home to chimpanzees that have been caught once and that thanks to the protection of primates are located here, so that they can once again live in freedom.

Tanya River Bird Reserve

Area lagoons, sand dunes, coastal forests and thickets, which are home to birds. It is also the reproduction of sea turtles and terns wielkodziobych

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New Year (January 1)

Independence Day (18 February) Tabaski (Feast of the Ram, usually the beginning of the year)

Prophet's Birthday (March / April)

Easter Monday (March / April)

Labor Day (May 1)

Revolution Day (July 22)

Assumption (15 August)

End of Ramadan (usually at the end of the year)

Christmas (25 December)

Kanilai Cultural Festival (Kanilai Cultural Festival) - Jola tribe cultural show - lots of music, fight wrestlers, swallowing fire. Time: May-June.

Roots Festival (Roots Festival) - in much music, tours, workshops and lectures, fashion shows and performing arts. Time: June.

Great clubs, women, music and sounds of drums throughout the night.

Adapter for electricity, swimwear, sun umbrella and sunscreen with a high filter.

It is less phonies and people who want a gift or money than in other parts of Africa. Rather, there is no problem with shooting people. Gambijczycy the vast majority of people are very open and zrelaksowanymi.

In terms of political system is out of the dictatorship of the Gambia, where he is treated fairly clearly dissatisfied. Overnight there was no danger, if not critical Yayah Jameha