Community-Based Tourism in Janjanbureh
Community-Based Tourism (CBT) in Janjanbureh is rooted in everyday life, cultural practice, and long-standing local knowledge. It took shape at a moment when guiding skills, community initiative, and cultural confidence were already present, allowing formal CBT training to take root quickly and meaningfully.
Today, CBT in Janjanbureh brings visitors into direct relationship with towns and villages through experiences that are locally led, carefully chosen, and openly shared. These include town-based cultural tours, village experiences developed by host communities themselves, and nature-based activities such as kayaking and hiking that emerged through visitor encounter and local opportunity.Rather than a single product, CBT here functions as a living system — one that supports local livelihoods, strengthens cultural pride, and positions Janjanbureh as a centre for responsible and sustainable tourism in rural Gambia. Visitors are not spectators, but participants in an exchange shaped by mutual respect, shared learning, and long-term community benefit.
Take a Town Tour
Early History and Development
The town tour often begins at the old cannon near the former Governor’s Office, a reminder of Janjanbureh’s role in river trade, colonial administration, and anti-slavery patrols. From here, the guide introduces the island’s earlier identity as Lemain Island, long used as a seasonal trading and crossing point before becoming a permanent settlement in the 19th century.
As the walk continues, visitors learn how the British purchased the island in 1823 and established it as a strategic post along the River Gambia. The town was renamed Georgetown, and the island McCarthy Island, decisions that shaped its layout and institutions and whose legacy remains visible today.
The tour pauses at sites linked to emancipation and resettlement, including stories of liberated Africans and West Indians who arrived in the 1830s under harsh and often tragic conditions. These experiences are reflected in early mission buildings and in accounts recorded by pastors and officials of the time.
The Freedom Tree
One of the most important stops is Foroyaa Sooto,
the Freedom Tree, where guides explain its history of possible freedom but also the realities of doing so.
Nearby, visitors are invited to reflect at the 'Slave House', a site that encourages quiet consideration rather than instruction.
Armitage School
Passing through the town, the tour highlights the importance of education with a stop near Armitage School, founded in 1927.
The country’s only boarding school, it played, and still plays a significant role in shaping national leadership and social change in The Gambia.
A Sacred Place
The walk then moves east toward the Tinyan Sita tree, a sacred site associated with initiation rituals and community continuity.
It is here that circumcision ceremonies traditionally take place, and where the annual Kankurang Festival is now held.
The Kankurang Museum
Close by is the Kankurang Museum, where visitors are guided through the meaning of this UNESCO-recognised Mandinka tradition. The Kankurang, understood locally as both protector and moral enforcer, is explored through artefacts, masquerades, and explanation rather than performance.
The museum is guided by Musa Foon, one of Janjanbureh’s longest serving trained guides and its curator, whose knowledge connects ritual practice with present-day community life.
The town tour offers a first understanding of Janjanbureh —
its history, beliefs, and everyday rhythms.
Behind these experiences lies a longer journey of youth training, community initiative, and partnership-building that shaped how Community-Based Tourism took root on the island.
From here, Community-Based Tourism extends beyond the town
into surrounding villages, river landscapes, and countryside,
where experiences are shaped and led by the communities themselves.
Each tour builds on the same principles of respect,
shared learning, and local benefit, while offering
a different way of engaging with life in rural Gambia.
Explore the Community-Based Tour below to continue the journey
or options from the menu above.