The baobabs
Above the ruins.
Ikiwaner — CC BY-SA 3.0 · tjabeljan — CC BY 2.0 · Niels Elgaard Larsen — CC BY-SA 3.0 · tjabeljan — CC BY 2.0 · Leonora (Ellie) Enking from East Preston, United Kingdom — CC BY-SA 2.0
Kunta Kinteh Island, formerly James Island and St Andrew's Island, is a small island in the Gambia River about 30 km from its mouth, near the villages of Juffureh and Albreda. The ruins of Fort James stand on it. It is an important site in the history of the Atlantic slave trade, and UNESCO lists it as a World Heritage Site together with related sites on both banks. The first record of European contact is from May 1456, when a Portuguese expedition moored nearby. Settlers from the Duchy of Courland built a fort here in 1651, before it passed to the English. European powers fought over it for a long time, and it served as a holding point for captives before shipment. Its present name honours Kunta Kinteh, the figure known from the novel «Roots». You see a small, low island in the broad river, with bare baobab trees and crumbling stone walls. Old rusted cannons lie on the ground, and a long wooden jetty reaches out to it. The river is eroding the island, which is now much smaller than it once was. It is about 3 km from Juffureh in a straight line and about 28 km from Banjul. Visitors arrive by boat, often on a trip that includes the Juffureh museum. It is a place of remembrance, so treat it with respect.
Above the ruins.
On the ground.
To the island.
River Gambia, near Juffureh and Albreda, The Gambia
By boat from Albreda or Juffureh, or a tour from Banjul.
To honour Kunta Kinteh, known from the novel Roots.