DESTINATIONS WINTER SUN |THE GAMBIA


stay WHERE TO Mandina Lodges A Wi-Fi-free, nine-lodge


retreat nestled in bird-rich Makasutu Culture Forest,


Mandina Lodges counts Chris Packham among its regular guests. I stayed in one of its mahogany Floating Lodges. It’s a must for nature lovers, with baboons scampering past the pool and fruit bats flitting


around the thatched restaurant roof at night. Experiences include sunset pirogue cruises


CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Hosts of Yabouy Home Cooking; coastal life; kayaking in Tanji; Kotu Beach PICTURES: The Gambia Experience; Piers Golden/Goldenphoto


on their heads. I spent lunchtime by the waves, dining on seafood on palm-speckled Sanyang (Paradise) Beach, alongside sunbathing cattle and fishermen bringing in catches of butterfish and mud spiny lobster. The coast offered welcome relief


from the morning’s frenzy, but it wouldn’t be for long. My guide Omar Sarr had promised to take me where I could really feel The Gambia’s pulse: its markets.


FRESH TAKES At Tanji Fish Market, we watched the commotion of boats delivering their haul straight to makeshift stalls. “You can’t get fish fresher than this,” said Omar. He was right. I’d expected a pungent smell but the proximity of sea to stall meant the fish was so fresh it was barely noticeable; I spied everything from huge barracudas, red snappers and crabs to tuna the size of tea trays. My senses heightened further


in Serrakunda – The Gambia’s largest market – as I wandered a tight labyrinth of stalls selling spices, clothing, vegetables, phone


36 15 JANUARY 2026


accessories and more. “We like everything as fresh as it can be,” explained Omar. “We have a seasonal fruit for every month. Once a fruit’s season is over, we won’t eat it again until the same time the following year.”


LOCAL FLAVOURS I was back in Tanji the next day with cooking class host Ida Cham Njai, manoeuvring through the warren of sellers to pick up ingredients including bitter green tomatoes, rice, okra and fire-red chillies. Back at Ida’s home – which doubles as a base for her Yabouy cookery school – we were put to work peeling and slicing the rainbow of vegetables, ready to be cooked or pounded into a delicious paste. “What we’re doing today, Gambian women do every day, so you’re in their shoes,” explained Ida. “They only buy what they need for the day – nothing more.” Ida’s all-female team skilfully combined the ingredients with great care, adding barracuda to the one-pot benachin rice dish and chicken to the yassa stew. Served


in a huge, paella-like dish, the vermilion-coloured benachin on one side and yassa on the other, it was not only a mouthwatering meeting of two Gambian staples but a literal taste of its culture. With my stomach full, there


were few better places to digest than at clifftop Ngala Lodge, an adult-only retreat facing the Atlantic Ocean. I began to understand why so many visitors make a beeline for the coast – and stay there.


WINGED WONDERS But in the small hours of the morning with the sky still dark, I set off for a kayaking adventure in Tanji Bird Reserve. The silence felt so far removed from the clamour of the nearby markets, with only the whistle of a brown-throated wattle-eye here, the gurgle of a white-breasted cormorant there. The Gambia has long been a


twitchers’ haven, home to 600-plus species of bird – more than 300 of which have been spotted in Tanji. “I’ve been birdwatching for nearly a decade, and I never fail to get excited,” said guide Musa. As if


(at extra cost) and forest walks. From £85 per night, half board (minimum three-night stay). gambia.co.uk/mandina-lodges


Ngala Lodge


Overlooking the Atlantic, the 24 suites of adult-only Ngala Lodge in Fajara are woven


into the resort’s lush tropical gardens. It’s an ideal base


for a relaxing day by one of its two outdoor pools or as a serene place after a busy day of excursions. Numerous suite


categories include the plush new Macondo Suites, and it boasts an excellent restaurant – I can


recommend the domoda peanut stew, The Gambia’s national dish. From £75 per person per night, bed and breakfast (minimum three-night stay). ngalalodge.com


² travelweekly.co.uk


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