INTRODUCTION:
 Basse
Santa Su, normally known as just Basse, is a major town located
in the Fulladu East District, on the far eastern section of the
River Gambia. It is the capital
and regional headquarters of the Upper River Region (URR), and
is one of the eight Local Government Areas in the Gambia. The
upriver settlement is 370 kilometres from the capital of Banjul,
and about 340 km by road from Yundum Airport.
The town has a bustling village market, a ferry crossing to the
north bank for passengers and goods, and it's an important transit
point for merchandise going to eastern Senegal, Mali and Guinea.
Basse has a population of about 20,000 people made up of mostly
Fulani, followed by Serahule,
Mandinka and other ethnic
groups.
ACCOMMODATION:
 There
are a few hotels and lodges
in Basses that provide simple facilities. Among the best places
to stay are Fulladu Camp (tel: 9906791), based on the north bank
riverside and facing the town, with thatched round huts. The Basse
Guesthouse (tel: 6668283) is located in town, cheap basic rooms,
a bit dingy with messy shared bathing. The Jem Hotel (tel: 9843658)
provides reasonable, clean rooms, though a bit dilapidated. Finally
there is the nice riverside Traditions
Agasimon with a couple of large rooms, camp space in the garden
and a cafe with good riverside views.
GENERAL AREA:
• The Town
 The
lower part of the settlement is known as Basse Duma Su, 'Basse'
means a mat (oral history says that the settlement's founder,
General Tiramakan Traore, first laid down on a mat here). 'Duma
Su' means means 'lower home'. Due to flooding during the rainy
season the settlement contracted to a higher elevation, 'Santa
Su' meaning 'higher home'. The settlement is 4 metres above sea
level and its outlying area is characterised by numerous hills.
Because this is an urban community with many visitors from other
parts of West Africa and further afield, it is a multilingual
place, where you will hear languages
such as Pular, French, Mandinka, Serer, English, Wolof, and Arabic
being spoken.
There is a rather empty feel about the area around the port's
jetty, but a little further south from here, the commercial centre
 is
vibrant and loud. You will find plenty of housewares such as metal
pans and pots, fruits, vegetables cereals, DVDs and colourful
fabrics from Senegal. The town also has banks, a police station,
post office, taxi rank, petrol stations, GPTC
(public transport bus) chemists, a central mosque and a Gamtel
office. The streets of central Basse are alive with cyclists,
goats, stray dogs, sheep, flies, donkey carts, cars and lorries.
In the shops lining the roads you will find them selling all manner
of imported goods such as radios, bicycles, wheelbarrows, portable
generators, mobile phones and much more.
• The Economy
 Basse's
economy revolves mostly around seasonal crops, though there is
an active trade in earthenware and other artisanal handicraft.
From December to March boats are often moored at the port waiting
for their cargo of groundnuts from
the local collection depot, for shipment downstream towards Banjul.
The town is also an important marketing centre for rice,
mainly grown by the Mandinka and Wolof, and cattle herded by the
Fulani. Cotton obtained from Kapok tree pods are also loaded here
in February and March, which have been brought in from the north
bank of the river. After the setting up of the local GPMB ginnery
in 1974, and its management given over to the Gambia Cotton Company
(GAMCOT) in 1992, cotton became one of the settlement's most profitable
cash crops. Millet and maze
are also cultivated in the countryside areas.
• Local Organisations
 There
are a number of overseas organisations and NGOs working in Basse
which includes the Medical Research
Council, Child
Youth Support & Rural Development Agency, Humanity
First, Children
in Gambia Basse & Suduwol, and GamMol,
among others.
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS & THINGS TO DO:
• Market
 One
of the main features of the town is the vibrant Thursday morning
market (lumo), with the star attractions being pottery items such
as bowls, colanders and plates. These are made locally by Serahules
and Mandinkas in places like Mansajang, as well as in nearby villages,
such as Sotuma Sere and Alohungari, and brought in by donkey cart
and carried away on women's heads.
 The
food market is at its most plentiful between January to June,
when women from just outside the urban area, display their vegetables
cultivated in Basse's community held vegetable gardens. There
are green and yellow bitter tomatoes (jakato),
plump aubergines, heavy cabbages, bunches of fresh mint, piles
of hot red and yellow chilies, golden onions, yams, sweet potatoes,
and a huge amount of other foodstuffs such as dried, smoked bonga
fish.
• 'Traditions Agasimon'
 Down
by the riverbank, in a former colonial riverside trading depot
built for Maurel Frères in 1906, is a private Canadian initiative
called Traditions
Agasimon. The place is a combined cultural centre, museum,
bookshop, and craft shop. There you can buy locally produced cloths,
West African art, and handicrafts,
it also has a well appointed river view cafe. You can also find
various artists and artisans at work, and if you're are up to
it, Traditions can arrange weaving and dyeing classes for you
from skilled artisans. Traditions also has a boat for rent
and can get you in touch with a local bird guide.
• Bars & Restaurants
 Much
of the dining and evening entertainment here is of a very localised
character, and not really geared towards tourists, but most are
very friendly towards visitors. There are places to eat with such
names as the United Restaurant Enterprise, Abdoulie's International
Diner, Aminata's, and F&B's Restaurant. Some of the best eateries
can be found in some of the lodges such as the Traditions Cafe
& Boutique, the Jem Hotel's food gets a few good reviews,
the Fulladu Camp serves some of the best dishes in the area from
a well run kitchen. There are also a few Afra joints selling grilled
chicken or lamb (very often goat).
• Bird Watching
 Because
the settlement and its hinterland has a varied habitat of lush
riverine woodland canopy, swamp, rice fields, degraded savanna,
and disused quarries, there is a respectable variety of bird species
to be seen in Basse Santa Su. If you go along with one of the
professional bird guides, you
might see Egyptian Plovers (Crocodile Bird), Hamerkop, Cinnamon-breasted
Bunting, African Swallow-tailed Kite, Chestnut-backed Finch-Lark,
Red Throated Bee Eaters, Pipits, Western Red-billed Hornbills,
Speckled Pigeons, Black-bellied Bustards, Brown-rumped Buntings,
Bar-breasted Firefinches, Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Larks, Carmine
Bee-Eaters, and Adamawa Turtle Doves.
• Colonial Architecture
 Around
the town there are still some colonial era buildings such as the
water's edge Maurel Frères warehouse built in 1906, now occupied
by Traditions. There are other elegant trading houses built at
the turn of the century. Further upriver, by the river's edge,
at Perai Tenda, you can see many abandoned stores formerly operated
by Lebanese, European and Gambian merchants, in the days when
up-river trade produced substantial profits for businessmen and
companies.
• Boat Cruises
 There
are plenty of fishermen who would be willing, for a fee, to take
you for cruising in their pirogues, around the upper reaches of
the River Gambia. There are marshes where you might be able to
do a bit of wildlife spotting, and
there are plenty of birds to be seen among the bushes, trees and
just above the water line. You can also use the opportunity to
do a bit of sports fishing.
HEALTH & SAFETY:
During the rainy season the heat in Basse is legendary. Many cold
water taps run so hot that you can make a cup of tea, and birds
keep a low profile during mid-day. It is in fact quite common
to see many people sleeping outside at night. Therefore think
about how to protect yourself from the often oppressive heat at
this time of the year. If you are going to stay in any lodgings
then try and get one with an air-conditioner, think about the
same thing for your vehicle. Ask locals what they do to counteract
the heat and humidity.
TRAVEL INFORMATION:
 To
get to Basse Santa Su from the capital of Banjul you can hop on
the Banjul ferry and head
northwards to Barra. From there
you can take one of the 'Gelle Gelle' taxis
heading east, and the total travel time is about 7 hours. When
you reach Janjanbureh Island (Georgetown)
you then make a river crossing and continue by road until the
destination. The alternative, and faster route, is to take the
South Bank Road east, which commences in Brikama and passes through
towns and villages such as as Kafuta, Sibanor, Bwiam, Kwinella
Kaiaf, Soma, Jarreng, Madina Demba and Bansang.
 Moving
further to the east you'll get to the town of Fatoto, the easternmost
major place in The Gambia. Here the South Bank Road ends, and
the North Bank Road begins. Still further to the north east is
Koina village, and finally, almost on the border check-point with
Senegal is Herama Kono village (Kemangbugu). This is in fact the
furthest east and last place in the Upper River Region.
Hotels
& Lodges Map
Resorts
[Geographical coordinates 13.3167° N,
14.2167° W / Fulladu East, Upper River Region]
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Attractions
Nature
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Resorts
Bakau
Banjul
Bijilo
Brufut
Cape
Point
Fajara
Gunjur
Jinack
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Kartong
Kololi
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Sanyang
Serrekunda
Tanji Village
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