INTRODUCTION:
 Brikama
Town (also spelt Birikama) and its outlying vicinity are in the
Kombo Central District, West Coast Region of The Gambia, in West
Africa. It is the regional capital of the Western Region, the
base for the headquarters of Brikama
Area Council, and it is the most populated Local
Government Area in the country. Located inland, in the South
Bank, the main urban settlement is about 35km southwest of the
Banjul capital, and has an estimated
population of 750,000 people (699,704
- 2013 census). The largest ethnic
group are the Mandinka, followed
by the Wolof, Manjago, Jola, Fulani, Serer, Serahule, Laibe, Aku,
Mauritanians and others. Brikama is a market town and major trading
centre for raw groundnuts, palm
oil (dende) and kernels. The local economy revolves around petty
trading, soap making and
tie & dye. Other livelihoods are horticulture, fruit and
vegetable distribution, pottery making, batik and wood craft workshops.
The town is famous for its traditional
music heritage of the Kora jalis (griots).
ACCOMMODATION:
 Brikama
is not an obvious place to stay for tourists visiting The Gambia,
as it is about 37km southeast of the coastal resorts,
and has few visitor amenities. However, there are still a few
hotels and lodges available
in the town itself, as well as in the vicinity. The best room
standards can be found outside of the centre of town.
GENERAL AREA:
• The Town
 Brikama
is a well used transport hub, and taxis
from all areas of Kombo either pass through, terminate or commence
their trips from the busy taxi garage, just north of the produce
market. A good network of main trunk roads and feeder roads radiate
outwards in all directions, adding to the town's dominance in
the Kombo Central. These highways are used by passengers, road
haulage companies moving goods, and imported foodstuffs to the
market, as well as eastwards into the interior of The Gambia,
via the South Bank road. Fish is transported in from the south
west village of Gunjur, passing the
villages of Sifoe and Kiti, livestock makes its way to and
from the Livestock Market and also westwards towards the coast
and the Kombo Saint Mary District (Ksmd).
 In
the central area of the settlement there is the village market
selling food, clothes and household goods, several banks, the
post office, Gamtel, the livestock market, mosques, the
fire station, the craft market, the police station, a Catholic
church, petrol stations such as Galp,
hardware retail stores, and other amenities.
• The Vicinity
 Brikama's
outlying rural areas are characterised by small villages,
forests, savanna scrub, and small and large farm holdings. The
places worth visiting in these areas are the various nature conservation
reserves. To the east of the town's vicinity is the Pirang
Forest Park, a forest gallery between the south bank highway
and the River Gambia. Its
varied habitats are rich birdwatching grounds. There is the conservation
project centred around the Jola Kachokorr camp in the Tumani
Tenda Eco-Reserve, near Kafuta. Here you can spend a few nights,
relax in the rural surroundings, as well as learn about local
customs, culture, and cuisine. To the north east of the town is
the Nyambai Forest.
The most popular tourist attraction in the vicinity of Brikama
is the Makasutu Cultural
Forest. A private nature reserve with mangroves, salt-flats,
savannah, hard-wood and palm forests. Their visitor centre
has a decent restaurant and superb swimming pool. Makasutu is
also home to the luxury accommodation based in the forest called
Mandina Lodges.
Then to the south of Brikama there is the area around Marakissa
village. Here you will find attractive woodland, savanna and palm
trees, which are attractive breeding and feeding grounds for numerous
migratory and resident bird species. There is the
Marakissa River Camp, to the south, which caters well for
birdwatchers, with its flat roof overlooking the river.
FOUNDING FAMILY HISTORY:
 The
former pagan founders of Brikama, the Kontes, and their descendants
the Bojangs, are acknowledged as the original settlers. The settlement
is an old royal town, but which had been destroyed in the second
half of the 19th century, during the Soninke-Marabout wars, which
raged on for decades in the Kombo regions of The Gambia. Brikama
in Bainunka means 'Women's Town'.
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS & THINGS TO
DO:
• Brikama Woodcarvers' Market
 This
partly sheltered area is also known as the Woodcarving Centre,
and is located on the main road which splits further north from
the South Bank Highway. After the rather scruffy and unpretentious
entrance of the
Brikama Craft Market is a good selection of stalls selling
various souvenirs and gifts such as weaved baskets. At the back
of this area is the so called wood carvers' 'factory' where skilled
craftsmen hack, split and chisel freshly arrived wood (mostly
teak and some mahogany) into rough shapes. This is then passed
onto the professional carvers, stationed at the open stalls, to
finish with more intricate chiselling, sandpapering, varnishing
and waxing. Beware that many 'ebony' pieces are actually made
of the tropical hardwood, teak, then polished black. Also note
that some 'antique' pieces are not antique at all.
The majority of the wood carvers are not Gambian but Senegalese,
and they follow a standard production formula for the various
forms. Among the varied wood products produced here are wooden
masks, Djembe drums, food bowls,
elephants, tall male and female statues carrying containers, tigers,
high-back stools, lions, chess boards and pieces, Balafons, abstract
forms, old men figurines with attached beards, and decorated calabash
shakers. Aside from tourist souvenirs these objects generally
have little export demand.
• Brikama Market
 This
is the major market in town that is well worth exploring. The
fruits, vegetables, fish and meat are
piled in heaps or neatly arranged into rows. You will find hoards
of flies hovering over pungent fish, piles of red onions, tomatoes
and okra, rows of smoked catfish, cloves of garlic, plastic
bottles of palm oil, heaps of in-season mangos, bunches of bananas,
gleaming aubergines, yellow and red hot chillies, green oranges,
rice sold by the pot, lemons, imported apples, papaya, breadfruit
and other fruits and vegetables. There are also household goods
and garments on sale such as used clothing, metal and plastic
bowls, buckets, flip-flops, sandals, rolls of colourful plain
or designed fabrics, cheap clothing from China and much more.
• Bird Watching
 Beyond
the outskirts of Brikama are several nature reserves and
birdwatching hotspots where you can find many bird species.
Among these areas are Kabafita Forest Park, Furnya Forest
Park and Marakissa
River Camp. Further to the northeast and east, near the Gambia
River, are the Makasutu
Culture Forest and Pirang Forest.
Together, these environs provide rich and varied habitats such
as gallery forest, riverine, salt-flats, Guinea savanna and scrubland,
which are bountiful in bird species, such as Gabar Goshawks, Green
Crombecs, African Pygmy Kingfishers, Black Crakes, White-spotted
Fluftails, African Green Pigeons, Western Bluebills, Verreaux's
Eagle Owls, Green Hylias, Turacos, Hammerkops, Greenbuls, White-breasted
Cuckoos, African Pied Hornbills and Spotted Honeyguides.
At the now abandoned Pirang Shrimp Farm you might see Quail-finches,
African Spoonbills, White-faced Whistling Ducks, Ringed Plovers,
Black-headed Herons, eagles, parakeets, European Spoonbills, Lesser
Flamingos, Brown-necked Parrots, Yellow-billed Shrikes, Ospreys,
Dunlins, Spur-winged Geese, Pied Avocets or the more elusive Black-crowned
Crane.
• Sacred Site
 On
the outskirts of town is a grove of trees called the Santangba,
at a place called Kotokali. The grove is regarded as a sacred
place, and is the location of the first settlement in the locality,
made by the 13th century Mandinka migrants from Mali Empire, during
the reign of Sundiata Keita. The reason why it's so well preserved
is because it is thought to be occupied by the spirits of ancestors,
so it is taboo for local people to take fruits, fell trees or
hunt there.
• Wrestling
 This
is the national sport of The Gambia, and tournaments are mostly
held in the Brikama Mini Stadium. The rules of wrestling
are simple, the first man down on the ground with torso, hands
or arms loses.
• Restaurants & Nightlife
Brikama's evening entertainment is quite subdued most of the time,
and very localized. Aside from the craft market, the area is not
generally geared towards tourists. However, when there is a major
Senegambian artist playing in Jokor Night Club, the entertainment
scene gets more lively. Concert goers from all over the vicinity,
and the rest of the Kombos, as far as Bakau, will make the long
trip into town.
 Despite
its low-key atmosphere there are a few good restaurants and bars
around, and if you ask a few locals you might be directed to a
few bars and restaurants in
the locality. There is the Wahatilene Restaurant &
Garden, on the high street, serving local cuisine, with a
little seating at the back. There is the budget priced Bantang
Bantaba in the Methodist Mission. It is on your right hand
side as you enter the Sanyang Road. They serve cool drinks, nice
sandwiches and other snacks. You can even buy hot chilli sauces,
jams and mustards (Tel no: 4484853). If you don't mind something
really local then there is the Roots Bar & Sutura.
Located opposite the council offices, the restaurant serves Gambian
dishes such as peanut stew (Domoda), Jollof Rice and Chicken Yassa,
along with soft drinks or Julbrew. (Tel no: 9959606). There is
also a small guesthouse on the Mosque Road, 300 metres from the
taxi stand, called the Domorrdeema, which serves food at
the front, where you can eat beef, chicken, fish, benachin (Jollof
Rice), chips or rice and the local sauce of the day (Tel no: 9903302).
HEALTH & SAFETY:
 During
the day there are usually plenty of people out and about, and
there is very little to be concerned regarding your personal safety.
However, do be aware of hazards in the streets. Avoid walking
on the paved road, if possible, due to the risk of getting hit
by a car. This is not always easy as there isn't usually a decent
pavement to walk on. Keep your money and jewellery out of site.
Finally, do not venture far out alone at night. If you go out
into the vicinity, such as the bush, then do cover your arms and
legs properly, wear boots, sunscreen and use insect repellent.
TRAVEL INFORMATION:
 To
get to the centre of Brikama Town from the Gambia's coastal resorts
of Kololi and Kotu,
you take one of the yellow or more expensive green tourist taxis,
go up the coastal road, past Brusubi turntable and onto the Airport
Road. At the main T-junction at Old Yundum, you take a right,
past Busumbala village and into the Brikama Highway. The other
route is directly from Banjul,
through Serrekunda, past Banjulunding
and onwards into the centre of the settlement. It is possible
to take either of two paved roads that will take you directly
to Sanyang or Gunjur
on the south west coast, within 15 minutes.
Hotels
& Lodges Map
Resorts
 
[Geographical coordinates 13.2667° N,
16.6500° W / Kombo Central, Western Region (WCR)]
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Attractions
Nature
Reserves
Resorts
Bakau
Banjul
Bijilo
Brufut
Cape
Point
Fajara
Gunjur
Jinack
Island
Kartong
Kololi
Kotu
Makasutu
Sanyang
Serrekunda
Tanji Village
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