Introduction:
 The
Brufut resort and village (also known as Burfut or Burufut)
is between the Atlantic Ocean and the coastal forest,
in Kombo South District, West Coast Region of The Gambia
in West Africa, and is 23km by road to Banjul
capital and 7km south from Kololi.
The old village is about 1.5 kilometres to the east
of the Kombo Coastal Road and has spread westward to
the beachfront to include Brufut Heights holiday resort
and Brufut Gardens residential community. The other
nearby area is Ghana Town founded by Ghanaian fishermen
many years ago.
Accommodation:
 This
section of the coastal region has undergone rapid development
over the years, a number of hotels
have sprung up to cater for the increased demand for
accommodation located away from the tourist holiday
hotspots of Senegambia Strip and Kotu. In March 2007,
the beach based Sheraton 5 Star Hotel Resort (now the
Coral
Beach Hotel) was finally completed and opened for
guests. You will find a number of quiet lodges and guest
houses located on the seaside such as the deluxe, boutique
hotels called Leo's Beach Hotel and the Ocean Villa
Heights. Further inside the village itself is boutique
hotel called Hibiscus
House, the much praised and down to Earth boutique lodge called
The
Plantation.
 There
is also the private, fenced and gated housing community
called the TAF
Brufut Gardens Estate, with its modern bungalows,
apartments and villas starting on the coastal road itself.
The estate is popular with expatriates and Gambians
living abroad who are looking to purchase a house that
is near the beach.
Beach Area:
 The
Brufut beach area is fairly wide with nice golden sands.
To get to the beach you would need to make your way
down the rust coloured cliffs dotted with trees and
bushes using fairly steep paths. At the palm tree fringed
beachfront you might see African pirogues parked on
the sand, waiting for the tide to change, women separating
fish and fishermen repairing their nets. Away from these
places, the beaches are almost deserted,
say for a few children playing or the occasional villager
using it as a short-cut. You can use these sections
of the strand for watersports, cycling or sunbathing.
General Area:
 Brufut
village is an old settlement of block compounds with
corrugated metal roofs, resided by mostly Mandinka farmers
and vegetable plots. Increasingly however, land is being
sold to private individuals and estate developers due
to the high demand for plots to build housing space.
To get to the original village you take the part laterite,
part dirt road east for a few kilometres. During the
rainy season this road is often dotted with pools of
water which is best suited for four wheel drive cars.
The Atlantic coastal road has seen the installation
of road lights running all the way from the AU Highway
at Brusubi Turntable,
and south just short of Ghana Town. Nawec (the electrical
utilities firm) has also laid mains water and electricity
cables that follow the coastal
road and are being extended to private homes.
Tourist Attractions & Things
To Do:
• Bird
Watching
 The
Brufut Woods Community Project is a locally managed
conservation area in partnership with the West African
Bird Study Association (WABSA). It is located on the
eastern periphery of the village, some way inland, over
some rough back routes. The small nature reserve has
a bird watching hide
specially placed near to an artificial pond. One of
the best places in the woods is an open area near the
bridge.
 The
resident and inter-African migrant bird species you
might see among the gallery forest and open savannah
woodland are the Pin-Tailed Whydahs, Black Crowned Tchagra,
African Scops Owls, Black Kite, Klaas's Cuckoo, Emerald
Cuckoo, Senegal Batis, Osprey, Scarlet-chested Sunbird,
Verreaux's Eagle Owl, Fork-Tailed Drongo, Four-banded
Sandgrouse and the Yellow-throated Leaflove.
• Sanneh-Mentering
 This
is a holy, sacred site,
a more scenic and evocative place of pilgrimage. A short
stroll south from the Coral Beach (preferably accompanied
by a knowledgeable person from the community) brings
you to the cliff-top clearing, overlooking the beach,
with its huge baobab tree and simple hut in a grove.
The stone at the base of the tree is for alms: kola-nuts,
money, cloth. The air is filled with the smell of incense
burned by the incumbent marabout. Muslims from all over
The Gambia come here for good fortune, a more profitable
business, health cures or pray here at a time of crisis
in their lives. Women also come here for a special wash
from well water at the bottom of the cliff, in the hope
of overcoming infertility. (The place is also spelt
Sanamentering, Sannehmentering, Sanimentereng or Sanementereng).
• Restaurants &
Beach Bars
 There
are a number of coastal beach bars such as Village's
Beach Bar, Pelican Bar, Dolphin, Ocean Blue Beach
Bar & Restaurant, Sibis Garden (Chatty's) and Leo's
Hotel Twins Beach Bar serving serving fish domoda with
rice, fish in foil with onions, Barracuda or Ladyfish
with rice or chips. They also have juices and Julbrew
beer.
Health & Safety:
The area is safest along the resort's coastal road.
Do not venture into the village on foot alone at night,
and do carry a small torchlight and money belt or pouch.
Travel Information:
Some mini-buses and yellow taxis travel south into Brufut
from Kololi and Fajara
taxi ranks. You will have to change get off at Brusubi
Turntable, and take another taxi towards Brusubi.
[Geographical coordinates 13.3833° N, 16.7500° W
/ Kombo South, Western Region (WCR)] |
