Bunce Island
The ruins of an 18th-century British slave-trading fort in the Sierra Leone River estuary, from which large numbers of Africans were shipped to South Carolina and Georgia in the United States.
Bunce Island lies in the Sierra Leone River about 30 km east of Freetown. From the 1670s, a British trading company ran a slave-trading base here. Stone fortifications, gun batteries, merchants' houses, and gravestone remnants are still visible today. The island has direct historical ties to the Gullah people of the United States. There are no facilities on the island. You'll need to charter a speedboat from the Freetown wharf (about 45–60 minutes one way) or join a local tour operator's group. A site entry fee is required to land. It's best to hire a guide for commentary, and bring plenty of water and sun protection.
Opening hours
Daytime (boat charter required)
Nearby sights
- Sierra Leone National Railway Museum
- Old Fourah Bay College Building
- St. George's Cathedral, Freetown
- Big Market
- Sierra Leone National Museum
- St. John's Maroon Church
- Leicester Peak
- Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary