Sierra Leone is a West African country, on the Atlantic Ocean. It’s known for the white-sand beaches lining the Freetown Peninsula. Rich in history, natural jaw-dropping wonders, and picturesque landscapes, Sierra Leone remains an overlooked destination.
So I went to West Africa to see what all the fuss was about.
Here is what I learned.
Freetown
Freetown is the capital city of Sierra Leone founded in 1793. The city was founded by freed African American and West Indian Slaves, Just like neighbouring Monrovia.
To this day the city is very diverse, with all of the nation’s ethnics groups being present
Small
Sierra Leone is just a small corner of West Africa. One of the smallest countries in West Africa. It ranks as the 11th smallest African country and the 117 worldwide.
For it, size though it has a relatively large population of over 7 million people and is still growing.
Lioness
The name, Sierra Leone dates back to the 15th century and was given by a Portuguese explorer. While mapping the area, Pedro de Sintra saw the hills around today’s Freetown and named them Sierra Leone.
The name, which means Lioness Mountains, stuck for the entire region and was translated into Spanish.
Beaches
Undoubtedly Sierra Leone has some of the best exotic beaches around the sub-region with very calm crystal clear water safe for adults and children as well.
So if you are looking forward to taking a vacation to some soft, powdery white sandy beaches, Sierra Leone is a good choice.
One of my favourites is the Banana Islands beach or better still the Tokeh beach.
Bureh beach, unspoiled and unexplored Bureh is an amazing retreat, and this special wonder is the ultimate escape.
In banana Islands beach you can enjoy the joy of isolation while being close to all the happenings in nature. Fantastic beach with stunning water and warm sand.
Bars
In Sierra Leone, you are never too far away from a bar or restaurant, during the hot sunny afternoon you may feel the need for a cold beer.
While you are there, you can try the very best stout or beer the country has to offer, the star beer.
You may also stumble upon local beverages like palm wine, tap from a palm tree naturally with no mixture of what so ever.
Peace and Stability
The country has been enjoying stability and economic growth. Sierra Leone is one of the very countries where the police do not carry guns on duty.
For the most part, Sierra Leoneans are very nice people with warm, welcoming attitude towards visitors especially Europeans. Tourists could be spotted on the beaches enjoying the crystal clear water.
Minerals
Sierra Leone produces some of the most precious minerals in the world just last year a carat diamond was discovered there.
Here is a full list of the minerals that are currently being mined in Sierra Leone: Diamonds rutile, bauxite, gold, iron and Limonite.
In the provinces, older men and children could be spotted digging for diamonds or patiently dipping their trays into the rivers trying to reach the thinnest amount they can lay hands on.
While others are looking for unfamiliar stones all of which are valuable.
There have been many cases where farmers come across precious stones. These cases are frequent during the rainy season.
So whenever you are in Sierra Leone in the provinces be sure to look down as you walk through the dirt grounds because you might be lucky to lay your hands on one.
Tourist Attractions
Sierra Leone has some of the most spectacular tourist attraction site.
One could not help but stand and stare at those spectacular mountains or Islands which are almost an arm reach from the shore.
The clarity of the beach water is jaw-dropping whenever in Sierra Leone for pleasure or business be sure to visit Tokeh or MaMa beach for some amazing views.
Beach camping is also on the rise with sea food available in abundance.
Tribes
Despite it small size Sierra Leone has been named the jewel of Africa. This is because the nation is a fusion of different ethnics groups, each with their own culture.
No ethnic group hold a majority, so the entire nation seems to be an African cultural melting pot.
Language
The official language of the country is English, but it is not the most widely speaking language.
Krio is the nation’s lingua franca, a language native to the descendants of the freed American slaves. It is not uncommon for a Leonean to speak four languages; Krio, English a local and a neighbouring tribe’s language.
Tolerance
Despite the day to day hardships Leoneans has been praised for their religious tolerance. It is a predominantly Muslim country, though with an influential Christian minority.
Here Muslims and Christian has been historically collaborating with each other peacefully.
Diamonds
Sierra Leone is one of the top 10 diamond producing countries in the world. It also has large reserve of gold and other minerals. However, these resources were not a source of wealth.
Leonean diamonds has been labelled as blood diamonds because they were used to funding an actual civil war.
Few months ago a pastor discovered a 706-carat diamond, the second largest diamond ever found in the country.