When to Go

The best time to visit is November and December, after the rains but before the dusty harmattan winds (December to March) spoil the views. The rains sometimes make minor roads impassable, though there’s something to be said for visiting the Fouta Djalon when it’s wet. The rains, which generally don’t last very long, make the waterfalls more explosive and the countryside more verdant while the clouds lower the daytime temperatures.

Conakry or Konakry

Conakry or Konakry (Malinké: Kɔnakiri) is the capital and largest city of Guinea. The city is a port on the Atlantic Ocean, originally situated on Tombo Island, one of the Îles de Los, it has since spread up the neighboring Kaloum Peninsula. The population of Conakry is difficult to ascertain, although the U.S. Bureau of African Affairs has estimated it at 2 million.^[1] Even given this uncertainty, Conakry makes up almost a quarter of the population of Guinea.

Guinea

Guinea, officially Republic of Guinea (French: République de Guinée), is a country in West Africa, formerly known as French Guinea. Guinea’s territory has a curved shape, with its base at the Atlantic Ocean, inland to the east, and turning south. The base borders Guinea-Bissau and Senegal to the north, and Mali to the north and north-east; the inland part borders Côte d’Ivoire to the south-east, Liberia to the south, and Sierra Leone to the west of the southern tip. Its water sources include the Niger, Senegal, and Gambia rivers. Guinea is sometimes called Guinea-Conakry (Conakry being its capital) to differentiate it from the neighboring Guinea-Bissau (whose capital is Bissau).