Day 01: Arrive Freetown
Freetown Welcome to Sierra Leone. On arrival at Freetown’s Lungi International Airport, you will be met, assisted and transferred to the city. Our Expert Cultural Guide will await your arrival in Freetown to transfer you to your hotel. 
Overnight in Hotel
 

Day 02: Freetown Sierra Leone National Museum
After breakfast, we will depart for a tour of the City of Freetown. We will show you some the historic sites around the centre of the city. Highlights of the tour include: National Museum: A tour on Sierra Leone’s history and culture.

A wonderful display of our various ethnic artefacts can be seen. Famous Cotton Tree: This proud landmark holds great significance to the freed slaves that settled in this country. Maroon Church: The oldest church in Freetown built by former Jamaican Slaves in 1808. State House formerly known as Fort Thornton: the office of the Governor during the years of colonial Administration.

Martello Tower (1805): A replica of the towers as in south of England during the Napoleonic ears. Old Fourah bay College (1845): The 1st university in Sub – Sahara Africa which was the citadel of learning that won Sierra Leone the reputation “the Athens of Africa”.
Railway Museum (1896): Displays an array of 2ft 6in gauge trains that were commuting the 277 miles railway from Freetown to Pendembu. Big Market: Arts and craft market, masks, batiks, beaded necklaces etc. This market is a treasure trove for souvenir buyers. Be warned! Bargaining is the name of the game.

Peace Museum: Shelters the ancient U.N Tribunal where war criminals from Sierra Leone and Liberia were judged. We will have lunch in a local restaurant and then continue via Mount Aureol to Leicester Peak where you will see a magnificent overview of the city of Freetown. Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner  
Overnight at Hotel
 

Day 03: Bunce Island Bunce Island
After breakfast, you will be picked up for transfer to Bunce Island by boat. Bunce Island was the largest British slave castle on the Rice Coast of West Africa. Founded in 1670, it exported thousands of captives to North America and The West Indies until the British Parliament closed it in 1808. The Gullah people of South Carolina are thought to have come from ships boarded at Bunce Island.

While there, take a look around the old fort wall, the slave quarters, the ruined fort, the ancillary buildings, the grave sites and check out the remains of the canons. Return to Freetown to visit River Number 2 located in the Western Peninsula region of Sierra Leone. It is one of Sierra Leone’s finest white sand beaches backed by luscious tree-covered mountains that slope down to the sea. You can play around in the shallow current of the river before it meets the sea, sunbathe, take a guided walk in the forest, go on a boat trip, buy some arts and crafts, or chat to the friendly locals.

OPTIONAL: For a full day trip to Bunce Island, you can continue to Tasso Island for lunch and free time to explore on your own. Visit to River Number Two will be skipped. Tasso Island is one of the most unique tourist destinations the continent has to offer. With its touching colonial history, outdoor activities that leave your heart pumping, and stunning views of ocean and tropical forest, Tasso Island has gained the interest of a myriad of travelers, historians and preservationists. Afternoon free time at leisure on the beach or motorized pirogue ride (optional).  
Overnight at Hotel.
 

Day 04: Tacugama & The Banana Islands Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary
After breakfast, depart to Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary. The sanctuary which covers 100 acres was created in 1995 to save and rehabilitate chimps before freeing them. Most of the chimpanzees live semi wild inside large enclosures. Right before the road that leads to the chimps’ sanctuary, on the bridge, you can see the Charlotte Falls.

On the way, we will pass through the village of Regent where we can find many Krio style houses including some that date from the 19th century. Continue to Kent Village for your transfer by boat to the Banana Islands. During the tour, you will discover the role of the Banana Islands during the slave trade and see the structures of the first European settlers in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone was one of the countries heavily involved in the slave trade between the 16th and 19th century.

Many strongholds have been created by the European powers to gather large numbers of slaves and keep them to be sold and transported to the Americas. Two major centers to assemble slaves were Bunce Island and the Banana Islands. The Banana Islands was the smaller one where it is said that up to two thousand slaves could be on the island simultaneously.

Lunch will be served in Bafa Resort. Afternoon free time at leisure on the beach or motorized pirogue ride (optional).  
Overnight at Hotel.
 

Day 05: The Banana Islands Banana Islands
After breakfast, we will start the historical tour of the Banana Islands. We will visit the ruins of the Slave Hole, the Old Fort, the old St. Luke’s Church, and a small museum with tools and chains from the slave trade are reminders of the vivid activities of the prosperous slave trade. A tour to these historical sites is combined with a leisure stroll through the village of Dublin with a glimpse of the past and the present of the Banana Islands.  
Overnight at Hotel.

Day 06: Sierra Leone Sierra Leone
Day free for own activity .
Overnight in Hotel.

Day 07: Depart Serra Leon
After breakfast, Departure transfer to airport to catch the flight for onward Journey.

Day 01: Arrive Free Town
On arrival into Freetown you will be met by your tour leader and transferred to your local hotel. There will be a pre-tour briefing in the hotel this evening, but the rest of the day is at leisure.

Day 02: Lalehub
Today will be dominated by the long drive to Lalehun, situated in the north of the Gola Rainforest National Park. The time spent on the road is dependent on road conditions, but we aim to have plenty of time to stop for lunch and breaks as needed. On arrival into Lalehun this evening, there will be a chance to settle in to our very basic accommodation and grab some dinner. We will then head out into the rainforest for a spotlighting session, aiming to locate some of the forest species that can be found here. Poaching pressure has been intense here in recent years but, with a bit of luck, we hope to locate species including African palm civet, West African potto, white-bellied pangolin and giant pangolin. After several hours spotlighting, we will return to our accommodation for some rest.

Day 03: Lalehun
We have a full day to explore the area around Lalehun on foot today, seeking out the rare species that call this forest home. Our key targets will be the numerous species of forest duiker seen here, including Maxwell’s duiker, black duiker, yellow-backed duiker, Ogilby’s duiker and even Jentink’s duiker. Sightings can never be guaranteed, but a pre-dawn, late morning and evening walk will give us the best chance possible of memorable sightings.

Day 04: Sileti
After a final chance for a morning walk in Lalehun, we will head south to Sileti this morning. Sileti is the finest area in Sierra Leone for pygmy hippo sightings, with several individuals known to inhabit the nearby stretch of the Moa River. After a brief break to settle in to our new surrounds, we will make the two and a half hour walk to the Mahoi Bridge this afternoon. The trail to the bridge is one of the few slightly open areas in Gola, and is a great area in which to spot forest duikers, as well as royal antelope and water chevrotain. On arrival at Mahoi, we will have an hour or so to view the incredibly loud lek of hammer-headed fruit bats under the bridge, and we will get our first view of the Moa River. Rather than bivouac near the bridge this evening, we will instead head back to Sileti. This extended night walk is a great opportunity to spotlight for pangolin and forest duikers. Rest assured that our contacts within the park will be elsewhere, looking hard for signs of pygmy hippo along the Moa River, and our search for these rare animals will start in earnest tomorrow.

Day 05: Moa River

Early this morning, we will leave the relative comfort of Sileti behind and head directly to an isolated spot on the banks of the Moa River. We will be bivouacing here, with no creature comforts, but what it lacks in luxury this spot makes up for in the potential for pygmy hippo sightings. The shallow banks allow for easy access to the river for the hippos, and further upstream the overhanging banks knotted with roots make great refuges during the day. Tonight, we have the choice of remaining at our camp overlooking the river, or patrolling the network of hippo trails throughout the forest. Both methods have a chance of success, so we recommend doing a bit of both. Our use of spotlights and thermal monoculars give us the best chance possible of spotting one of these elusive mammals as they leave the river to feed.

Days 06-07:Moa River

These two days will be spent camped out on the banks of the Moa River searching high and low for pygmy hippo and the other rare mammals of the Gola Rainforest. Days will be split into forest walks and stake-outs, depending on which method seems most likely to reveal a pygmy hippo.

Day 08: Seleti
This morning we will return to the basic and rustic comfort of Sileti, for some rest and better food. There will be the chance to walk the areas around camp this afternoon and this evening as desired.

Day 09: Tiwai Island
Following a final brief morning walk around Sileti, we will set out on the long, bumpy drive to Tiwai Island. It will likely be dark by the time we arrive, but after dinner we aim to head upstream by boat, before slowly floating downstream in silence. With spotlights and thermal monoculars, there is the chance of a rare pygmy hippo sighting as we drift.

Days 10-11: Tiwai Island
The next two days will be spent walking the forest on Tiwai Island, as well as navigating the river by boat. With luck, whilst on foot, we may spot a number of entertaining primate species, including chimpanzee, diana monkey, sooty mangabey, olive colobus, western red colobus and king colobus. Other mammals often seen here include water chevrotain and red river hog. Each evening, we will float down the river with our engine cut, with the aim of spotting an elusive pygmy hippo.

Day 12: Depart Freetown
This morning we transfer directly to Freetown for your homeward flights.