I love crossing land borders on foot: walking from one country into the next, reaching the other side just in time for a new adventure. Even better when the border is just a couple of huts in a forest clearing and you reach it by motorbike, crossing your fingers and hoping to find onward transport from there. You know: a ride along a red dirt road that disappears into a forest.
In yet another of our West African adventures, we travelled from Senegal to Sierra Leone overland on public transport – that is, by bus, bike, or bush-taxi. There are four or five crossings between Guinea and Sierra Leone: the main one at Parnelap on the Conakry-Freetown Highway brings you into Sierra Leone near Kambia. Bush-taxis and buses run regularly between the two capitals.
The other crossings are more distant and difficult, mainly due to the state of the roads on either side, and lack of transport. This border-crossing guide is about our experience using the remote border at Medina Oula in Guinea, which brings you into Sierra Leone near Kamakwie.
Before You Go
Visas
You need a Sierra Leone visa and your Yellow Fever vaccination certificate to cross the border. There is no Visa on Arrival for Sierra Leone, so bring it from home or get it in a neighboring country. We picked ours up at the Embassy in The Gambia: other nearby options include Conakry and Monrovia. It’s an expensive one: a one-month single-entry is around 100+ USD, depending on your nationality and probably where you get it.
Embassies in West Africa tend to move all the time, without notice or any updates to their last known address. The most time-consuming part of getting a visa is often finding an Embassy. The Sierra Leone Embassy in The Gambia has moved from Banjul to a pretty obscure location on the Senegambia road and possibly moved again, further down the road heading away from the beach, towards Serekunda.
Assuming you find an Embassy, it’s probably easier to pick the visa up on the way than to bring it from home. Applying at your home Embassy/Consulate (or closest one), you may need a letter of invitation arranged through a tour operator, or hotel bookings/an itinerary at the very least, and proof of funds/insurance, plus the usual documentation (application, Yellow Fever certificate, photograph). Applying in The Gambia we literally sat down at the officer’s desk, filled out the forms, handed him a photo, and paid. He wrote out the visas and stuck them in our passports on the spot.
Money
Bring some Le (Leones, the currency used in Sierra Leone) with you. Change money before you cross the border. On this route from Guinea, there isn’t a town with an ATM anywhere near the border on either side and there were no money-changers around when we crossed – this is a very little-used crossing. The last reliable option to change money in Guinea is in Kindia, and the first in Sierra Leone is Kamakwie. Know the rate before you go, and watch out when you’re dealing with money-changers in the street.
Keep in mind that the only ATMs accepting international cards are in Freetown, and they are supremely unreliable at best, so you should bring most of the money you’ll need with you in USD, and change it as you go. This is a cash-based economy: forget about credit cards (other than if you’re planning to stay at the top hotels in Freetown).
The Route
You can get from Kindia to Medina Oula (Guinea), across the border, and on to Kamakwie (Sierra Leone) in a day. You’ll need to string rides together: depending on how that works out, you might end up traveling after dark. A lot of this will involve motorbikes: I strongly suggest bringing a helmet, because you won’t easily find one there.
If you are planning to visit Outamba-Kilimi National Park in Sierra Leone, this is the time to do it: the park is a detour off the ‘main’ road from the border going towards Kamakwie. Detouring to the park should take a little less time than going right through to Kamakwie. There are some huts in the park and you can stay the night before traveling onwards. If you plan to do this, bring food with you and the staff will cook it for you. Supplies at the park are pretty basic leaning towards non-existent, and also expensive. This is not the Masai Mara – they don’t seem to be expecting guests much.
All the time estimates for driving distances here are just that: estimates. It’s really going to depend on the roads, your vehicle and driver (confidence, speed and ability), and possibly the weather. Don’t do this in the rainy season.
Kindia to Medina Oula
Go early to the main market in Kindia where all the transport congregates. Ask around for a car (taxi-brousse) going to Medina Oula. Expect to wait a few hours for the car to fill up. Use that time to pick up food (in case you get stuck along the way; also, if you are planning to stay at Outamba Kilimi). There are money-changers in and near the market although finding one with Leones can take a while.
On the way you’ll stop at a checkpoint not too far from Medina Oula. We met two soldiers here who checked our passports and gave us a hard time. There was no English spoken at all.
It’s around 65 kms to Medina Oula and takes about three hours.
Medina Oula to the Border
Medina is a tiny village with a police post where you’ll show your passport, the officer will record your details, and stamp you out.
The no-man’s land is about 10 kms of bad road through the forest, so you’ll need a ride. Everyone will know that you need a ride, so the motorbike taxi-drivers will find you. Bargain hard. The cost seems to include bribes the driver will pay to the guards at the border on the way out.
At the start of the border road, where there is a gun turret just pointed in the general direction of Sierra Leone, show your passport again (and the driver will probably pay the guards). Expect around thirty minutes on the road – hang on tight, and you’re going to get dirty.
Formalities are pretty casual at the Sierra Leone border post in the forest. Passport, visa, maybe a quick bag check. Best of all: a super-friendly ‘Welcome to Sierra Leone!’ – seriously, so good to hear English again.
There isn’t any onward transport here. Ask the border guards to let your Guinean driver take you the rest of the way to the first small village (I think it’s called Sainya, it’s very close) and drop you off there before he returns home.
The Border to Kamakwie/Outamba-Kilimi National Park
Having reached the first village in Sierra Leone, you’ll need to arrange your next ride: a motorbike taxi (ocada) to take you either to Kamakwie or to Outamba-Kilimi Park Headquarters. The park is a detour off the road from the border going towards Kamakwie. Detouring to the park should take a little bit less time than going right through to Kamakwie. The roads are such a mess it almost doesn’t make a difference. Either way, it’s around 40 – 50 kms of more hilly, rutted, crumbling, forested track. It took us about an hour and fifteen minutes to reach the park HQ.
By now you’ll probably be filthy – no worries, you can wash up in the Little Scarcies River (or not. But it’s your only option).
If you spend a night or two in the park, when you decide to leave the camp staff can organise motorbike taxis to Kamakwie for you, which will take around an hour (a little less than 30 kms). You’ll cross a river on the way using a raft-type ferry manually pulled across on cables. Feel free to pitch in and pull.
Onward Travel: Kamakwie to Makeni
From Kamakwie things get easier – you can pick up a bush taxi or poda-poda (minibus) going the next 100 kms on to Makeni, about a two hour drive (on much better roads).
And there you have it! As the friendly soldiers said, ‘Welcome to Sierra Leone!’
Read More
For more about travelling in these two countries and things to see and do while you’re at it, check out my stories from Guinea and Sierra Leone.
I also wrote a story about our experience crossing this border (it was a long, fun day):
