Gandalf Around The World: Kambadaga, Guinea

2019-03-15/16 : Kambadaga Waterfalls. The widest in Guinea.

We return to Guinea from Senegal by the national road number 5. A road that we know very good except for 25 km of laterite track. Why did these 25 km remain in track condition? Good question ! I guess it's lack of means because it is actually the most difficult stretch of the journey. It takes us from 200 m to 600 m of altitude through a series of turns. Okay ! but it's still not high mountain and technically not really an insurmountable challenge.
We go through them in exactly 60 minutes. The most impressive, and also the most worrying, on this track are the "7-seater" taxis - which actually carry up to a dozen passengers - which tumble at high speed into the dust. When we know their technical condition there is really something to worry about meeting them on the road, as they additionnally are more overloaded as they should! Because of course with a dozen passengers there is no more room inside for the luggages, these are piled on the roof rack to more than 3 m high. And since not all passengers have enough seats in the car, there are always two or three at the top of the baggage, which occasionally comes with a few goats stuck between a bike and a spare wheel. It's surreal!

Taxis on the "road" in Guinea

Taxi uphill on the track to the waterfalls

The narrow track to the Kambadaga waterfall

On the way to the Kambadaga waterfalls

The first day at Kambadaga we just have a stroll along the river and up to the adventurous liana bridge.

adventurous liana bridge at Kambadaga

The next morning we decide to directly reach the point of view above the falls one kilometer from here as the crow flies. We start by crossing the river. We follow the path that goes up on the left bank. We leave the path (in fact a track) after 1,300 meters to take a small narrow path which in 400 meters leads us to the point of view at the top of the cliffs.
We are of course alone. We sit at the foot and in the shade of a small tree hanging on the edge of the cliff. From here the view is fantastic on the first two falls. The falls of Kambadaga are indeed composed of three rather impressive jumps of several tens of meters of height. The third jump is a little further down and we're just guessing it.