Our main goal for this trip to Sierra Leone was to climb the isolated ultra peak of Loma Mansa. Any other peaks we could climb would be considered a bonus. And of course we added an extra day or two just in case something went wrong with our plans. We landed at Lungi airport in…
Range: West Africa Mountains
Leicester Peak
After breakfast in a small street restaurant next to the hotel, we drive almost to the top of Leicester Peak. There is a checkpoint, but as far as I can see, all tourists are allowed to drive to the viewpoint on the western slopes of the peak. There is a fairly large car park and…
Picket Hill North Summit
We are sailing from the Banana Islands to the mainland and are very close to one of Sierra Leone’s three P600 peaks – Picket Hill. We are aware that the highest point may be a mile in south of where the trail ends. However, we hope to find a path between the two peaks. Hope…
Ricketts Island Highpoint
After climbing to Dublin Island Highpoint, we cross a stone causeway that connects two islands. We then walk just over a kilometre on a flat, wide path to the nearest point to the summit. From there we head straight for Ricketts Island Highpoint, the highest of the three Banana Islands. At the top we found…
Dublin Island Highpoint
Situated off the coast of Yawri Bay, south-west of the Freetown peninsula, the Banana Islands are a group of three islands. The name comes from their shape, which resembles a banana. Dublin and Ricketts are connected by a stone causeway, while Mes-Meheux is privately owned and used as an adventure tourism destination. Dublin Island is…
Sankan Biriwa
A great day despite not being able to start climbing Sankan Biriwa, the highest peak in Tingi Hills Forest Reserve. An interesting journey from Makeni to Kundema-Lei village and also interesting negotiations in Kenewa village. After breakfast at the Makeni Hotel, we get in the car and head east. The tarmac road is good up…
Loma Mansa
Climbing Sierra Leone’s highest peak, the 46th most isolated in the world, is an experience not to be missed. It is also an ultra-prominent peak, one of the few in West Africa. Not only is it a beautiful natural environment, but the trail and cultural experience are also interesting. On this trip, Loma Mansa peak…
West Africa II 2023
The easiest and cheapest way to get to Cameroon was via Frankfurt in Germany and then to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. There I met Petter and time flew as we talked about past peakbagging trips. Unfortunately, my plan to visit Bioko Island in Equatorial Guinea and climb Pico Basil fell through, mainly due to complicated…
Mount Cameroon
Mount Cameroon is an active stratovolcano, it is the 31st most prominent mountain in the world and the 4th in Africa. It is also the 22nd most isolated mountain in the world, and a country highpoint. In short – it is a very interesting peak, and of course worth all the bureaucratic effort. Peter, Dave,…
West Africa 2023
Our plan for Equatorial Guinea fell through due to bureaucratic problems. So we quickly came up with a new plan in the same region that would include an ultra peak and not be a long trip, preferably something that could be done over a weekend and self-organised to avoid tour operators. São Tomé and Principe…
Sameiro
This is the last peak of the trip, a small hill with communication masts and a dirt road. We left our car at one of the forks, although with a larger car it might be possible to drive all the way to the top (rough road). At the top we found a trig pillar, a…
Muquinqui
The storm had completely stopped by the time we reached the bottom of the mountain. We parked our car on the main road and walked up the almost perfectly formed spiral road to the top. We were able to take in all the surrounding views at least four times; twice on the way up and…
Pico Boa Entrada
Today is a short day and we have to catch a flight home sometime this afternoon. We chose a couple of peaks within easy reach of the airport. The first was Pico Boa Entrada. It’s not very high, but it has a nicely shaped volcanic crater. Our first attempt to get close to the slope…
Cantagalo
The last of today’s summits was relatively easy, but harder than expected. We tried to approach from the south-east, but were turned back by some gentlemen, so we drove around the southern peninsula and parked our car on the side of a rough forest track. A stronger car could have gone a few more kilometres,…
Lama Porco
Before the second summit of the day, we stopped for coffee at the lodge cafeteria, which has a beautiful sandy beach lined with palm trees. The drive through the potholes was worth every minute. From the cafeteria we could see tourists getting into small boats and heading for Ilhéu das Rolas. This small island lies…
Aida
We started our day trip to the south of the island with a short and easy hike to Aida Peak. We left our car at the oil palm plantation and walked along a rough road, greeting a few locals carrying breadfruit on their heads. One of them followed us and later explained that he lived…
Pico de São Tomé
The hotel offered us an early breakfast at 5am, but we politely declined as we were afraid it would take too long. We then drove for almost an hour to a resort where our guide, Zezito, was supposed to be waiting for us. When we arrived, the gates were locked and no one seemed to…