Sights in Guinea Bissau
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Arquipélago Dos Bijagós
At first, the Bijagós - Africa's only archipelago - may seem simply a pleasant escape from the problems of the mainland, with swaying palms, cooling breezes and powdery, white-sand beaches. Stay a little while though, and you'll begin to fall under the islands' singular spell.
Protected by swift tides and treacherous sandbanks, the islands have long been a world apart. They eluded Portuguese control until the 1930s, and the fiercely independent Bijagós people still retain a large degree of autonomy from the federal government.
Most visitors to the islands seem to be either biologists who come to study the unique and rich variety of marine life, or else sports fishermen…
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Ilha de Bolama
Located just off the mainland, about 40km (25mi) south of Bissau, the island of Bolama was long home to the Portuguese capital. Deprived of its status in 1941, the once-grand town (also called Bolama) has been decaying ever since, with sagging colonnades and papaya trees sprouting from stately living rooms. The effect is one of eerie beauty.
The island is virtually devoid of a tourist infrastructure, though the NGO Prodepa, an international group devoted to preserving traditional fishing techniques, rents basic rooms and serves food. The closest beach is about 4km (2.5mi) south of Bolama town, but the best beaches are along the far southwest end of the island, about 20km…
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Ilha de Orango
West of Bubaque is Ilha de Orango, which, along with several other islands, forms part of the Orango Islands National Park. To get there you will need to island-hop toward the village of Eticoga on the west coast, a good base from which to enter the park.
The vegetation is mainly palm groves and light woodland, with significant areas of mangrove and mud flats exposed at low tide. The park's inhabitants include rare saltwater species of hippo and crocodile, and the area is particularly good for birds. This is also one of the largest green and Ridley turtle-nesting sites on the west African coast.
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Fortaleza d'Amura
Off the southern end of Av Amilcar Cabral are the narrow streets of the old Portuguese quarter, with colourful if often crumbling Mediterranean-style buildings. The old neighbourhood is guarded by the Fortaleza d'Amura. Surrounded by imposing stone walls, it's still used by the Guinean military and strictly off-limits to visitors.
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Former Presidential Palace
The former presidential palace dominates Praça dos Heróis Nacionais at the northern end of Av Amilcar Cabral. With a bombed-out roof and shrapnel in its once graceful, neoclassical façade, it's an ever-present reminder of the country's devastating civil war.
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