Sierra Leone

One of the few remaining tracts of ancient rainforest in West Africa, Tiwai Island, meaning 'Big Island' in the Mende language, is Sierra Leone's most popular and accessible nature reserve. Set on the Moa River, the entire island is run as a conservation research project – known as the Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary. Tiwai covers a mere 12 sq km, but teems with an astonishing range of flora and fauna, and is most famous for its primate population. Although not part of the island, Gola Rainforest National Park shares the same tract of rainforest as Tiwai Island.

The Freetown Peninsula is the star attraction of Sierra Leone's tourist industry – a deep green interior of mountains and forest, kissed by a dazzling stretch of beaches, each one with its own special appeal. From powdery white sands nudged by a shallow turquoise lagoon, to a saffron bay shaded by palms and studded with boulders, to a wide sweep of thundering waves, perfect for surfing. And just off the tip of the peninsula lie the Banana Islands; an untrammelled hideaway, perfect for snorkelling, fishing and lazy days – or for jumping off an adventure to the storybook Turtle Islands.

This is a beautiful tract of savannah and jungle, with very diverse wildlife. You'll find primates such as chimpanzees, colobus monkeys and sooty mangabeys; hippos, bongo antelopes, buffalo, and perhaps even forest elephants, along with over 150 bird species.

In the dense rainforest of Western Area National Park, Sri Lankan founder Bala created Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, a leafy, waterfall-framed hideaway set up with the purpose of rescuing and rehabilitating endangered primates, and in the process educating humans about one of our closest relatives. The passionate and committed staff offer twice-daily tours of the sanctuary, during which you'll watch rescued chimps frolic in enclosures and spot those who have been released to a larger area in the mountains beyond.

Strung between the mountains and the sea, Sierra Leone's capital is a cheeky, quicksilver city bubbling with energy, colour and charm. One minute it's calm, offering up quiet beaches, friendly Krio chat and warm plates of soup and rice. The next it's frenzied and playing dirty, throwing you into the back of a shared taxi and hurtling you up and down its pretty little hills.

And it might just be the only capital in the world where when you emerge from the airport, blinking after an overnight flight, you find yourself standing on the wooden deck of a port flanked by a backdrop of mountains, beaches and palm trees so idyllic you wonder if it's real. Well it's real, all of it – the chatter and the chaos and the colour and the dirt and the lush lobster dinners and the devastating history of war and Ebola – and those lovely white sands too.