guinea

area
population
capital
head of state
official language
currency
exchange rate

(source: lonely planet)

245,860 sq km
7.2 million
conakry
lansana conte
french
guinean franc
check out oanda.com
for current exchange rates

this information comes from a visit to the country in november 2001. things might have changed since then. these are my personal impressions and it's well possible that other travellers will not share my views.

dakar, senegal: the visa was issued the same day, one month / cfa 20·000. if you don·t have a carnet de passage, you·ll need to get a ·laissez passer· (cfa 20·000). (we didn·t get one in dakar, and told the border officials that we didn·t have a carnet. the let us enter without a ·laissez passer·. but we had to explain at every checkpoint why we didn·t have a paper for the vehicule. we got away with it, but it was some hassle).

getting in and out

from kedoudou, senegal to mali town in guinea: check out with the police in kedougou. the piste to the border is in good condition, but gets very (!) difficult afterwards, when getting into the mountains. (the mercedes 4wd truck in our group made an average of 10 · 20 km/h·). it might about two days to get to mali, where you·ll get a warm welcome. everybody who·s somebody will want to see you and make you fill in some forms. allow a couple of hours for the entry procedures. (everybody will be very excited about having tourists, they are all very nice).

from n·zerekore, guinea to sipilou, cote d·ivoire: the piste to the border is not too hard, there are several checkpoints. no problems at the guinean border. the ivoiran border is a couple of km down the road. the officials at the boder post might ask for a ·cadau· but won·t insist. the customs office is in sipilou. you don·t need a carnet de passage and will be issued a vignette touristique (it should cost cfa 2500 or cfa 5000 but people have been asked up to 10·000, try to bargain and get a receipt).

places to stay

in the norther mountains of the fouta jalon, we usually camped near villages, after talking to the village chiefs. they are usually extremely friendly and sometimes even offer food.

maries refugee in kankan (mentioned in lp) is not as friendly anymore as it might have been. dear old mary is a bit stressed out and changes from angel to devil if things get over her head. try the galaxy motel, in the same area.

mt. nimba, near n·zerekore: there is a wildlife project on mt nimba, between n·zerekore and the border with cote d·ivoire. you·re expected to pay a little fee in town prior to your arrival, but we arrived without a receipt and nobody cared. there is a barrier on the road and you·ll have to ask for the key at the village nearby. you can camp at the station for free, people working there are very nice. there is good hiking on the mountain, it·s well worth to stay.

other

you·re expected to register with the police at every bigger town, certainly so if you spend the night there.

check the security situation before taking the main road from kissidougou · guekedou · macenta · n·zerekore. there have been fighting between liberian rebels and the military. the whole area is controlled by the military and they are not too happy to be responsible for tourist·