Introduction:
The Kotu resort and village in Gambia is in the Kombo
Saint Mary District, in the West Coast Region, and forms
one half of the main centre of Gambia's coastal tourist
industry, with the other being in Kololi.
The village is 17km from the Banjul
capital. The Badala Highway leads from the Bertil Harding
Highway and crosses the creek (aka River Sando or Sandu)
at the bridge and proceeds to Kotu
Strand. Partly enclosing the beach based tourist
enclave is the Kotu Stream,
rice fields and the Fajara
Golf Course behind. The focal point of the area is the
BB Craft
Market (Bengdula), an oval, half enclosure, lined
with souvenir shops, bars, restaurants
and other amenities.
Accommodation:
 In
the Kotu holiday resort, the accommodation choices are
all medium or large tourist-class hotels,
mostly supported or owned by some of the big tour operators,
either on, or very near to respectable length of beach.
They are mostly low-rise and blend in well with the
scenery.
The Palm Beach and Sunset Beach hotels
are nestled close to the stream and face the Atlantic
Ocean, while the Kombo
Beach Hotel and the Bungalow Beach Hotel are a little
to the north east and are also on the strand. The Bakotu
Hotel lies on the opposite side of the craft market
and has no beachfront.
Beach Area:
 The
coconut palm fringed Kotu beach area has a reasonably
good width to the waters edge and the sand is of good
quality however, the sea water is sandy.
Around the Palm
Beach Hotel are some small lagoons with far less
turbulent water. This section of the Atlantic Ocean
ranges from flat calm to choppy with the occasional
small waves lapping at the shore. It's shallow enough
to allow you to get out to a reasonable distance from
the shore (about 25 metres), but then the shelf drops
steeply, so do be alert. Often there are waves breaking
up to 300m off-shore. You sometimes see numerous chaotic
waves building fast, with a flat shore break to surf.
There are lifeguards based on the beach with their own
high lookout post. Be aware of the warning flags they
put out to warn about current swimming
conditions.
General Area:
 As
your flight comes over the Kotu Point area en-route
to Yundum's Banjul International Airport you'll see
the Gambia's coastline with good number of hotel
swimming pools scattered among the palm trees, rice
paddy fields and sandy roads. You won't however see
any residential houses, except inland, behind the coastal
road to your left. On this coastal
strip called the TDA, the tourist
infrastructure takes precedence.
During the five months of the low-season, when many of the
hotels, restaurants
and bars
are closed, the locality is quiet and sleepy, only gearing
into life towards the end of the monsoon in late September
/ early October, when the restaurateurs, bar owners
and hoteliers get on with their yearly repairs
and repainting program. As soon as the first peak-season
visitors arrive in mid-October, does it metamorphosize
into a bustling, gregarious package-holiday resort once
again.
The dirt path that meanders from the Badala Highway,
past the connecting road to the Palm Beach Hotel, and
on into Kololi
resort, is a pleasurable 1.5 mile stroll. The Kotu Stream
 area
is particularly beautiful during the rice-growing season
(Aug-Nov), when the fields are an emerald green. By
the end of the dry season, the creek is almost dry,
but at any time of year there are many birds species
and tall, mature palm trees to admire, and sometimes
you might see vervet monkeys and monitor lizards.
You'll often see plastic bottles clustered round the tops of
the palms, and palm
wine tappers shinning up to collect the fermenting
sap. This area is also used by cattle herders so don't
be surprised if you see cows making their way along
the shoreline, as well as the roads and fields.
Tourist Attractions & Things
To Do:
• Craft Market
 Also
known as the BB Hotel Tourist
Craft
Market Bendula, it was established on the shore
in 1975 to regulate the activities of Gambian women
selling baskets to holidaymakers. It is an open-air,
oval shaped courtyard with a central roundabout which
is surrounded by approximately 42 souvenir shops, restaurants,
and fruit sellers. It is also used as the main entrance
to the strand by hotel guests, and lies between the
Kombo Beach and Bungalow Beach hotels.
Here you can find tourist souvenirs such as wooden masks,
batik
and tie dye clothing, African jewellery, oil and sand
paintings, handmade leather shoes, bags, beachwear,
kaftans, djembe drums and more. There are also bureau
de change, mini-markets etc. From the entrance and
to your left there are several bars and restaurants.
 On
Kotu's Atlantic Ocean beachfront end there are a number
of fruit stalls offering freshly squeezed juices and
whole fruits such as oranges, mangoes, papaya, bananas
and other local tropical fruits.
There are various fruit stalls spread out along the
beachfront which are regulated by the Gambia
Tourism Board, and the women are forbidden from
pestering tourists for their business, though this doesn't
stop them beckoning tourists for their trade however.
These women can be identified by their green T-shirt
uniforms.
• Cycling
 You
can hire bicycles just outside most of the hotels on
the strand. There is also a bicycling
track which follows the northern fence of the Badala
Hotel, and continues for a few hundred metres to
the back of the Palma Rima Hotel in Kololi. It
is possible to ride a bike at low tide all the way to
Kololi, just make sure you have good, rugged tyres.
Another possible nearby route is to cross the road and
make your way to the road leading into the Kotu Power
Station. Where it forks left it leads you eventually
to Manjai's urban area and its main road. The area around
the stations is relatively quiet with plenty of trees
and scrubland.
• Sunbathing
 Sunbathing
here is pretty straight forward but be aware you are
exposed to the full glare of the sun on most days between
November to April - clouds are few and far between at
this time of the year. Try taking little breaks under
you parasol every once in a while and use a good sun
cream with high factor.
• Horse
Riding
 There
are a number of people operating horseback riding sessions
along the strand. You can also enquire at your reception
desk about any local operators near where you stay.
Kotu
Horse Riding
Ebrima (Tel no: 343 6965)
Harriet
Horse Riding Stable
Sololo (Tel no: 770 3204)
• Restaurants
 Kotu's
lively holiday resort image is reflected in its density
of touristy venues to eat and drink. In this vicinity
there are also lots of juice bars, beach
bars and fruit stands.
You will find various kinds of restaurants,
starting from strand itself all the way through the
craft market and onto the Badala Highway, up to the
Elton junction and beyond. Among these are:
• Al Baba GFC, • Boss Lady, • Captain's
Table, • Garden Kitchen, • Hong-Mei Chinese
Restaurant, • Jamaican Spice, • JD's, • John
Raymond's Bar & Restaurant, • Julas,
• Kunta Kinteh's Beach Bar, • Ninke Nanka,
• Oscars, • Paradise
Beach Bar & Restaurant, • Paradiso Pizza,
• Sailor's, • Samba's Kitchen, • Tandoor
and many others.
• Bird
Watching
 Kotu's
tourist-class hotels
are very near to a number of bird habitats, making this
an ideal centre for birders visiting Gambia. The area
is made up of mangroves, coastal scrub land and rice
fields which provides a relatively easy introduction
to West African birding. There is an abundance of bird
species and populations here due to almost no human
habitation here and the spacious areas of natural habitat
with lots of water, bush and trees.
A good starting point for bird
watching professionals
is the Fajara
Golf Course where the short grass of the fairways
is alluring to the likes of Senegal wattled plover,
black-headed plover, piapiac and the long-tailed
glossy starling. The areas of scrub and trees can yield
up an amazing variety of birds. Some of the more regular
species included red-billed hornbill, yellow-billed
shrike, green wood-hoopoe, grey woodpecker, black-billed
wood dove, black-cap babblers, beautiful sunbirds, double-spurred
francolin, bronze manikin and bearded barbet.
 From
here you can walk across the golf course at Fajara,
and you will come too Kotu Stream, a tidal creek bordered
by rice paddies and mangrove wetlands.
Several species of Palearctic waders are commonly found
along the stream, along with Senegal thick-knee. Plenty
of grey-headed gulls roost on the mud at low tide and
various herons and egrets are easily spotted here. Around
the area you can spot giant pied and malachite kingfishers
and red-chested swallows. The Kotu Bridge is well known
as a place to find Gambian trained
bird guides for hire.
Another good area to go visit the sewage
ponds, which can be accessed by a footpath on
the other side of the road from the Badala Park; it
is behind the Elton Petrol Station. At the sewage works
the productive pond life here lures many bird
species; you may see waders like wood and marsh sandpiper
and spur-winged plovers, pink-backed pelicans,
white-faced whistling ducks and white-winged black terns.
Little swifts are regulars and the surrounding scrub
had starlings and fork-tailed drongo.
Health & Safety:
Between the tourist village and about 250 metres before
the well lit section of road, is mostly wilderness and
farmland. The road itself is lit along its entire length
making it possible to walk at night. However, it is
advisable to take a cab, if possible, to and from your
hotel after 9pm. If you have to walk then make sure
you are with several other people and always carry a
pocket torch light just in case.
The area around the Strand is fairly safe and there
is a Gambian tourist police post there, as well as at
the start of the road leading in from the Bertil Harding
Highway. Not far from the junction of the highway, towards
Manjai, is the fire
station.
Travel Information:
 There
are green tourist taxis
parked within the vicinity of the accommodations on
Kotu Strand. Yellow taxis are only permitted to enter
to drop off their passengers but not allowed to wait,
unless they get special permission.
[Geographical coordinates 13° 27' 34" North, 16°
42' 19" West / Kombo North Saint Mary District
(Ksmd)] |
