Buba

Buba sits on the Rio Grande de Buba in southern Guinea-Bissau, a tidal inlet deep enough that ocean-going ships once came up it, and the town was a trading point for that reason. It is quiet now, a market town serving the region with the Cufada lagoons nearby and Cantanhez forest to the west. Manatees are recorded in the river and mangrove lines the banks. The inlet is one of the deepest natural waterways in West Africa and proposals to build a port here have come and gone for decades. Mangrove covers most of the shoreline around the town.

What you actually see

• The tidal river - the deep inlet that ships once came up.
• The market - the trading centre for the southern region.
• The mangrove banks - the vegetation lining the river.
• The base function - the point for Cufada and Cantanhez.

When to go

November to May is the dry season and the roads are best. The rains from June make travel difficult. Market days are busiest.

Honest expectations

There is little arranged for visitors and facilities are basic. The road from Bissau is slow. Manatee sightings are extremely rare.

Nearby

Cufada is nearby, and Cantanhez is west.