Gabú

Gabú is the largest town in eastern Guinea-Bissau and capital of the Gabú region, on the banks of the Campossa river, and it is the second city of the country after Bissau; most of its people today are Muslim Fula. Its name recalls Kaabu, a federation of Mandinka kingdoms that broke away from the Mali Empire in 1537 and had its capital at Kansala, some 27 km north of the present town, until Kansala fell to the Fula in 1867; the Portuguese later called the town Nova Lamego, after Lamego on the Douro, a name it kept until 1974. It is above all a market town, with the second-largest market in the country, trading coal, ceramics and farm produce, and traders come from Guinea, Senegal, Mali and Sierra Leone. Unlike in the rest of Guinea-Bissau, donkeys are common here for farm work and for carrying goods and people, and the town lies in the driest part of the country, among savannas where the Fula graze their herds.

Background

The capital of the Gabú region, Gabú is the biggest city of eastern Guinea-Bissau and the second most populous in the whole country. The Portuguese named it Nova Lamego, after the Douro town of Lamego, and it later took the name Gabú, sometimes spelled Cabu, in honour of the earlier empire of that name. Today it is known mainly as a market town, with the second-largest market in Guinea-Bissau, trading coal, ceramics and farm produce, and traders come from as far as Guinea, Senegal, Mali and Sierra Leone. Its tropical savanna climate brings dry, dusty harmattan months from November to May and a wet season from June to October with heavy thunderstorms almost every day.

Source: Wikipedia, "Gabú (town)"

What's there

• The market - the second-largest in the country, with traders from Guinea, Senegal, Mali and Sierra Leone.
• The Fula town - most of the people today are Muslim Fula.
• The Kaabu name - the Mandinka federation of 1537-1867, whose capital Kansala lay 27 km to the north.
• The donkeys - working animals here, unlike in the rest of the country.

When to go

November to May, the dry season, with dusty harmattan winds; from June to October heavy thunderstorms fall almost every day. Half a day.

Before you go

Gabú lies 263 km from Bissau, reached by a paved road, and its climate is drier, with about a quarter less rain than the capital and bigger swings between day and night temperatures.

Nearby

The N1 road leads to Bafatá in the west and Piche in the east, and the N4 to Pirada in the north and Madina do Boé in the south.

Key facts