Gabú

Gabú is the main town of eastern Guinea-Bissau, a predominantly Fula centre on the road toward the Senegalese and Guinean borders with a large market that draws trade from all three countries. The name comes from the Kaabu empire, a Mandinka state that governed this region for centuries before the Fula rose against it in the nineteenth century. The country around is savanna and cashew. Kaabu fell in the 1860s and the fall is remembered in griot repertoire across the region.

What you actually see

• The market - trade crossing from Senegal and Guinea.
• The Fula town - the community the eastern region is centred on.
• The Kaabu name - the empire that governed this region for centuries.
• The cashew country - the crop that dominates the surrounding farmland.

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 drive from Bissau takes around three and a half hours. Border proximity means checkpoints.

Nearby

Bafatá is west, and Boé is southeast.