Tasso Island

Tasso is an island in the Sierra Leone river estuary upstream of Freetown, farmed rather than fished, with villages growing rice, cassava and vegetables and a community-run lodge that takes visitors. Bunce Island, the eighteenth-century slave trading castle, lies a short distance away and boats to it usually go via Tasso. Mangrove lines the shores and the estuary is wide. The island covers around thirteen square kilometres and holds several villages rather than a single settlement. Rice is grown on the low ground and cassava on the drier parts.

What you actually see

• The farming villages - communities growing rice and cassava on the island.
• The community lodge - the accommodation run by the villages.
• The mangrove shores - the fringe along the island's edges.
• The Bunce Island link - the crossing to the trading castle nearby.

When to go

November to April is the dry season and calmest on the estuary. The rains from May to October are heavy. Boats depend on tide and weather.

Honest expectations

Accommodation is basic with no power. Boat transfers must be arranged and depend on tide. Mosquitoes on the estuary are severe.

Nearby

Bunce Island is nearby, and Freetown is southwest.