Tingi Hills

The Tingi hills rise in northeastern Sierra Leone near the Guinean border, a range of granite domes and wooded slopes with Sankanbiriwa, the highest, standing over eighteen hundred metres. Forest mixed with savannah covers the lower slopes, giving way to shrub savannah and mountain grassland higher up, with western baboons, forest elephants and over two hundred bird species recorded. The climb is done from the villages below with guides, taking most of a day, and very few people make it. The area has been a forest reserve since 1947, about 119 square kilometres, closed to hunting since 1973 and recognised as an Important Bird Area.

The landscape

• Sankanbiriwa - the highest of the domes at over eighteen hundred metres.
• The granite domes - the bare rock summits standing above the forest.
• The forest slopes - woodland and savannah below the rock.
• The isolation - a range that sees very few visitors.

When to go

November to April is the dry season and the practical window. The rains from May to October make the climb dangerous. Harmattan haze can cut the view.

Things to know

The climb is steep with exposed rock and needs a guide from the villages. Access roads are rough and slow. There are no facilities of any kind.

Nearby

Kabala and the Loma mountains are northwest.

Key facts