Qualla: Tiwai Island

Tiwai Island: Introduction

Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

You cannot drive to Tiwai. The road ends at a village on the Moa River, and the last leg is by boat: a quiet glide across slow brown water to a 12-square-kilometer island swallowed in rainforest. Step ashore and the forest closes overhead, alive with the calls of monkeys you will hear long before you see them. This is one of the last surviving tracts of the Upper Guinea Rainforest, one of just 25 global biodiversity hotspots, and in 2025 it became part of Sierra Leone's first UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Gola-Tiwai complex. For travelers willing to make the journey, few places in West Africa repay the effort so richly.

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Tiwai Island: Following the Monkeys

Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Tiwai's reputation rests on its primates, and the island delivers. It holds one of the highest concentrations and greatest diversity of primates anywhere on Earth, with eleven species sharing the forest, among them Diana monkeys and western chimpanzees. Hike the trails with a gui...

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Tiwai Island: An Island Two Peoples Share

Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Tiwai's protection grew from an unusual partnership. The island long belonged to the Barri people, until in the late 19th century their leader, Queen Nyarroh, gave half of it to the neighboring Koya chief across the Moa River, and the two communities have shared ownership ever si...

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Tiwai Island: When to Come, and How

Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Timing matters here. November is the sweet spot: the rains have eased but the harmattan has not yet arrived. From December, dry Saharan winds can haze the air and make wildlife harder to spot, and during the May-to-October rainy season you may simply not get there at all. There i...

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Tiwai Island: Practicalities of the Wild

Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Tiwai is a sanctuary first and a tourist site second, so come prepared. The entrance fee is US$10 for Sierra Leoneans and US$15 for others, which includes the boat ride across; a price list is posted online, and it is worth bringing a copy since travelers have occasionally found ...

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