Welcome to Footsteps Eco-lodge
Our lodge hospitality team have twenty-three years of experience providing our visitors with award-winning holidays in Gambia. Off the beaten track, wake to the sound of birdsong and fall asleep to the sound of the breeze in the trees and crickets.
We offer an exclusive adult-only experience, guaranteeing our valued guests a tranquil and rejuvenating vacation.
With various activities and excursions available to suit all tastes, you can spend your days exploring this wonderfully friendly country, or relax by our fresh-water pool or on the raised sun deck.
In the evening, we serve a varied menu which caters for everyone and dining is around our friendship table. It’s a chance to chink glasses with your fellow travellers and share stories of the experiences you’ve enjoyed during your day. Romantics amongst you needn’t worry. Candlelit single tables are also available, for a quiet evening under the stars.
At least once a week you will be treated to a delicious barbecue around an open fire, with cultural performances from local musicians, drumming groups or a traditional storyteller.
Most of all we have a wonderful team with smiles that will melt your heart.
Making the most of your holiday in The Gambia
There is such a lot you can do in the local area. Whether you like to explore independently or prefer to go with a guide, you will never be bored in this beautiful holiday destination. We recommend that you involve yourself with local projects and local people to make the most of your holiday in Gambia.
Within the grounds of the lodge, we are proud to have several local craftspeople working with us who not only have items for sale but also offer activity workshops for guests who would like to learn a local skill. Ousman is an accomplished tailor, making top-quality African clothes from local fabrics. Malang is one of Gambia’s finest wood-carvers and Bai Sering is a skilled silversmith still using the traditional methods and techniques that he learnt from his father.
Within walking distance, you can enjoy a deserted beach with golden sands and try your hand at a spot of fishing, see monkeys and amazing birdlife in pristine nature reserves, visit local markets and even a local compound. With a bicycle, you can be at Kartong Snake Farm to learn more about the local reptile population, enjoy an afternoon at Sanyang Beach or relax at Kartong Riverside and enjoy great seafood whilst gazing across the Halahin River to Senegal.
Lunch by The Alahein River
Gambia’s capital city, Banjul
Within an hour’s drive, you can reach many Gambia tourist attractions such as Senegambia, Kololi, Kotu, and Gambia’s capital city, Banjul. Explore the busy Albert Market, where you can find crafts and fabrics. Additionally, visit the National Museum and enjoy the stunning views from Arch 22. On your way back, don’t miss the opportunity to stop by Bakau’s fish market and meet Charlie the Crocodile at the Kachikally Sacred Crocodile Pool. Footsteps is a preferred choice for activities such as birdwatching, yoga, crafts, and fishing. We gladly accommodate group bookings, so please visit our activities page or contact us to organise a trip for your group.
If you prefer just to kick back and relax in our Eco-lodge, we have a fresh-water pool and all the quiet you need.
A Holiday that offers more!
Gambia is the smallest and friendliest country in Africa. On its West coast is the Atlantic Ocean and it is surrounded on three sides by Senegal. Running through the centre of the country is the beautiful River Gambia, home to dolphins, manatees and hippos. The forest areas offer the chance to see chimpanzees, baboons and other primates including the globally endangered Red Colobus monkeys. It is extremely popular with bird watchers, who appreciate the wide diversity of species to be found in such a small area.
Known as ‘The Smiling Coast ‘, the people are great hosts and always happy to have a chat and share a glass of green tea.
Having been a British colony, English is widely spoken in all but the most rural communities and the country has a fascinating history that can be explored on day trips from the lodge. The Gambia and especially its river played a key role, firstly in the movement of enslaved people and then in the abolition of the slave trade.
Gunjur itself is one of Gambia’s larger villages, with a vibrant daily market and lots of local shops selling everything from meat pies to mobile phones. A 10-minute drive away is Gunjur fishing village, which is a great place to take a stroll and watch the local fishermen at work.
Want to see wildlife in the wild?
The Gambia is best known by photographers and nature lovers, offering a huge diversity of species within a small area. Despite being the smallest country on mainland Africa, habitats range from saltwater wetlands, through gallery forests to savannah plains and ricefields.
More than 540 species have been recorded in the Gambia, including some of the birders’ favourites such as Egyptian Plovers, African Finfoots, Pel’s Fishing Owl and different Kingfishers such as the Shining Blue and the Pygmy.
Our lodge is ideally located for birders to visit the best sites on their holiday in the West Coast Region. Our expert guide, Lamin Bojang has vast knowledge of the local flora and fauna and over 20 years of experience taking guests to the best places including Abuko Nature Reserve, Tanji Fishing Centre and Bird Reserve, Darsalami Woods and Mandinaba Shrimp Farm.
However, in terms of wildlife, we have more to offer than just superb birding. One of its highlights is seeing the chimpanzees at The River Gambia National Park, but the chimps are just one of six species of primate to be found here. You can also hope to see four other species, including Guinea Baboons, Green Vervets, Patas monkeys and Red Colobus monkeys. Bush babies are also here but are much harder to find. Nature lovers might want to travel upriver to visit the fascinating Communities for Red Colobus (C4RC) project, where you will meet and learn more about this globally endangered species.
Aside from the primates, if you know where to look you can expect to find two types of dolphins, hippos, turtles, crocodiles, hyenas, warthogs, monitor lizards and mongoose. More elusive are the manatees, antelope, wildcats, clawless otters and porcupines.
Recharge your batteries
Sustainability is at the heart of what we do here at Footsteps and we are proud of our social and environmental record.
All of the buildings were designed to minimise the use of cement and other unsustainable materials and the lodge is fully equipped with solar electric and solar hot water. We no longer use any single-use plastics and offer our guests free water refills from our Berkey water filter, so that they too can keep things green. Most of our vegetables are grown in our on-site organic garden, and other produce is, as far as possible from local ethical suppliers. Even our pool is chemical-free, fresh water filtered through a reed bed and filter gravel system – the only one in the country and West Africa. It’s a popular place with guests and local birdlife alike.
We recognise that without our wonderfully talented and hard-working team and members of the local community, Footsteps would not be what it is. All our team benefit from fair wages all year round and we have supported several community initiatives, including the Gunjur Village Museum, Gunjur Dog Patrol and Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust.
While holidaying at our eco-lodge, you are assured of staying in one of Gambia’s best Eco-hotels and one of the most beautiful, natural environments West Africa has to offer.
All of this means that you can relax and enjoy your holiday secure in the knowledge that your visit is bringing benefits to the local people that you meet along the way.
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Each year from May 16th until November 1st, Footsteps closes its doors to conduct essential maintenance and for our staff to receive some well-earned time off, ensuring a high-quality experience each year for our guests.
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