Where south-eastern Senegal meets Guinea, the flat savannah gives way to the first hills of the Fouta Djallon, and in these hills live the Bassari, a people who have kept their own beliefs, language and rituals despite centuries of pressure from surrounding powers. Villages of round huts with conical thatched roofs sit on hillsides among terraced fields of fonio, millet and peanuts, and the year is punctuated by initiation ceremonies in which masked figures in costumes of leaves and fibres come out of the sacred forest.
The landscape is wild and beautiful. In the rainy season, roughly June to October, everything turns green, rivers swell and waterfalls such as Dindéfello, just over the border in Senegal, pour down cliffs. In the dry season the grass turns gold, fires sweep through the bush, and the air fills with dust and haze. To the north lies Niokolo-Koba National Park, one of the largest protected areas in West Africa, home to antelopes, hippos, chimpanzees and, in small numbers, lions and elephants.
This is serious adventure riding. Roads in the area are mostly laterite tracks, red dirt that turns to slippery mud in the rainy season and corrugated, dusty washboard in the dry season. River crossings can be impassable after heavy rain. Border crossings between Senegal and Guinea are possible but slow, with paperwork and checkpoints, and it is wise to travel with local knowledge and plenty of patience. Breakdowns are your own problem, so carry tools, spare tubes and enough water for long days.
Fuel is scarce. Fill up in the larger towns, such as Kédougou in Senegal or Koundara and Youkounkoun in Guinea, and carry extra; in villages, petrol is often sold in bottles or jerry cans by the roadside, of uncertain quality. Food is simple: rice with peanut sauce, fonio, grilled meat and fresh fruit in season. Greet people properly, ask permission before taking pictures, especially of ceremonies, and remember that you are a guest in a place where tradition still matters deeply.