At the eastern edge of Sierra Leone, on the border with Liberia, there is one of the last big tracts of rainforest in West Africa. The Gola forest, which is split into several blocks, is part of the Upper Guinean forest, a hotspot of biodiversity, and its trees tower up to fifty metres, forming a dense canopy that blocks out the sun. It is home to the pygmy hippopotamus, a shy, forest-dwelling relative of the river hippo, the western chimpanzee, the Diana monkey, the red colobus, the forest elephant and the white-breasted guineafowl, and it has an astonishing array of birds, butterflies and frogs. Gola Rainforest National Park was created in 2011 to protect it.
The forest has a human story too. The villages around the edge are home to the Mende and Gola peoples, who have long lived from farming, hunting and gathering forest products. In the civil war from 1991 to 2002, the area was a battlefield, and logging and mining added to the destruction. Since the war, conservation groups and local communities have worked together to protect the forest, and income from ecotourism and cocoa farming on the fringes helps to give people a reason to keep it standing.
Reaching it is an adventure. Roads in this part of Sierra Leone are a mix of tarmac, laterite and mud, and in the rainy season, from May to October, many are impassable to all but the toughest vehicles. The dry season, from December to April, is the only sensible time, and even then you can expect rough tracks, river crossings on makeshift bridges, and sections of loose gravel. Gorahun and Zimmi, each with about four or five thousand people, are the nearest towns, but they offer only basic shops and the fuel may be sold from bottles at the roadside, so bring a spare can and a filter. Kenema, to the north-west, is the biggest regional town.
Expect heat, humidity and insects, and take malaria precautions. Local people are warm and curious, and a polite greeting goes a long way. Arrange access and guides through the park authorities, since the forest is dense and easy to get lost in.