In the brown tidal water of the River Gambia, some thirty kilometres from the Atlantic, a small low island of rock and scrub carries the ruins of a fort that mattered far beyond its size. For centuries Portuguese, Courlanders, English and French all fought to control this reach of the river, the gateway to the gold, ivory, wax and, above all, people that came down from the interior. The island was long called James Island, after a Stuart prince, and in 2011 its name was officially changed to Kunta Kinteh, after the ancestor in Alex Haley's novel Roots, who is said to have been taken from the nearby village of Juffureh. Whether or not the family story holds in every detail, the island stands for the whole trade, and the World Heritage listing covers the island and its related sites on the banks.
You reach it by boat from Albreda, in a few minutes across muddy water with pelicans and egrets on the mangrove edge. What remains is a broken wall, a few cannon and a bit of the old warehouse, and the baobab on the island is a landmark visible for miles. The ruin is slowly being eaten by the river, and the fragility is part of its power. A small museum in Albreda tells the story, and local guides explain it with a calm that comes from long practice.
The ride to the north bank starts at Banjul, where you take the ferry across the river mouth to Barra, which can involve a long wait, since the crossing is slow and crowded, and then continues east on the main road toward Albreda and Juffureh. The tarmac is generally decent but patched, and the heat, dust, goats, donkeys and people walking on the shoulder call for a slow pace. From November to March the weather is dry and bearable, and the rains from June to October turn some tracks to mud.
Fuel is best taken at Barra or Essau before heading on, because the villages near the river may have none, and cash is essential. The nearest listed town, Lamin, is about nine kilometres from the island, and Essau is further north. Bring water, and watch for the fishing boats pulled up on the shore in the evening.