Sine Ngayene is the largest of the stone circle sites in the Senegambian region, and it lies just across the border from Farafenni, on the Senegalese side. Here, in a field of grass and scattered trees, are dozens of circles made of tall, rust-brown pillars, each cut from laterite, a hard red rock found in the area. The sites of Sine Ngayene, Wassu, Kerbatch and Wanar together form the Senegambian Stone Circles, listed by UNESCO in 2006. The stones stand about two metres high, and some are cut in a distinctive shape, like a lyre, with a notch at the top. The group at Sine Ngayene has more than a thousand stones.
The circles are burial monuments. Excavations found graves beside and beneath the stones, with iron tools, pottery and beads, and the monuments are dated to somewhere between the third century BC and the sixteenth century AD. Nobody knows who built them, though the culture was clearly one of skilled ironworkers and farmers. The oral traditions of the Wolof and Mandinka peoples do not preserve any memory of the builders, which makes them all the more mysterious.
The approach is on the main road along the Gambia River, part of the Trans-Gambia Highway, which runs east to west through the Gambia and Senegal. At Farafenni, a long-standing ferry crossing was replaced in 2019 by the Senegambia Bridge, an important link, and the traffic of lorries has changed accordingly. The road surface has improved in recent years but can still have potholes and loose gravel on shoulders. Roadside police and army checkpoints are common, and politeness and patience go a long way. Goats, donkeys and children are often on the road.
Farafenni, about sixteen kilometres away, is a busy market town with fuel and basic food, andit draws people from across the region on market days. Sara Kunda, a smaller village, is further on. Eat what the locals eat, domoda, a groundnut stew, and benachin, a one-pot rice dish, and carry plenty of water. The hot season, from March to June, is intense. The best time to go is November to February, when the air is dry and mornings are cool.