Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is a country located in West Africa. Officially known as the Republic of Sierra Leone, this African country is bordered by Guinea in the northeast, Liberia in the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest and west.

The country of Sierra Leone covers a total area of 71,740 square kilometers. One of the main reasons that have attracted large numbers of tourists to visit the country is its weather. The weather in Sierra Leone is quite pleasant for organizing trips to places of interests in Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savannah to rainforests. Freetown is the capital and seat of the national government. It is the largest city of Sierra Leone.

History of Sierra Leone depicts that Sierra Leone was first inhabited by the Sherbro and Limba people and later by the Mendes. In the year 1462, Sierra Leone was visited by the Portuguese explorer Pedro da Cintra, who gave it its current designation, meaning 'Lion Mountains'.

Sierra Leone became an important center of the transatlantic slave trade, until the year 1787. In 1787, the capital of Sierra Leone, Freetown was founded by the Sierra Leone Company as a home for formerly enslaved African Americans and West Indians.

In 1808, Freetown became a British Crown Colony and in 1896, the interior of the country became a British Protectorate. Political instability over the following decades eventually led to the Sierra Leone Civil War which was started in 1991 and was resolved with the assistance of the United Nations in 2002. The Special Court for Sierra Leone was set up in the year 2002 to deal with war crimes and crimes against humanity committed since 1996.

With regard to geography of Sierra Leone, the country has a terrain coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill, upland plateau and mountains in the east. The highest point in the country is Loma Mansa that is located 1,948 meters above the sea level. Dry and sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara during the months December to February.

Sierra Leone Tours also enable you to see the wide variety of sightseeing attractions and to taste the local cuisine of the country.