Guinea is a country outside the tourist circuits which deploys extraordinary landscapes, wild waters and promises beautiful human encounters. Guinea, also known as Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from Bissau, Equatorial and New, is a coastal country located in West Africa. Qualified as the water tower of West Africa, it is on its territory that several major rivers of the continent take their source: Senegal, Gambia, Niger.

A rugged and very wet country, Guinea is divided into four major natural regions: Guinea-Maritime or Lower Guinea, which stretches its coasts along the Atlantic Ocean; Middle Guinea, a mountainous region that includes the Fouta Djallon massif; Upper Guinea, a savannah area in the north; and Guinea Forestière in the southeast. To each of its regions, its relief, its climate, its fauna, its flora, its historical and cultural traditions.

Conakry, the capital, is a coastal city in Lower Guinea. Its historic centre is located on the island of Tombos connected to the mainland by a dike. Conakry has 2.5 million inhabitants out of nearly 10 million recorded in the country. The rest of the Guinean population lives mainly in rural areas (70%).

The Guinean coast enjoys a great diversity of landscapes. Off Conakry, the Loos Islands have white and fine sandy beaches. In Boffa prefecture, 225 km from Conakry, Bel Air beach is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful on the West African coast with its seven kilometres of fine silvery-white sand, lined with coconut trees.

Between Conakry and Boffa, Sangareyah Bay is characteristic for its mangrove forest crossed by navigable inlets and watered by a series of rivers. It is on the coast that many slave trade sites, vestiges of the slave trade, can also be found. Among them: Fotoba Penitentiary (in Conakry), Dominya and Farinyah in Boffa and Fortin de Boké, a large West African slave warehouse.

In Moyenne-Guinée the mountainous massif of Fouta Djalon constitutes one of the rare emerging points of the relief of West Africa, one finds there the culminating point, the Nimba mount at 1752 m. It is also here that the Niger river takes its source, in Kobikoro in the prefecture of Faranah. An escapade in the Badiar National Park will also be an opportunity to discover white missionary cemeteries, a natural roneraie and to observe war bees. Sankarani Park is one of the few virgin forests in the area.

Moyenne-Guinée is the domain of the Peuls, a people of breeders. Subous in Lower Guinea, Malinké in Upper Guinea, and Guerzé, Tomas and Kissis in Forest Guinea are the other main ethnic groups in the country. Upper Guinea and Guinea Forestière are home to national parks and forest reserves that are worth a visit for their wildlife. For example, white elephants can be seen in the Ziama forest in Macenta, Forest Guinea.

The best season for a trip to Guinea is the dry season, from November to April, knowing however that from December to February the harmattan, sand wind coming from the Sahara blows. The rainy season from March to October is very intense and should be avoided.

Water tower of West Africa, Guinea where the great rivers Niger, Senegal and Gambia find their sources, abounds in rivers and waterfalls, to discover through strolls in its national parks listed as World Heritage by UNESCO.

Very little or no tourism, often confused with its homonyms, Guinea nevertheless offers magnificent and varied landscapes: coastal paradise beaches, peaks, cliffs and lakes of Moyenne-Guinée, wooded splendours of forested Guinea... The country is also rich in a naturally welcoming and warm population.

"Buses and minibuses serve all cities in the country. For shorter distances, bush taxis are faster and more economical. It is possible to rent a car in Guinea, an SUV preferably avoiding driving in the evening. It is always better to keep your papers on you: police or military roadblocks are frequent."

Art and culture in Guinea
Music, traditional or modern, holds a very important place in Guinean culture. The National Orchestra of Guinea plays authentic African instruments, such as the djembe, the kora (calabash covered with skin) or the balafon (a kind of xylophone). Just like a concert by the National Orchestra of Guinea, a dance performance by the National Ballet of Guinea is also worth seeing. These musical instruments can be found in local markets as well as coloured loincloths, rugs, wood carvings, pottery, objects covered with braided leather, calabashes.