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Seiryudo Cave – named after Seiryu, the Azure Dragon, this cave features deep vertical columns surrounded by dense vegetation.
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All Sierra Leone

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Sierra Leone

17 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Sierra Leone

Updated June 5, 2025

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Unusual Attractions in Sierra Leone

Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone

Tiwai Island

This river island in Sierra Leone is home to impressive biodiversity and the country's first community conservation program.
Chimpanzees at the sanctuary.

Freetown, Sierra Leone

Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary

A rehabilitation center for confiscated, orphaned, and abandoned chimpanzees.

Kupr, Sierra Leone

Bunce Island

Home of the ruins of a British slave castle.
Sierra Leone’s National Railway Museum

Freetown, Sierra Leone

National Railway Museum

After Sierra Leone's railways shut down in 1974, a collection of engines and other artifacts spent decades hidden away in this old workshop—now a museum.

Freetown, Sierra Leone

Cotton Tree

The oldest of its kind in the country, this tree sits where formerly enslaved people are said to have founded the city of Freetown.
Outamba-Kilimi National Park

Sierra Leone

Outamba-Kilimi National Park

This national park is home to unique vegetation known as woodland savannah.
Old Fourah Bay College

Freetown, Sierra Leone

Old Fourah Bay College

The first European-style university in western Sub-Saharan Africa.

Freetown, Sierra Leone

Old Wharf Steps

One of the oldest brick structures in Freetown.
See All 17 Things To Do in Sierra Leone
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Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Explore Sierra Leone

History & Culture 6
Slavery 5
Islands 3
Cemeteries 2
World War Ii 2
World War I 2
Conservation 2
Places To Stay 2
Colonialism 2
Churches 2
Architecture 2

Sierra Leone Leaderboard

Places Added

  1. Lakehurst
    8
  2. PatTheGreat
    7
  3. leiris
    1
Join the Ranks!
Add an unusual place to Sierra Leone.

Places Edited

  1. PatTheGreat
    8
  2. Lakehurst
    6
  3. leiris
    1
  4. nbj914
    1
  5. Spiffy
    1
Join the Ranks!
Improve the Atlas with edits and photos.

Places Visited

  1. PatTheGreat
    14
  2. Lakehurst
    9
  3. marcocortesi
    6
  4. razvanbondalici
    5
  5. washtub
    5

Recent Sierra Leone Activity

  • cmstoelb

    wants to go to St. Charles’ Church

  • malloryS

    wants to go to St. Charles’ Church

  • rjpowell6

    wants to go to National Railway Museum

  • mylittlemonsterhigh395

    wants to go to Firing Point

  • Spiffy

    updated Prempeh I Exile House

Stories About Sierra Leone

A map of West Africa features the world’s roundest country (which is also the 14th most rectangular). Can you spot it? What about the eighth most rectangular?

What Are the World’s Roundest and Most Rectangular Countries?

Mind-boggling as it is, they're often one and the same.
by Frank Jacobs
June 30, 2023

Podcast: Pricilla’s Homecoming

A family history, from Sierra Leone to South Carolina, 250 years in the making.
by The Podcast Team
December 20, 2022
Excavation of the slave quarters at Belvoir.

How DNA From a 200-Year-Old Pipe Connects Maryland and Sierra Leone

Genetics has many stories to tell about enslaved people.
by Evan Nicole Brown
March 19, 2019
Mary Kingsley: celebrity explorer, stickler for female fashions.

The Victorian Traderess Who Battled Colonialism and Crocodiles in Africa

Mary Kingsley collected fish and insect samples, poked a hippopotamus, and climbed one of Africa’s tallest mountains—all while wearing a skirt.
by Tao Tao Holmes
September 16, 2015

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