A guide to Liberia - West Africa's least explored state
Africa's older republic, has mountains to get, cities to enjoy, broad sandy shores to play on as well as national parks to search for some of the continent's almost all enigmatic wildlife. You are able to also surf, swim and trek or just kick back in a hammock on the edge of the rainforest. Yet nobody you know has ever been here.
Where on environment is Liberia?
When the American Colonization Society chosen out a homeland for freed American slaves within 1822, they select a portion of West Africa that hadn't been found by the external world since European powers started (and abandoned) trading outposts inside the 17th century. The story of life right here before the foundation of Liberia is mainly unwritten, however, the new arrivals set about generating a household that was a little bit American, a small amount West African, moreover not really like anywhere else in the world.
Hemmed in today by Sierra Leone, Guinea and C�te d'Ivoire, Liberia is blessed with a long Atlantic coast and a densely forested interior that remains one of the least explored parts of West Africa. The government has just signed a package with Norway to cease all timber of Liberia's perfect rainforests in exchange for expansion aid, but infrastructure for exploring is minimal as well as getting into with the greenery takes some organising. Start the trip at Visit Liberia, a handy one-stop-shop for information on all things Liberian.
Five curious Liberia facts
- Liberia became Africa's first independent republic in 1847
- 12 % of the earth's ships are registered in Liberia
- The president, George Weah, utilized to play football for Man City in addition to the Chelsea
- Air pollution levels are less than in America and the UK
- Along with Ethiopia, Liberia was among only two African nation to in no way be colonised by European powers
Can it be safe?
Though the scars of two municipal wars (from 1989 to 1997, and from 1999 to 2003) are still apparent, Liberia is safer to visit than it's been in years. Stability has returned to Monrovia as well as the shoreline and infrastructure is gradually getting restored, nevertheless, highways are still largely unsurfaced, making overland traveling difficult during the wet time of year from May to November. Ebola emerged in Liberia, Guinea and sierra Leone in 2014, though the region was supplied with a thoroughly clean bill of health by the World Health Organisation found 2015.