in Local Sites, Sierra Leone 671 Words

Mambo Falls

Reading this week:

  • Running Deep by Tom Clavin
  • Taking Tanganyika by Christopher J. Thornhill

Way back in 2024 and right at the start of the rainy season (yesterday as I’m writing this) we went on a hike to Mambo Falls and it was a lot of fun!

Mambo Falls is apparently one of the more popular hikes in the Freetown vicinity because it isn’t too tough and at the end you get to visit a waterfall. When we visited we parked at J.J. Drive. There was a bridge there and several signs, though don’t cross the bridge, as that is not the way to the waterfall. Please do take note of (what I thought was) the very cool system of pipes that people are clearly using to bring running water to their houses, that is a super neat system:

You can’t really see it from this picture but I think this is a silted-up dam, with the blue pipes leading through a hole in what was the dam wall. There was infrastructure as part of the dam that I think would have led to water pipes, but now they have this system.

Instead head towards the spot in this link, which is closer to the trailhead, such as it is. Mambo Falls itself is also marked on Google Maps, so that should be helpful. Since the hike is rather popular everyone around will probably realize you’re trying to go to the waterfall and point you in the right direction if you get lost, and you can also ask for directions. Generally, go uphill.

Path toward the waterfall.

The other reason the hike is so popular, besides being able to see a cool waterfall, is that the trail and the waterfall area itself is maintained as a community project. As such there are signs pointing the way as well as delineating appropriate behavior at the falls. It also means that there is an entry fee to pay for this upkeep, and near the crest of the hill before the descent to the falls itself there will be a small hut where people collect that fee. When we went it was 10 Leones, or less than $0.50 USD at the time. Besides the trails, this meant that the falls area itself was well-kept (as we arrived a man was raking up some of the accumulated leaves), and there were even some small shelters to relax in.

Rules for the trail, in Krio.

The hike itself is not too tough, minus having to walk pretty much straight uphill and then straight downhill. It is much less steep than Sugar Loaf was and significantly shorter. Plus on the way there and the way back you get some incredible views of the valley where the waterfall is and of the ocean from atop the peak. Gorgeous stuff.

Looking down into the valley with Mambo Falls, which is just barely visible in the lower left. I took this picture though in admiration of the hillside farm in the middle.
View of the Atlantic you get on the way back, with the Banana Islands on the horizon on the left.

Arriving at the waterfall we had fun doing the normal waterfall stuff, i.e. swimming around in the shallow pool at the base and getting sprayed by the water cascading down the rocks. In the pool as well there were cute crawfish-looking things that were actually pretty ready to fight; I am pretty sure one grazed my feet and I scampered off to the safety of dry land where they couldn’t get me. You’ll probably have company at the pool because it is a popular spot to cool off, but everyone is friendly.

And that was pretty much our hike; we spent about two hours total on the endeavor and it was a very fun way to spend a Saturday morning. Although the community does upkeep on the place if you do go remember to be polite and pack out any trash you bring and be respectful of the site!

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