Tiwai Island In Sierra Leone Takes The Lead As Top Underrated Destination For Travellers

Published on September 15, 2025

Tiwai Island successful Sierra Leone has conscionable been named nan No. 1 underrated destination for 2026 by Intrepid Travel, nan institution celebrated for steering visitors distant from nan overpriced and overcrowded and toward nan genuinely remarkable. Famous for its dazzling primate population, nan island’s borders hug nan dense Gola Forest, and its 2025 inscription arsenic a UNESCO World Heritage tract intends nan chaotic beauty has been officially blessed by world conservation authorities. Recent years person drawn sensible investments—improved walkways, star powerfulness astatine guesthouses, and guides trained successful some hospitality and wildlife science—so now nan land feels fresh for immoderate traveller seeking some comfortableness and consequence.

The accolade lands successful nan “Not Hot List,” Intrepid’s yearly roll-call of destinations that beryllium luxury does not request queues. These selects boast unrivalled allure—silent vessel rides past emerald-striped character holes, basking breakfasts connected candlelit stretches of sand—yet stay refreshingly free of selfie poles and skipped restaurants. Selectors besides tally a delta of communal consciousness successful a business leaning distant from oversunscreen and toward regeneration: Tiwai itself—life-thump hamlet of fallen-coconut boats, elders successful sun-soaked pagnes—decides really galore visitors to welcome, for really long, and astatine what price.

Peninsulated from nan manic regard of user recreation app lists, Tiwai Island floats successful nan gentle Moiba River and infects visitors pinch a chaotic on-the-shoulder moment: swinging successful your hammock, a Black-and-white colobus checks you retired pinch spherical moonbeam eyes. Here, mountain-light warms jackfruit, aerial grows throat-misting fragrant pinch alligator pepper, and sunsets roast nan sky. Early birders stock shots—Adam-opal reefs of Gola flowers that gawk from wrong nan tangle—ilate bokay root, and grin, topping their guides’ attraction toward crouched chimp brushes, washers of oliva reeds, limb strapped pinch dropped camo jackets.

Tiwai Island’s Gola Forest, an emerald limb of nan Gola Rainforest National Park, stands arsenic a celebrated cradle of biodiversity, anchoring nan region’s conservation narrative. Here, visitors glide beneath a cathedral of towering trees, subordinate expert-led treks that unfurl waypoints of rich | wildlife, and witnesser projects that safeguard nan island’s bonzer works and animal communities. Thanks to nan park’s strict protective measures, Tiwai retains an invigorating, low-footprint atmosphere, shielding it from nan swell of wide tourism while inviting travellers to link authentically pinch its thriving wilderness.

Streamlined entree and dependable upgrades to infrastructure adhd to Tiwai’s allure arsenic a hidden gem. Coordinated efforts by nan Sierra Leonean authorities and world collaborators person resurfaced nan entree roads, listed a observant upgrade of nan soul routes, and added scheduled vessel routes that ferry guests from nan mainland pinch new, reassuring frequency. Once viewed arsenic a hard-to-reach anchor successful nan emerald sea, nan land is softly repositioning itself arsenic an achievable divided of nan Sierra Leone adventure.

Across nan mainland, a wider betterment of nan hospitality and tourism infrastructure, couched successful nan discourse of nan authorities and private-sector roadmap, is enhancing nan visitant experience. Sierra Leone itself, hosting conscionable 60,000 world overnight guests successful 2024, is enlarging its tourism footprint 1 greenish measurement astatine a time, specialising successful low-impact, community-smart journeys that observe section craftsmanship, safeguard landscapes, and replant nan communicative of ‘off nan beaten path.’

Tiwai Island’s UNESCO World Heritage Recognition

Tiwai Island received UNESCO World Heritage nickname successful 2025, firmly establishing nan destination arsenic a cardinal surviving reference constituent of civilization and nature. The listing enhances world vulnerability while firmly pledging to safeguard nan island’s biodiversity and unsocial measurement of life, guiding early tourism activities on a sustainable pathway.

The nickname channels responsible travellers, meanwhile, guiding attraction toward Sierra Leone’s rich | biodiversity and ongoing conservation initiatives. The Tiwai Island listing frankincense assists nan federation successful advancing a sustainable tourism communicative that seeks to harmonise quality protection pinch organization use and taste celebration.

Intrepid Travel’s “Not Hot List” and Sustainable Tourism

The latest “Not Hot List” from Intrepid Travel spotlights low-footprint destinations that committedness rich | and responsible travel. Amid intensifying discussions of overtourism, nan listing invites travellers to favour understudied locales that present authenticity and protect section communities. Inclusion of Tiwai Island resonates powerfully pinch Intrepid’s instruction of recreation that empowers while conserving.

Erica Kritikides, General Manager of Experiences astatine Intrepid Travel, underscored nan worth of nan initiative, remarking, “Eighty per cent of group sojourn only nan apical 10 per cent of destinations, truthful we created nan Not Hot List to displacement ft postulation distant from overcrowded hotspots and transmission support toward areas that believe sustainable tourism.”

Highlighting spots for illustration Tiwai Island fits into a wider, deliberate push to spotlight tourism grounded successful respect for culture, conservation, and community. By promoting what utilized to beryllium nan roadworthy little travelled, nan institution hopes to stock visitors—and nan benefits they bring—more evenly.

Sierra Leone’s tourism sector, though young, is advancing astatine an encouraging clip. The country’s scenic landscapes, heavy humanities narratives, and vibrant customs springiness travellers a little duplicated action connected nan market. Side by broadside pinch Tiwai, cities for illustration Freetown, practice sites specified arsenic Bunce Island, and nan inviting sands of Lakka and Tokeh are opening to ray up world itineraries.

The Sierra Leonean government, spearheaded by nan Sierra Leone Tourism Board (SLTB), is deliberately advancing nan nation’s floor plan arsenic a sustainable tourism jewel. Targeting eco-tourism, wildlife safeguarding, and community-led journeys, nan authorities is crafting a estimation for Sierra Leone arsenic a venue that serves responsible globetrotters pinch genuine, unvarnished adventures.

Conclusion: A Future of Sustainable Tourism