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Tongo
ℹ️Practical info — Tongo
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🌤 Weather — 5 days
📍 Nearby
Sights nearby
💡 Tips
- Strictly follow safety markers; Tongo is an active mining area with many open pits.
- Do not photograph mining activities without explicit permission from foremen or authorities.
- Expect a bustling atmosphere in the early morning as miners start their work day.
- Use Kenema as a base for day trips, as accommodation in Tongo itself is very basic.
- Be prepared for dust; a scarf or mask can be helpful on the unpaved roads.
🍽 Food
An energy-packed dish popular with the mining community; find it at central 'cookery' shops.
Local homemade ginger beer is particularly potent and refreshing here after a dusty day.
A quick snack prepared over open fires at almost every street corner.
🛍 Shopping · 🧘 Quiet spots
A bustling hub for everyday goods and durable clothing suited for mining work.
Observe and purchase hand-forged tools used in the traditional mining process.
The forested hills away from the mining pits offer an escape from the noise and dust.
When classes are over, school courtyards often provide a quiet space to sit and rest.
Water temperature…
Tongo, often called Tongo Field, is a mining town in Kenema District in Sierra Leone's Eastern Province, set in the hilly hinterland north-east of Kenema. The town has been one of West Africa's most important alluvial diamond fields since the late 1930s: between 1934 and 1955 hundreds of thousands of carats were mined here every year, making Tongo Field a synonym for Sierra Leone's early diamond rush. By the 1950s the boom had triggered a true gold-rush-style influx of illegal diggers, forcing the British administration to introduce the Alluvial Diamond Mining Scheme in 1956. During the civil war Tongo was heavily contested, and the term 'conflict diamonds' became closely associated with this region. Today Tongo is once again an active but more tightly regulated mining hub, with license holders and cooperatives. The town has several schools, mosques, churches, and health facilities, and is connected to the main road to Kenema.
- Location: Sierra Leone
- Nearby: Panguma (12 km)
Best time to visit & climate
The most pleasant time to visit is Jan, Feb, Dec.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °C | 26 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 26 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 25 |
| Rain mm | 1 | 7 | 16 | 45 | 116 | 298 | 401 | 457 | 355 | 177 | 52 | 7 |
Geography
Facts
- A key center for high-quality diamonds in the Kenema District.
- Located within the Lower Bambara Chiefdom.
- Diamond deposits were first discovered here in the 1950s.
- Site of intense conflict during the Sierra Leone Civil War.
- Home to major international mining ventures (e.g., Tongo Project).
- Economic life is heavily reliant on the gemstone industry.
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Sights in the town Tongo (1)
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