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Lunsar
ℹ️Practical info — Lunsar
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🌤 Weather — 5 days
📍 Nearby
Sights nearby
💡 Tips
- Lunsar is historically tied to iron ore mining; look for traces of industrial architecture in the surrounding areas.
- The town center is compact and walkable, though Okadas are inexpensive for longer stretches.
- Ask locals about the history of the Marampa mines for a deeper understanding of the town's heritage.
- Visit the local market mid-morning for the best selection of fresh tropical fruits.
- As it sits on the main highway, Lunsar is a convenient rest stop for those traveling between Freetown and the North.
🍽 Food
A hearty dish made from sweet potato leaves, commonly served with rice in Lunsar's local eateries.
Lunsar is known for high-quality peanuts, often sold freshly roasted along the main highway.
A West African staple found in the small traditional restaurants within the town center.
🛍 Shopping · 🧘 Quiet spots
A spirited hub for daily essentials and agricultural products from the surrounding area.
The best place to stock up on nuts and fruit for your journey onward.
The open spaces at the town's edge offer quiet and a look at the area's industrial legacy.
The areas around local churches often provide shaded spots for a quick rest.
Water temperature…
Lunsar is a mining and market town in Port Loko District in Sierra Leone's Northern Province, located about 85 kilometers east of Freetown along the country's main inland highway. The town owes its rise to the rich iron ore deposit at Marampa Mountain, the industrial exploitation of which began in 1933 under the British Sierra Leone Development Company, widely known as DELCO. Until 1975, DELCO extracted hundreds of millions of tons of iron ore, and Lunsar developed into one of the most important industrial towns in West Africa, complete with its own narrow-gauge railway running to the Atlantic port of Pepel. After the decline of the 1980s and the complete closure of the mine during the civil war, mining resumed from 2011 under new operators, most recently SL Mining and Marampa Mines. Lunsar is also a major transport hub with a dense market, several banks, the St. John of God Hospital run by the eponymous Catholic hospital order, and numerous schools that shape education across the region.
- Location: Sierra Leone
- Nearby: Port Loko (29 km)
- Population: ~22.461 (2024)
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 | 25 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 25 |
| Rain mm | 2 | 5 | 8 | 35 | 136 | 367 | 534 | 628 | 391 | 186 | 65 | 6 |
Geography
Facts
- Home to the famous Marampa iron ore mines
- Population of approximately 36.000 (2015 census)
- Located about 120 km northeast of Freetown
- Commercial hub of the Port Loko District
- Site of the prominent St. John of God Catholic Hospital
- Key transport node on the highway to Makeni
Explore nearby
Notable places around
Route planner — Car & Motorhome
Where do you start? We build the route here, with stops and country notes along the way.
© OpenStreetMap contributors · OpenRouteService
Frequently asked questions
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