The islands were formed over thousands of years as the rivers of Guinea-Bissau dropped sand and mud into the sea. The landscape is a beautiful mix of beaches, shallow lagoons, and dense mangrove forests — trees that grow right in the salty water. Walking between the gnarled roots of a mangrove forest feels like stepping into another world.
About 20 of the 88 islands are permanently lived on by the Bijagó people, who have called these islands home for centuries. They are expert sailors and fishermen, and they travel between the islands in dugout canoes that they carve from single tree trunks. Their knowledge of the tides and currents is extraordinary.
The waters around the islands are a nursery for all kinds of sea life. Baby hippos splash in the estuaries, green sea turtles haul themselves up the beaches to lay eggs, and manatees glide silently through the lagoons. Overhead, hundreds of species of seabirds circle and dive. It is one of West Africa's most important places for wildlife.
Because so many islands are untouched, the Bijagós is a living classroom about how nature works when people and wildlife share space carefully. Scientists and conservationists travel here from all over the world to study what a healthy, balanced environment looks like.