Mountain · Guinea-Bissau
Dongol Ronde
Dongol Ronde is the highest point of Guinea-Bissau and reaches 277 metres. The low summit lies in the Boé region, in the hilly south-east of the country. Wide savanna stretches out below it.
Where is Dongol Ronde?
Dongol Ronde is part of the Hills of the south-east, Boé region.
You will find it in: Guinea-Bissau.
The story behind it
Guinea-Bissau is mostly coast, mangrove and flat river land, so the country's high point is a modest rise on the plateau of Boé rather than a peak, and the exact height and place are still disputed, with figures differing by a few metres from map to map. The ground here is red laterite, hard and dry in the sunny months, and the soil holds bauxite, the rock from which aluminium is made. Grass, shrubs and scattered trees cover the plateau, and fires set for farming sweep across it at the end of the dry season, after which fresh green returns with the first rains. Chimpanzees live in the wooded valleys of this region, together with antelopes, hornbills and many kinds of snake. Villages lie far apart, and dirt tracks take a long time to travel after heavy rain.
Questions children ask
How high is Dongol Ronde?
The usual figure is 277 metres above sea level. Because the plateau is broad and gently shaped, sources disagree slightly about which rise carries the record.
Which country is Dongol Ronde in?
The rise lies in Guinea-Bissau, on the west coast of Africa. Its home is the Boé region in the south-east, near the frontier with Guinea.
Can you climb Dongol Ronde?
Walking up needs no skill at all, since the slope is gentle and the top is open grassland. Getting there is the real effort, because the roads are rough tracks that turn to mud in the wet season.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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