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Place details
- Locality
- Bo
- Region
- Bo District
- Country
- Sierra Leone
- Population
- 233,684
- Timezone
- Africa/Freetown
via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames
Travel guide
Get in
The road journey from Freetown takes 4 hours by an excellent paved road. The road from Kenema is also in good condition and takes about 1 hour.
See
Though Bo is the second city of Sierra Leone, there is not a lot to see here. Most people will use it as a stopping point on the way to other places. Small scale diamond mining is present in the area and could be worth a visit.
Eat
Being a long way from the sea, the menu is rather limited in most places. Beef, chicken or river fish can be found.
Drink
There are numerous bars throughout the town, usually serving Star beer at reasonable prices.
Sleep
Hotels in Bo are very basic compared with those in Freetown. Electricity is often only available during the night, if at all. Town center hotels can be noisy. Countryside Hotel on the Bo-Kenema road on the south of the town. Has electricity during the night and air-conditioned rooms, swimming pool and tennis court. It has deteriorated somewhat since it opened. There is also a risk of loud music late into the night. Rooms start at Le120,000. Madame Woki Hotel in the center of town. Very basic, but some rooms have simple air-conditioners which work when the electricity or generator are working. This is usually not all night. Imperial hotel on the Bo-Kenema road on the south of the town.
Travel guide from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0)
~12 min read
Article
Satellite view of Bo (Landsat image viewed using NASA World Wind software)
Bo, also commonly referred to as Bo Town, is the second largest city in Sierra Leone by population (after Freetown) and the largest city in the Southern Province. It is the capital and administrative centre of Bo District. The city of Bo has a population of 223,075 based on 2021 national mid-term census estimates. It lies approximately 160 miles (250 km) east-southeast of Freetown, and about 40 miles (64 km) from Kenema. Bo is the leading financial, educational and economic centre of southern Sierra Leone..