Upper River · town
Fatoto
A Kantora weekly livestock-market town connected to a new bridge and the Basse-Fatoto-Koina road in 2021.
Gathering what this circle has shared so far.
Chapter 01
Present-day operations
A working ferry network along the middle and upper river
The Gambia Ferry Services Company, a subsidiary of the Gambia Ports Authority formed under the Companies Act 2013, operates eight crossing points along the river and its tributaries. Alongside the Banjul-Barra crossing at the river mouth and the former TransGambia crossing at Farafenni-Soma, its own list names Janjanbureh, linking Lamin Koto on the north bank to the island formerly called MacCarthy Island, together with crossings at Kaur, Barajally, Bansang, Basse and Fatoto.
The company describes Banjul-Barra as its busiest crossing, running close to continuously, and states that the TransGambia route was historically its second-busiest until the Senegambia Bridge opened in 2019, after which the company took on toll-collection management for the bridge itself. Its stated mission is to connect people and places across the river and its tributaries, a role that for Janjanbureh, Kaur, Bansang, Basse and Fatoto continues a much older pattern of river crossings touched on elsewhere in this archive's colonial-era travel sources.
Sourced media: A working ferry network along the middle and upper river
The Janjanbureh-Lamin Koto ferry crossing
A 2009 photograph from the Janjanbureh-Lamin Koto ferry crossing.
Niels Broekzitter. CC BY 2.0 · Source: File: Gambia & Senegal 2009 (3686635617).jpg
A familiar name, a remembered voice. What would you add to the story of Fatoto?
Add your memoryChapter 02
2019-2021
Fatoto's market and a new river crossing
The agriculture ministry's programme lists Fatoto in Kantora among Upper River's weekly livestock-market locations. Its regional discussion describes such markets as places where producers and dealers meet within a wider, often cross-border trade network. That context should not be turned into an assertion about every Fatoto transaction or seller.
At an October 2021 inauguration, the Gambian government identified the Fatoto Bridge and its link road as part of the Basse-Fatoto-Koina route package. The opening changed a material connection at the eastern end of the country. The official speech predicts wider benefits but does not itself measure later market income, service access or travel times.
Terranga. There is room for you here.
What does Fatoto
mean to you?
A name you remember. A photograph in a drawer. A voice you want the next generation to hear. You do not need a complete history to add something meaningful.
From nearby or far away, in the language that feels like home. New contributions are reviewed with care before they appear.
A place at the table
The Fatoto guest book
A greeting from afar. A familiar corner. Someone you remember.
Words from the circle
Community memories and greetings, not independently verified historical findings.
Opening the guest book...