West Point

West Point is the most densely populated neighbourhood in Monrovia, a crowded sandbar jutting into the ocean that is home to around 75,000 people living in extreme proximity. It is one of West Africa's most densely settled urban settlements, with families occupying wooden and zinc-roofed structures stacked along lanes barely wide enough for two people to pass.

The neighbourhood has been at the centre of several of Monrovia's crises — civil war, the 2003 battle for the city, the 2014 Ebola quarantine — and remains desperately poor. Some visitors come with NGO workers or local guides to understand urban poverty in post-conflict Liberia. The fishing community at the tip of the sandbar is photogenic and the residents generally welcoming to respectful visitors, but come with a local contact if possible.

things to do neighbourhood
A story
West Point is home to around 75,000 people squeezed onto a narrow sandbar barely half a kilometre wide. During the 2014 Ebola outbreak it was briefly quarantined by the government — fenced off and guarded — in a measure that caused panic and protests inside. The quarantine lasted ten days before being lifted after widespread international criticism.

Other places in Things to do