Yekepa sits about 60 km north of Sanniquellie, near the Guinean border, in the foothills of the Nimba mountains. It was built in the early 1960s as a planned mining town for the LAMCO iron-ore operation — wide planned streets, Swedish-style mid-century houses, a hospital, country club, schools and the railway terminal that connected it to the Port of Buchanan on the coast.
When the mine closed in 1989 the town went to seed and much of it was looted during the civil war. ArcelorMittal has since restored partial mining operations and rehabilitated parts of the town and railway, but Yekepa remains a strange place — a sleepy ghost of a planned community with rusting mid-century buildings interspersed with renovated company housing. For travellers interested in industrial archaeology, the post-colonial era, or just an oddity, it is one of the more memorable sights in Liberia. Access is sometimes restricted, so check locally before driving up.