The Grand Mud Mosque of Kong – Côte d’Ivoire

The Grand Mosque of Kong, also known as Missiriba, is one of the must-see highlights of any trip to Côte d’Ivoire.

The Grand Mosque of Kong is one of the earliest signs of Islam in the northern part of the Ivory Coast.

The exact date is unknown, though certain texts found indicate that Kong had many mosques by the year 1741.

Other mosques in Africa made out of mud:

The Great Mud Mosque of Djenne in Mali and the Grand Mosque of Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso are perhaps the two most famous ones. There is also the Larabanga Mosque in Ghana, which is often referred to as the “Mecca of West Africa”.

I hope that one day I can visit Mali again and also backpack in Burkina Faso and Ghana.

In the Ivory Coast, there is also a mud mosque in the village of Sorobango, which is somewhat more difficult to access than Kong.

I arrived in Kong at around 4 pm, hot-footed it to the only hotel in town, the Auberge de Kong and then headed back to town just in time to catch the ‘nice light.’

​On the other side of the road is a much smaller and darker mud mosque:

​I decided to stay a second night at the Auberge de Kong. I had the shits all night anyhow. I braved the outside world in the morning and headed into town again. Water, cola, biscuits, La Vache Qui Rit, bread from the bakery and a Nescafé, which was probably the cause of the bad belly, as I doubt the water was boiled long enough.

I returned to the Mud Mosque of Kong and got a second series of shots under different light.

​The sun was rather too high, and the mornings have been very hazy lately, but the shots turned out OK, AND the doors to the mosque were open. I took a peek inside. There is no inner courtyard. There are many separate prayer rooms with an internal roof made of wood.

This post is from 2020, so the prices quoted will have gone up, most likely.

Kong: Getting there and away

From Ferkessédougou (Ferke), minivans cost 2,500 XOF, and the ride is piste all the way.

I can’t recall the ‘taxi stand’, so you will have to ask around. There ain’t a lot of traffic going to Kong, so you might find that there is only 1 departure a day and even then, you’ll be waiting for enough people before heading off.

I waited a good few hours myself.

I saw a full-size Abidjan – Ferke – Kong bus pass through Ferke at around 4 pm (no idea where you catch it, though), which arrives in Kong at around 7 pm.

On leaving Kong, I was told that there was a bus out of Kong to Yamoussoukro, leaving at 5 am.

I was also told that this bus goes past the Auberge de Kong, so there was no need to walk to town, though I was sceptical about this, as that would be going completely the wrong way.

Not trusting the info, I walked to town at 4.30 am, and got the last seat on a 25-seater minibus which left within minutes of my arrival.

As I suspected, we did not take the road that went past the Auberge de Kong, but took another piste to who knows where, which was thankfully in much better condition than the one from two days earlier, and we hit the highway after a few hours. Then it was plain sailing all the way to Yamoussoukro. The cost for the 350 km was 7,000 XOF.

So, it’s a question of asking and then asking again and then just hope for the best.

Where to stay in Kong – Ivory Coast

There is, seemingly, only the Auberge de Kong, 1 km from town, it’s signposted at the road junction.

They have 26 rooms, all with a TV and AC (you need it here). The standard deluxe was 15,000 XOF, about 25 USD, and the mega deluxe is a whopping 30,000 XOF. No idea how that one looks.

The Wi-Fi wasn’t functioning when I stayed. They have a restaurant and bar, but the prices were kinda high, as you would expect. I ate in town and later, drank my evening beer at one of the many little makeshift bars on the roadside.

Here is my little detached bungalow at the Auberge de Kong: