The Bassari Country tour lasts at least two days, on the borders of Senegal and Guinea, in the Kédougou region. Lodging, guide and meals are included, from 2 people, to enter a lived-in territory rather than a site to visit.

A lived-in territory

Bassari Country is not a site to visit, it is a territory where people live. It is not a backdrop: the initiation rites, the masks and the terraced fields clinging to the hills are the daily life of three peoples, the Bassari, the Bedik and the Fulani. The tour is made with a guide, over at least two days, with lodging and meals included. Drinks are not included.

The tour is for people who have time: two days minimum, not a day excursion. In a territory of this kind, the pace is that of the villages, and the guide is the key: it is the guide who introduces the encounters and sets what can be seen, photographed or shared.

The Kédougou region, beyond the usual Senegal

The Kédougou region contradicts the image of a flat, sandy Senegal turned towards the Atlantic: here you find hills of red laterite, sandstone plateaus and waterfalls dropping a hundred metres. Bassari Country is one of its cultural entry points, and Kédougou is the reference town. The Dindéfelo waterfall and the Niokolo-Koba National Park are the two big neighbouring sites.

If you live in Senegal, it is a stay more than an outing: you need to allow time to reach the region, and two days minimum on site. If you are visiting, a tour that gives an idea of the country beyond the coasts: here, the south-east contradicts the flat Senegal from the first foothills, and the land rises. In a lived-in territory, the rule is to ask the guide before photographing a mask, a rite or a person, and to follow the guide’s instructions in the villages.

To extend your trip

Other traditional sites and villages and guided cultural visits are gathered in these categories, to compare with other regions of the country.