The Oussouye excursion leaves Ziguinchor for the Diola kingdom and the villages of Lower Casamance, over a day or a weekend. Three per-person rates depending on the audience: adult, student and child.

Oussouye, more than a stop

Most travellers pass through Oussouye without stopping: a speed bump on the road to Cap Skirring, long enough for a fill of petrol or a plate of rice, then off to the beach. This excursion does the opposite. This big town, asleep under its kapok trees, is the capital of a Diola kingdom, and the visit uses it as an entry point into Lower Casamance: the town, then the villages around.

The basic option is the day, priced per person. Student and child rates exist, which makes the outing accessible to families. The programme also extends to two or three days for those who want to take their time.

A green, slow Casamance

The Casamance stretches between The Gambia to the north and Guinea-Bissau to the south: another Senegal from that of the dry routes, green, humid and slow, woven from rice fields, gallery forests, bolongs and villages. Oussouye is the capital of Diola country, on the road to Cap Skirring, with Ziguinchor as the departure point of the excursion.

If you live in Senegal, the day complements the beach at Cap Skirring with a cultural side; if you are visiting, it is the outing that gives meaning to passing through Oussouye, and an entry into Diola culture. The Diola kingdom has its own history, its rites and its king: understanding the basics changes how you then see the villages of Lower Casamance, their houses, their rice fields and their sacred forests. A student rate and a child rate make the day accessible to a group of friends as well as to a family.

To extend your trip

The villages have their own pages: Mlomp and its two-storey houses, Edioungou and its potters, Boucotte, or Saint-Georges Point. The traditional sites and villages and the guided cultural visits gather other routes in the region.