What to see in Senegal? Places to understand before you visit

Our “Discover” pages are not lists of monuments: a place is better experienced when you know what you are looking at. Why Lac Rose (Pink Lake) changes colour, why nobody swims in Hann Bay any more, why the whole of Gorée is listed. Here are all our guides, by region, with the angle of each one.

Do you live in Senegal? These pages are made for weekend getaways and for the places you think you know because they are on your doorstep; a resident account unlocks the resident rate: up to 30% off. Just passing through? Choose few and choose well: one region, two or three places, and the time to understand them. Official entrance fees are payable on site and not included in the price.

Dakar and the Cap-Vert peninsula

It all starts here. → Dakar Region

Memory and culture
– Gorée Island: an entire island listed in 1978, to be read as a whole.
– House of Slaves (Maison des Esclaves): you do not come here to check a figure, but to understand a system.
– Museum of Black Civilisations: Senghor’s idea in 1966, which became a building more than fifty years later.
– Théodore Monod Museum of African Art: over 9,000 objects, the Plateau’s best-kept secret.
– African Renaissance Monument: unveiled in 2010 amid criticism, now the peninsula’s landmark.
– Mamelles Lighthouse: in service since 1864, on Dakar’s highest hill.

Places of faith
– Great Mosque of Dakar: Lebou land, Moroccan craftsmanship, Senegalese prayer.
– Mosque of the Divinity: in the Ouakam cove, best seen first from the sea and the cliff.

Sea and beaches
– Ngor Island: calm coves on one side, the surf reef on the other.
– Ngor Beach: the shore of a Lebou village and the jetty to the island.
– Anse Bernard: the only beach in the city centre, which nearly disappeared.
– Madeleine Islands National Park: you can only land with the park’s permission.
– Hann Bay and Bel-Air: a once-celebrated bay that has become a symbol of pollution.

Nature and family outings
– Hann Forest and Zoological Park: Dakar’s breath of fresh air since 1903.
– Lac Rose: its colour, its buoyancy and the 2022 crisis all come down to salt.
– Tortoise Village (Village des Tortues): African spurred tortoises at Noflaye, ideal with children.
– Dakar’s iconic markets: one market per trade, and the art of haggling without giving offence.

Planning your stay
– The ideal 3-day itinerary in Dakar: think in districts, and avoid the Monday trap.
– Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG): from 31 October to 13 November 2026, across Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly.
– TER (Regional Express Train) Dakar–AIBD: the train has served Blaise Diagne International Airport (AIBD) since 28 September 2026.
– Dak’Art, the Dakar Biennale: the 16th edition, from 19 November to 19 December 2026.
– AFCON 2025 and the fervour of the Lions: final won in Rabat, title stripped by CAF, case under deliberation at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS); the fervour, though, is beyond dispute.

Petite Côte

Lagoons, reserves and Serer villages. → The Petite Côte

• Bandia Reserve: giraffes and rhinos back in a replanted forest.
• Popenguine Reserve: bush replanted by hand by the village women.
• Somone Lagoon: by pirogue or kayak, without disturbing it.
• Joal-Fadiouth: the shell island and its shared cemetery.
• Ndianda: a Serer village with no ticket office, living to the rhythm of the fields and the seasons.
• Nguéniène market: the Wednesday-morning louma, which you do not visit so much as pass through.

Sine-Saloum

A lived-in delta, explored by pirogue. → Sine-Saloum

• Sine-Saloum Delta: what UNESCO protects, and where to start.
• Djifère and the Pointe de Sangomar: the pirogue port for the Gandoul Islands, facing Sangomar.
• Dionewar: the first of the Gandoul Islands, on the front line against the Atlantic.
• Niodior: the setting of “The Belly of the Atlantic”.
• Mar Lodj: no cars, and no walls between those who pray differently.
• Simal: a Serer village with its feet in a bolong (tidal creek).
• Sipo Island: a tradition of chieftaincy, reached from Toubacouta.
• Missira: a fishing village best seen when the pirogues come home.
• Fathala Reserve: a safari where you have to look for the animals.

Saint-Louis and the North

The river, the birds, the dunes. → Saint-Louis Region · Louga Region

• Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary: the pelicans’ stronghold, a marsh that had to be saved.
• Langue de Barbarie National Park: by pirogue from Gandiol, ever since the 2003 breach.
• Guembeul Reserve: the return of vanished antelopes, on foot.
• Saint-Louis International Jazz Festival: the 35th edition has been announced for 4 to 8 May 2027.
• Podor: a trading post forgotten by the road, facing Mauritania.
• Lac de Guiers: the country’s freshwater reservoir.
• Lompoul Desert: ochre dunes, and what the mine has changed.

Casamance

Islands without roads and Diola villages. → Casamance

Around Oussouye
– Eloubaline Island: impluvium houses that are homes, not showcases.
– Enampore: a village of the former Bandial kingdom.
– Mlomp: two-storey houses of earth, palmyra palm and mangrove wood.
– Edioungou: jars shaped without a kiln.
– Pointe Saint-Georges: the mangroves, and perhaps a manatee.

Around Cap Skirring
– Boucotte: the first step outside the resort.
– Kadioute: not an island, an open-air museum.
– Katakalousse: where the road ends and the islands begin.
– Diakène: the gateway to the mangroves.
– Egueye Island: no road, no village, just the tide.

The islands of the estuary
– Carabane Island: the former capital of Casamance.
– Cachouane: a peninsula you reach by water.
– Wendaye Island: between rice paddies and mangroves.
– Ourong: the last inhabited island south of the estuary.
– Djilapao: a house of sculpted earth.

Eastern Senegal

At the foot of the Fouta-Djalon. → Kédougou Region

• Dindéfélo Falls: a pool protected by the villages.
• Niokolo-Koba National Park: the country’s largest park, with no fences.

Touba

The holy city of Mouridism, where you come as a guest.

• Great Mosque of Touba: the city’s rules, what to wear, the right time to go.
• Prayer times in Dakar and Touba: plan your visits around the five daily prayers.

Every guide links to the activities bookable on site; see the booking process.

Frequently asked questions