The bird-watching safari at the Pink Lake is made on foot or in a suitable vehicle, with a naturalist guide, on the salty banks and dunes around Lake Retba. Guide, binoculars and notebook are included; the dry season and the morning or late afternoon are the best times.

Birds beside a salt lake

The site appeals for the palette of its waters, intense pink in the dry season, mauve reflections at sunset, but also for the species that visit its banks and dunes. You can easily see flamingos, grey herons, pelicans, avocets, sandpipers, black-winged stilts and many small waders that come to feed between the lagoon, the wetlands and the marshes.

The walk often starts on foot or in a suitable vehicle, with a naturalist guide. The golden light of the morning or late afternoon enhances the colour of the lake, and the birds are more active. Stops let you photograph flights, displays and the traditional salt harvest, a typical sight of local life. Several trails are possible, suited to families and to patient photographers alike. The dry season (December to April) brings the highest concentration of birds and the most intense tint of the lake.

Included are the guide, the binoculars and a notebook. For photography, a camera with a telephoto lens of 200 mm or more, light clothing, a hat and sun cream are recommended. Booking is advised in high season.

If you live in Senegal, it is an outing that differs from the postcard Pink Lake: you come for the birds and the morning calm. If you are visiting, it is a slow moment that complements a classic visit to the lake and its salt harvesters.

A lake close to Dakar

The Pink Lake lies about thirty kilometres north-east of Dakar. It is surrounded by dunes, Fulani villages and accessible pools, good for discreet observation. The Pink Lake page traces its history, and the Dakar Region brings together the peninsula’s other offers.

Other nature outings to extend your day

To stay with watching, the bird watching category brings together other outings in the country, safaris offer other ways to see wildlife, and the pirogue ride shows the lake from the water.