The mountain bike ride in Casamance comes as a half-day or full day, from Cap Skirring towards Diola villages, protected forests, rice paddies and Pointe Saint-Georges. The bike is provided, several routes are on offer, at a group rate.

A choice of routes

The packages are not limited to a single route. Several routes are on offer, priced as a flat rate for a group: as a half-day, Cap Skirring, Boucotte and Bouyouye, or the protected forest of Ediounghou; as a full day, Cap Skirring, Oussouye and Mlomp, or the ride to Pointe Saint-Georges. In all, thirteen variants exist, to choose from in the selector. The length runs from half a day to a full day.

The bike is provided. The half-days suit a first approach: Boucotte and Bouyouye on one side, the protected forest of Ediounghou on the other. The full days link more villages, between Oussouye and Mlomp, or as far as Pointe Saint-Georges, and mean giving the whole day to it.

Cap Skirring, Oussouye, Lower Casamance

Cap Skirring is known for its white-sand beach, but a bike shows its other side, that of the hinterland: rice paddies, small towns and forests. Oussouye, which many travellers pass through without stopping, is a large, sleepy town under the kapok trees, and well worth a stop, and the ride out to Mlomp leads to a village in the area. Boucotte and the protected forest of Ediounghou are other possible stops. If you live in Senegal, a stay in Casamance lends itself well to a day on a bike, which changes the rhythm of the road; if you are visiting for the beach, it is a way to leave the beaten track without organising a walking trek. The two formats each have their logic: the half-day fits between a breakfast and a lunch, while the full day leaves time to stop in the villages and understand what you are passing through.

Around the ride

To keep the same spirit, the guided hikes on foot let you taste the same villages, and the pirogue ride offers the watery side of the region. The quad is another way to ride around the area.