Senegal

Faces of Senegal: Gorée, Saint-Louis, Lompoul and the Saloum

Three UNESCO sites in nine days, with a possible extension to Casamance

Senegal

Faces of Senegal: Gorée, Saint-Louis, Lompoul and the Saloum

Senegal's great sites, three of them UNESCO-listed: Gorée Island, Saint-Louis and the Saloum islands. The tour takes in Lac Rose by salt pirogue, Djoudj park in high season, the Langue de Barbarie, a nomad night in the Lompoul dunes crossed by 4x4, then two nights in Toubacouta, in the heart of the Saloum Delta, with an outing by horse cart and pirogue. 3* hotels (local rating). Casamance extension (14 days, from €2,919 per person): Ziguinchor, the Diola villages, the Karabane islands and the beach at Cap Skirring.

When

Nov to May

Price

From 1 739€ excl. flights

(based on 2 people sharing)

How long

7 nights

Ideal length

Dakar and Gorée

Days 1-2

The trip begins with the capital and Gorée Island, a place of memory of the slave trade.

Day 1

Arrival in Dakar

Fly to Dakar, welcome and transfer to your hotel in the city centre. Dinner on your own.

Day 2

Gorée Island and Dakar

Cross to Gorée Island; you can attend the Mass sung by the island's choir. Visit the House of Slaves and walk the flower-lined lanes to the headland over the bay of Dakar. Lunch on the island, then back to Dakar and a visit to the Museum of Black Civilisations.

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Lac Rose, Saint-Louis and Lompoul

Days 3-5

Lac Rose, then the north: Saint-Louis, Djoudj, the Langue de Barbarie and the Lompoul dunes.

Day 3

Lac Rose – Kayar – Saint-Louis

Lake Retba, or Lac Rose, with the salt gatherers and a crossing by salt pirogue. Optional horse ride. Drive north via Kayar to Saint-Louis.

Day 4

Saint-Louis and Djoudj park

In high season, from November to April, a pirogue trip through Djoudj National Bird Park, the third-largest bird reserve in the world and a sanctuary for more than three million birds: pelicans, cormorants, flamingos. Monitor lizards, crocodiles and warthogs also frequent the banks. The rest of the year, the day is devoted to Saint-Louis.

Day 5

The Langue de Barbarie – Lompoul

A pirogue trip down the river in the Langue de Barbarie National Park, around the bird island where terns, gulls and pelicans nest, to the strip of sand between river and ocean where sea turtles lay their eggs. Lunch in a riverside lodge, then drive to the Lompoul dunes and a night in a desert camp.

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The Saloum Delta

Days 6-9

Two nights in Toubacouta, on the creeks of the Saloum, before returning to Dakar.

Day 6

The Lompoul nursery – Toubacouta

Visit a village tree nursery and take part in the replanting against the advancing desert. Drive to the Saloum via Fatick and Foundiougne, to Toubacouta.

Day 7

Dassilamé Sérère and the creeks by pirogue

A track to the traditional village of Dassilamé Sérère, explored by horse cart along an 'eco-trail' that tells the story of village life. Then a pirogue trip in the Saloum National Park, a world biosphere reserve.

Day 8

Toubacouta – Dakar – flight home

A free morning: the pool, kayaking in the creeks or a walk in the village. Optional: a safari in Fathala reserve. Drive to Dakar and the airport.