Africa
Asia
Caribbean
Central America
Europe
Middle East
North America
Pacific
South America
Try bird watching at the Parc National des Oiseaux du Djoudj, the Parc National de la Langue de Barbarie and the Siné-Saloum Delta. If you're hoping to spot something furrier, head to the Parc National de Niokolo-Koba. Then there's beach pursuits, including scuba diving and sailboarding.
Lac Rose owes its name to its pink colouring, caused by a high mineral and salt content, which also makes for very buoyant swimming. It's a popular Dakarois picnic spot, attracting tour groups and, inevitably, souvenir sellers, and has achieved notoriety in modern times as the terminus of the annual Dakar motor rally.
bus No 11 DDD bus or minibus from Dakar to Malika or Keur Massar, then minibus to Niaga-Peul, then a 5km walk
taxi from Dakar
Lush and beautiful, Niokolo-Koba covers 900 sq km (347 sq mi). It's Senegal's major national park and an international biosphere reserve. There are resident elephants, lions, leopards and the giant derby eland; you're unlikely to spot any of these, but you can content yourself with the sight of monkeys (green and hussar), roan antelopes and hartebeest.
nijihotel@sentoo.sn tel info 981 1097
car
| full | US Dollar 3.80 |
The beaches in the Cap Skiring area are among West Africa's finest. Unsuprisingly, a thriving tourist industry has developed around it, though it remains pleasantly low-key. And just a short drive away from the bustle of the Cap, the tourist bustle gives way to small villages, and the golden beaches are calmer.
bus from Ziguinchor
With its colonial brick-structures and sand-blown, bougainvillea-flushed alleyways, this island is a haven of tranquility. But there's a sad background to all this calm beauty - Île de Gorée used to be an important slave trading station, and many visitors come here for traces of this tragic past.
Try to visit Gorée on its annual Jours des Portes Ouvertes in May/June, when the island's numerous artists' ateliers and many private homes are open to the public.
ferry 20-minute ride from Dakar
| full | US Dollar 3.50 |
From November to April, some three million birds migrating south from Europe stop here, because it's one of the first places with permanent water south of the Sahara. This park is one of the most important bird sanctuaries in the world, and almost 30 species have been recorded. Pink flamingos, pelicans, ducks and waders are most plentiful.
(25km (16mi) off N2 hwy)
tel info 968 8708
taxi from St-Louis
| full | US Dollar 3.00 |
Some people say Dakar doesn't represent the 'real' Africa, but they're wrong. It is a big, crowded, dirty, raw, chaotic, ambitious, in-your-face and utterly exciting city, and if you're after a glimpse of the urban future of Africa, this is as real as it gets.
The cosmopolitan atmosphere, temperate climate, rocking range of bars and nightclubs, fascinating mix of African, French colonial and modern architecture and culture, and especially the range and quality of restaurants, make it well worth making Dakar's acquaintance.
The central area is easily explored on foot, and a variety of city buses run frequently to the suburbs. Also within reach are several good beaches, traditional fishing communities and some fascinating islands of historical and ecological interest.
Of course, Dakar won't be everyone's cup of tea. The noise, fumes and crowds can be bad, but what's most likely to wind you up is the unwanted attention you'll get from pestering traders, and the risk of theft. If your courage fails, it's easy enough to spend time in parts of the city that tourists, and consequently the bad guys, don't frequent.
At first glance, Ziguinchor may not seem like anything special, but those who stay here grow to love it despite the influx of tourists during the winter months. Being one of Senegal's cheapest cities and only having about 100,000 inhabitants, makes it easy on your feet and your wallet.
The Marché St-Maur is worth a visit if you're looking for food or knickknacks. A block south is the Centre Artisanal, where numerous venders sell a variety of area crafts. Many of the area's hotels can organise a pirogue (canoe) ride to the villages of Affiniam and Djilapao or the Île des Oiseaux.
The beaches in the Cap Skiring area are some of the finest in all Africa. Here, you'll find most of Senegal's tourist hotels and the highest concentration of foreigners in West Africa, except for in Gambia. If you want a few days' sun and sand, this is the place.
If however you're trying to see the 'real' Africa, there are places nearby where the living is a little easier. To escape the bustle of Cap Skiring, head for Diembéring (JEM-bay-ring), 9km (5mi) to the north, where the beach is quiet and hassle-free.
Senegal celebrates both Christian and Muslim holidays. Since the Islamic (or Hejira) calendar is based on the lunar cycle, it is 11 days shorter than the Gregorian (Western) calendar. Islamic holidays and festivals fall therefore 11 days earlier each year. The beginning of the Muslim New Year (local name Tamkharit) is celebrated in January over the next years. On that day, you'll see children walking from house to house, singing and asking for small gifts of money. Eid al-Moulid celebrates the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed - in March over the coming years. Ramadan is celebrated during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar (presently around September), commemorating the month when the Qur'an was revealed to Mohammed. Out of deference, Muslims neither eat or drink from sunset to sunrise, are devoted to prayer and avoid all 'worldly pleasures', including music and sex. At the end of Ramadan (Eid al-Fitr or Korité), the fasting breaks amidst much celebration.
The Grand Magal pilgrimage and celebration is held 48 days after the Islamic New Year in the holy city of Touba. It commemorates the return from exile of Cheikh Amadou Bamba, the illustrious founder of the Mouride brotherhood, and attracts around 2 million devotees. Senegal is further known for the Dakar Rally, a 10,000km (6200mi) motor race that ends in Dakar around the second week of January.
Arts and music lovers are spoilt for choice, with a multitude of festivals vying for attention. Among the best are the Dak'Art Biennale, one of Africa's biggest arts festivals, which turns the city into one gigantic gallery; the annual Saint-Louis Jazz Festival, usually held in May; the Kay Fecc dance festival in June, and the carnival Ziguinchor. In 2008 expect a city packed to the rims, as Dakar holds the gigantic Festival Mondial des Arts Négres, planned to become of West Africa's biggest celebrations of music from Africa and the diaspora.
Public Holidays 1 January - New Year's Day 1 February - Confederation Day February - Tabaski March or April - Good Friday, Easter Monday 4 April - Independence Day May or June - Ascension Day, Pentecost and Whit Monday 1 May - May Day 15 August - Assumption Day 1 November - All Saints' Day November or December - 'Eid al-Fitr 25 December - Christmas
