Bandia Nature Reserve Safari Guide | Senegal

My first wild safari is going to be a safari in the Bandia Nature Reserve in Senegal! Can’t wait what I shall see!  Here is my Bandia Nature Reserve Safari Tour guide for Senegal.

What wildlife can be spotted in Bandia Nature Reserve?

This reserve is located in the north of M’bour and is a good location to have your first safari! Bandia reserve is famous for its giraffes and black rhino! The goal of this reserve was to reintroduce the animals that once lived in Senegal in one reserve. This also meant bringing in animals from other countries as the animal had disappeared in Senegal such as the giraffe. 

Fun Fact: The reserve also has a 1000-year old baobab tree with a perimeter of 17 meters! 

Driver & Guide

You can easily arrange a safari tour at your hotel or just on the street (don’t pay in advance to make sure they’ll come to get you) in M’bour.

Entrance fee: €20 + €10 guide + €XX for the car (depending from person to person)

Get up early or sleep in

The best safaris are the ones in the morning as it’s cool but you can also do some safari in the afternoon if you like. 

Bring along…

• Bottle of water
• Binoculars
• Camera & Smartphone
• Sunscreen & Sunglasses (afternoon ride)

Let’s go do some safari!

Okay let’s be honest, I’m way too excited for my first safari! Shall I see the rhino and giraffes of will I only see monkeys?

1) Ostriche

When entering the reserve you first encounter a barrier of protection: ostriches. They make a lot of sounds when intruders come to hunt the animals. After that you enter Jurassic Park: the big gates are just like in the original movie! 

2) Hyena

When entering the reserve, you will see a small terrain for 2 hyenas. It’s really a shame as they don’t have much space.

3) Zebra

As we went on, we saw a lot of zebras and buffaloes. I loved the zebras the most as they were so cute!

4) Giraffes

Senegal used to be a country with the biggest giraffe population but overtime the animals disappeared due to hunting them down. Now Senegal is trying to repopulate the country with giraffes. We saw around 7 giraffes in the reserve. The darker one is the older one, the dark color is an indication of old age.

5) Black Rhinos

After a while, we finally saw the male and female black rhino that the reserve has! They were not far from each other as they were looking to mate with each other. They were very calm when we stopped beside them.

Big five animal: check!

6) Monkeys

During our tour, we saw a lot of monkeys playing with the giraffes. The last stop of your safari is a stop at the cafe where you can watch the monkeys in the trees. Be sure not to give them food!

7) Crocodiles

Another amazing view of the cafe is the view of the crocodiles! The cafe is just above a water source where all the crocodiles wait for their prey to drink some water.

And that’s it! This safari was so wonderful as a first safari! We were so lucky to see both rhinos and a lot of giraffes! We returned to our hotel with big smiles on our faces.

I hope these tips will help you with your safari in Bandia Reserve and that the photos have given you a taste of what a safari in Bandia could be!

Life of a Passion