7 must do’s in Senegal

Senegal has beautiful beaches but you must also see the little villages, wild animals and hear the sad story about the slave island. Here are my 7 must do’s in Senegal.

When we landed in Senegal, Ebola was spreading in African countries. Senegal was luckily not one of them, so we could continue our holiday.

The trip to our hotel was long but during the ride, we had a culture shock. We passed many villages that were built with stones, branches or even without a roof. We also noticed cows along the road that were eating plastic bags due to no plants. Wherever you drove, the banks beside the roads were filled with plastic bottles and plastic bags. Such a shame for such a beautiful country.

We stayed in one place and discovered Senegal from thereon. The hotel has 2 swimming pools which were both fine. There weren’t many guests in the hotel in our first week. The second week, it was sometimes hard to find a chair to put your towel on.

1) Slave Island

When you are in Senegal, you must visit the Slave island on Gorée Island near Dakar. The island has a population of 1600 people. The small island has pastel-colored houses with narrow streets where no car can fit in.

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House of slaves

The island has been a notorious trading post for the transatlantic slave trade. The house of slaves was a notorious slave-trading spot. It is turned into a memorial to remember the brutality of the slave trade. The house shows the horrible cells where people were put in.

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2) Dakar

You can visit the Royal Palace in Dakar but you can also visit a local market in Dakar. Even though Dakar is a city, it still resembles a poor city. Once you are out of Dakar, it’s a barren wasteland for kilometers. Until you reach M’Bour.

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3) Dakar Rally

This is a must-do when you’re in Dakar. We took a jeep and went on to drive the final part of the old Dakar Rally. Nowadays, the Dakar Rally is held elsewhere due to some terrorist attacks in the past. This is a shame because locals were gaining income from this event. Now, they must survive on other means. Dakar Rally was held across the white beaches of Senegal.

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When driving you’ll be able to see a pink lake (number 4) and a local village. We stopped in the village and they showed us their ways. After our visit, we drove off to the shore and saw a dead sea turtle.

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4) Lake Retba (Lac Rose)

Lake Retba can be compared to the Black Sea. You’ll float! Locals are mining salt from this lake daily. The salt miners are covered in butter to protect their skin from the salt.

The lake gets a pink color due to the dry season. So it’s not that pink in the wet season. Our guide told us that the lake didn’t have a pink color for the last 3 years. But that the color was coming back because there was a drought.

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5) M’bour

We held a day tour to visit the local villages in M’Bour. We’ve visited many villages in M’Bour and all the kids were waving and yelling for presents. Our guide told us not to give toys to the kids because the older kids will take it from them. We were told to give them sugar, candles, etc. Things that can be used to feed them.

Tip: Only photograph children. People believe their aura will be taken if they are photographed. Photographing children is ok because that wouldn’t be a problem…

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The trees you’ll see in Senegal are Baobab trees. Special trees that can survive with almost no water. There is also a Baobab tree that is supposed to be the largest in Senegal. It lies in Samba Dia.

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M’Bour Harbour

You also want to see the fisherman returning ashore after fishing the whole day. When we arrived, the smell was so bad! Rotten fish! Around the harbor are fields filled with dried fish. When you dry your fish for 4 weeks in the sun it could still be eaten 10 years after.

I did saw some horrible things at the harbor. I saw a fisherman with a bag of shark fins. Just terrible. When I said the Dutch word “illegaal“, which means illegal in English, they were suddenly watching their backs for the police. They know they aren’t allowed to sell shark fins, but they don’t care. I also saw some giant spiders in the harbor. Mind your head!

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6) Mangrove

There are many mangroves in Senegal. We were able to do one in M’Bour and one not that far from our hotel. You can spot many birds, crabs, fish and sometimes footprints of jackals.

Fun fact: The Mangrove next to our hotel had a Baobab tree that was dead. The locals put up shells on the tree and make a wish.

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7) Bandia Reserve

The Bandia Reserve in Senegal houses many wild animals. You can spot giraffes, ostriches, zebras, buffalos, and the black rhino!

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We were also very lucky to see the male and female black rhino! Not far apart from each other. It was mating season so they were trying to get together.

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All of these animals are herbivores. No lions, leopards, cheetahs, or hyenas are loose in the park. There were two hyenas but they were put on an island, gated, away from the other animals.

Travel Tip: You can see more carnivores in Kenya.

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Hope you enjoyed my blog post!

Life of a Passion