Things to see and do Sine-Saloum

An exceptional maritime environment, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2011, stretching over 5,000 km² where the arms of two rivers, the Sine and the Saloum, meet. There are 28 burial sites in the form of tumulus-shaped burial mounds. Between mangroves and islets, we meander by pirogue along these saltwater canals, discovering piles of seashells, some of them hundreds of metres long. These shell mounds are the result of human activity in the region over the past millennia.

As often, the excursions revolve around a few classics, Bird Island, Mar Lodj, but other visits are possible. The Gie Jubdo des piroguiers was set up in 2009 and centralizes the requests of interested tourists. This structure was created to put an end to the hunting of tourists on the village roads and to define a single pricing policy. You should know that renting is done by pirogue. Ask to see the list of excursions and rates and to be grouped with other tourists to share the prices.

This private reserve covers 6,000 ha, in the heart of a preserved forest ecosystem on the Gambian border, near the banks of the delta. At the initiative of the South African owners, several species have been reintroduced, such as giraffes, buffaloes, Derby elands and zebras. It offers several activities open to non-residents of the lodge, the most popular of which are game drives to observe all sorts of wild animals in the forest and lion walks, for thrill seekers!

Pierre and Paul, warm-hearted twins at the head of this travel agency, will take you to discover the Sine-Saloum, aboard their comfortable pirogues. In addition to visits to the surrounding islands and villages, they have built an environmentally friendly platform that floats in the middle of the bolong. We come to spend the day with family or friends and recharge our batteries in the middle of nature, with a good meal and several activities, feet in the water. To discover!

An agro-ecological farm-school that deserves a visit and has initiated many collaborative projects in the region. You can meet the young people in training, visit the coconut tree nurseries and other plantations, while discovering the ingenious methodology aimed at making the students independent and eco-responsible. You can also eat delicious meals and spend the night there. Other activities are offered to discover the surroundings.

On the main road to Palmarin Facao, the Ecotourism office offers excursions by dugout canoe, horse-drawn carriage and cart. Price lists are available on the spot. The must? A pirogue trip in the bolongs, with a stopover in the village of Falia, with a tasting of fresh oysters. Two women ecoguards in GIE, Ariette and Louise, take care of the visits on foot (hiking in the salt mines or lagoons) or by cart (observation of hyenas). You can also go fishing in the delta or in the sea, among other proposed activities.

Here is one of the largest baobabs in Senegal, an impressive specimen with a circumference of 33 m and about 850 years old, in a forest that is home to multi-centenary baobabs. Its trunk is very wide, made up of bulges that form folds and folds. Vendors of all kinds are waiting for the tourists, but in order not to put pressure on them, they decided to organize themselves. From now on, each in turn invites visitors to enter the tree to discover a colony of bats and give very interesting information about the site.

On your way back from Bird Island, why not stop for a picnic at Oudierin, on the beautiful beach in the village of a woman marabout, which is extremely rare in the country. One hut, then two were built around her lair, then a mosque. His fame is acquired in the area. She worked mostly telepathically, and it is said that even the governor travelled to consult her. Today, tired with age, she has gone to rest in her native village. It is her son, Mamadou Diouf, who has replaced her at the head of Oudierin.

From spring on, the show is much further towards the mouth. The Bird Island becomes a large spawning ground from April onwards. Terns, royal caspians, grey headed gulls, mocking gulls parade and lay their eggs. In late May and early June, the chicks start to burst their shells. Landing on the island at this time is like entering a Hitchcock atmosphere. Hundreds of birds fly all around you, sometimes less than a metre away, and squeak relentlessly. Ornithologists have counted more than 70,000 of them!

This village of about 130 souls, founded in the th century, deserves a detour. It is the only one in Senegal to be tolerated in a national park. The decree thus gives Bakadadji a very special status, that the teacher of the village will tell you. Supported by the Sine-Saloum association for several years, it now has a school, a ecotourism camp, a vegetable garden and a multitude of projects. Various studies, conducted by trainees of the association, are regularly held. The history of the village was recently written…

Kaolack being a strategic communication node between Dakar, the Gambia and western Senegal, its market is one of the most important in the country. It has kept all its authenticity, its stalls in bulk, its colors and its effervescence. You can find a little bit of everything: fabrics imported from Guinea-Conakry, herbal medicinal decoctions, musical instruments, easier to negotiate than in Dakar. However, the market is to be avoided during the winter period when the flooded and unhealthy alleys do not inspire confidence.

A priceless treasure from this region of Africa, listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2006. Four major stone groups are spread over a 100 km-wide strip between Senegal and Gambia. Sine Ngayène, Wanar, Wassu and Kerbatch, the four groups, bring together 93 circles and numerous tumuli, funerary mounds - heaps of stones above a tomb - organized in two alignments generally known as the tombs of the king and the king's mother. Some have been excavated, revealing archaeological material that can be dated between the ^3rd century BC and the ^16th century AD. The Sine Ngayène site, actually located in Dialloumbere, 400 m west of the village of Sine Ngayène, near Nioro du Rip, is one of the most extensive. It comprises 52 circles with 1,200 megalithic stones and around a hundred tumuli. Twenty kilometers from Nioro du Rip, Senegal's second site, Wanar, is less extensive, but just as interesting. In the middle of nowhere, this necropolis comprises 21 megalithic circles, including one double circle. The site is characterized by the presence of numerous lyre stones, megaliths split in two and thought to have an astronomical function. A hundred meters to the north-west, note the stone, left unfinished, not far from the laterite cuirass. Some sixty bodies have been exhumed to date, some wearing copper bracelets.

In the heart of the magnificent Aïda Gardens, within the Miam Miam restaurant, the MAHICAO (Museum of Art and History of West African Cultures) is an exceptional museum presenting works of African art from different eras, all authentic. Sculptures, masks, archaeological pieces, traditional jewellery, textiles, ancient costumes... a total of nearly 500 objects retrace the history of West Africa, from the distant period of the Saharan Neolithic to the middle of the 20th century. They come from the personal collection of Reginald Groux, expert and professor of African art, as well as from many donors who have participated in this cultural project. In a Sudanese style building, the visitor walks through beautiful shell alleys and discovers unique pieces, arranged chronologically and enhanced by beautiful lighting. Explanatory panels mark out the route and allow visitors to better understand the history of West Africa. One of the rooms contains some forty photographs of masterpieces of African art donated by the Barbier-Müeller Museum in Geneva and a beautiful library presents numerous works on African art and culture, with illustrations for children. A museum that is highly recommended for its singular pieces and its pleasant setting. You can then enjoy the place at the restaurant le Miam Miam which offers a delicious cuisine with various influences.

From Toubacouta, near the village of Bamboung, in the heart of the eponymous reserve, don't miss a trip to the island of Sipo, home to this picturesque little bush village of around a hundred inhabitants, once ruled by a queen like no other, Fatou Mané. Died in April 2022 at the age of almost 100, the Queen of Sipo was a bubbly, funny personality who received visitors from all walks of life with a smile. Legend has it that she was kidnapped by djinns at the age of 5, who transmitted mystical powers to her. Today, her eldest son Insa Touré has been crowned King of Sipo. He is now the guardian of the sacred wood and in charge of the Serer prayer sites on this island, which used to be a stopover for piroguers. Their family history is closely linked to the creation of the village in the early ^20th century, since it was founded by the late queen's grandfather, who was fleeing with others from the Islamization of Guinea. They were later joined by Malians, and later by another ethnic group from northern Senegal. They lived harmoniously by gathering oysters, the shells of which were then burned to produce lime. Today, the village lives from agriculture, fishing and tourism. Don't forget to bring your bathing suit! And don't forget to buy rice, tea or pens for the children to donate to the village and thank them for their welcome.

Between the ocean and the Saloum arm of the sea, this reserve was created in 2001 in parallel with a reflection on ecotourism, with a view to protecting the fauna and flora that make this area so special. Covering an area of 10,340 ha, it can be visited on foot or by cart. On this occasion, you will be able to observe the processes of saliculture (salt harvesting) around the many wells with coloured reflections, various species of birds and also hyenas.

Grouped in GIEs, the ecoguards of the Saloum Delta National Park offer several circuits throughout the region. You will be able to visit among others the Bird Island, the Hyena Island or the Small and Big Amazonia. Thanks to their solid knowledge of the environment, these well-trained ecoguards will guide you and explain to you this still wild nature. You will find them at the entrance of the village of Missirah, on your left. It is best to get there early in the morning if you wish to enjoy the visit.

Offshore, on the mangrove side, an unusual curiosity: Diorom Boumak, certainly the largest of all these island clusters of empty shells that once served as a burial place. Diorom is a pile 400 m long and 300 m wide, and is said to have served as a tomb for 7,000 bodies between the 7th and 13th centuries. By the way, don't miss a detour to the nearby bird sanctuary at the shell island, where you can observe hundreds of birds (cormorants, egrets, kingfishers, pelicans...).

Situated at about 13 m above sea level, this protected forest, between Samba Dia and Fimela, is mainly a rôneraie, but is home to about 20 other species, such as the acacia and the African birch. For the curious, you may notice an almost unique phenomenon: a genetic degeneration of the rôneraie, whose trunk splits into three or four parts. These are called finger-knifed rôniers. Some scientists have looked into the matter (by... raising their heads), but it seems that the exact origin of the phenomenon remains a mystery for the moment.

A point that became an island, cut in two by the ocean. A fish factory and the first camp in the region have disappeared under the water. In 1987, the Sangomar point was linked to the continent, today the breach is more than 5 km long. Some people think that the disruption of the balance between the currents on each side may have been the cause of the phenomenon, others that the sandbanks are constantly shifting. From a purely geographical point of view, this particularity is doomed to disappear, if only by erosion. All that remains is to add a time factor.

Here's an information point in Palmarin with a warm and friendly welcome that aims to be a tourist hub for travelers and those involved in tourism. Here you can get all the information you need to explore the Sine-Saloum and discover Senegal, as well as organize your tours, trips and transfers around the country, or book your hotels. It's also a meeting place where you can chat with locals and visitors over a drink or a good meal, concocted with passion by Djibril.