The most beautiful natural sites to discover 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.

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.

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…

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.

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.

Obinomag is a typical Senegalese pirogue based in Ndangane. Ndane Diouf and his crew organize day or bivouac excursions over several days to discover the Sine Saloum delta. You can visit villages and markets, wander through the forest and bush, go fishing, discover the mangroves and much more. The experienced crew of the Obinomag pirogue ensures an extraordinary discovery of the Sine Saloum at the rhythm of nature and the water. Programs and rates are tailored to your needs and schedule. Obinomag is located south of Fimela, in Ndangane, and welcomes you to its beach bungalow, around 200m from the pier.