Travel Guide Dagana

Situated about twenty kilometres on the Richard-Toll road towards Podor and Bakel (N2), Dagana is the last stronghold of the Walo before entering Toucouleur country. Founded at the very beginning of Wolof history, this small village became an important colonial trading post in the 19th century, especially under the governance of Faidherbe, where Mauritanian gum was sold. Numerous boats docked there, such as the Banny and the Ponty, in order to load this acacia resin, which was so popular, or to disembark soldiers. Today, only the mythical Bou El Mogdad stops there to drop off tourists. The "capital of the Walo" is peaceful, the river is very beautiful and the people are particularly welcoming. You can see the inhabitants washing or bathing on the old piers. The days are hot, but a walk along the river will cool you down. Dagana charms above all by its old quays and the remains of trading houses built in the Saint-Louisian style, witnesses today of a flourishing era. You have to get lost in its traditional districts and its market to soak up its singular atmosphere and meet its warm inhabitants. Behind the square where the Walo's heroine Ndaté Yalla Mbodj, admired for having resisted the colonists in the 19th century, stands the prefecture, a well-preserved building of colonial architecture. The fort, built in the 1820s to protect trade on the river, is also worth a visit, especially as a magnificent hotel has been installed there.