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Introducing Senegal
Couched between the arid desert lands in Northern Senegal and lush tropical forests in the south, this country boasts a stunning array of sights, sounds and flavours. The capital Dakar alone hands you the country in a capsule. Perched on the tip of a beach-lined peninsula, this dizzying city is composed elegance and street hustle all rolled into one. The busy streets, vibrant markets and glittering nightlife will easily draw you into their relentless rhythm, but the escape route is always open – be it to the meditative calm of the historical Île de Gorée or the golden sands of Yoff and N’Gor. And if Dakar’s sensory overload really gets too much, architecturally beautiful Saint-Louis, the first French settlement in West Africa, boasts a vibrant urban culture without the inner-city bustle.
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Most visitors head to Senegal for its beaches, and for good reason. North and south of Dakar, wide strips of white sand invite swimming and sunbathing, whether in the built-up resort zones, where a lazy day at the beach can be followed by a cocktail trail at night, or in one of the coast’s charming fishing villages, the beaches of which are dotted with hundreds of colourful wooden pirogues. At the deltas of the Casamance and Saloum Rivers, the coastline is broken up into a maze of thick mangroves, tiny creeks, wide lagoons and shimmering plains. A pirogue trip through these striking zones reveals hundreds of bird species, from the gleaming wings of tiny kingfishers to the proud poise of pink flamingos. Whether you want to mingle with the trendsetters of urban Africa, or be alone with your thoughts and the sounds of nature – Senegal is the place to be.
Last updated: Mar 2, 2009
Tips & articles
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World’s worst sleepless nights
8 September 2009
Travellers learn to grab forty winks in some pretty taxing situations: overnight bus trips, hostel rooms...
Senegal
Our Top Picks For Senegal
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1 Saint-Louis
Crumbling colonial architecture, relaxed atmosphere and a major annual jazz festival
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2 Dakar
Busy markets and a thriving nightlife - urban Africa at its best
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3 Parc Nactional Des Oiseaux Du Djoudj
One of the world's most important wetland bird sanctuaries
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4 Île De Gorée
Early European settlement, historical architecture and meditative calm
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5 Siné-Saloum Delta
Pirogue tours through mazes of mangroves and bird islets
Fast Facts about Senegal
- Time
GMT/UTC
- Population
11.1 million
- Borders
Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Mauritania; all borders open from dawn to dusk
- Seasons
Dry (December-March), hot (March-May), rainy season (June-November)
- Telephone
Country code 221; international access code 00
- ATMs
In all major towns
- Budget
US$40 to US$60 a day
- Capital
- Visa
Required by all except nationals of Canada, the EU, Ecowas (Economic Community of West African States), Israel, Japan, Norway, South Africa and the USA
- Languages
French, Wolof, Malinké, Pulaar, Diola
- Area
197, 000 sq km
- Money
West African CFA; US$1 = CFA498
Our favourite Senegal Blogs (beta)
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Phonecards and Peanuts: Looking at Micro-finance through the Macro Lens
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 16 November 2009
Ilmari Soininen KF9 UIMCEC Dakar, Senegal Topping up one’s phone credit is never a problem in Dakar – on every street corner you will find one, or usually three or four young men hawking the same exact Orange Telecom cards. They offer the exact same cards, in the exact same spot, at the exact same time. [...]
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Geopolitics and giant goats: thoughts from a week in Dakar
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 12 October 2009
By Ilmari Soininen, KF9 UIMCEC Dakar, Senegal “Africa lite” is how a retired career diplomat once described Senegal to me. Glancing at a map of West Africa he may have a point. Bloody diamond-fuelled conflicts in Sierra Leone and Liberia, violent Islamic extremism in Mali and Mauritania and the recent military coup in Guinea make Senegal look like [...]
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Signing Off from Senegal
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 26 May 2009
My memories of the last eight months away from home are a jumbled mass of color, freedom, fear, patience, frustration, and energy – raw, shifting memories that have not yet arranged themselves into neat, packageable stories that I can pull from the shelf at parties when I get home. I have tested my sense of self [...]
