Sine-Saloum
A delta of mangrove channels and more than two hundred islands south of Dakar, where centuries of shell-gathering have raised mounds you can walk on.
- Arrival
- Blaise Diagne International · DSS
- To the delta
- About 105 km from DSS in a straight line
- Private jets
- At Blaise Diagne, then by road
- Best time
- October to June
The city
Three rivers, one delta.
The Saloum and two other rivers break up here into brackish channels, mangrove and dry forest before reaching the Atlantic. Fishing and gathering shellfish have kept people here for a very long time, and the shells they left built 218 mounds, some several hundred metres long, with burial tumuli on 28 of them. UNESCO listed the delta for these in 2011.
Lodges sit by the water at Toubacouta, Palmarin, Djilor and on the islands, and the way around is by pirogue. The rains come from June to October and peak in August; from November to May it is dry and hot, with afternoons in the low to mid thirties.
- The shell mounds Islands and banks made of shells left over centuries, some of them crowned with burial tumuli.
- The bolongs Narrow tidal channels through the mangrove, explored by pirogue between the islands.
- Parc national du Delta du Saloum The national park within the delta, a wetland protected under the Ramsar Convention.
Arriving
By air to Dakar, then south.
Blaise Diagne International, inland from Dakar, is the gateway: the delta lies about 105 kilometres to the south-east in a straight line.
- Abidjan 2 h 30
- Accra 2 h 55
- Nice 5 h 30
- Frankfurt 6 h 20 long-range jet
- Riyadh 8 h 55 long-range jet
When to go
October to June.
Figures for Banjul, the nearest station, just south across the Gambian border. Dry from November to May, with highs reaching 35 °C in March and April; the rains run from June to October and are heaviest in August.
- 32° J 1 21°
- 34° F 1 21°
- 35° M 0 21°
- 35° A 0 22°
- 34° M 5 24°
- 33° J 71 26°
- 32° J 232 28°
- 31° A 380 28°
- 31° S 276 28°
- 32° O 88 29°
- 33° N 5 27°
- 32° D 1 24°
Elsewhere in Senegal
More reasons to come.
- Dakar The westernmost city of Africa, with markets and a music scene.
- Gorée An island of colonial houses and the House of Slaves, listed by UNESCO.
- Lac Rose A pink lake where salt is gathered by hand.
- Saly The resort beaches of the Petite Côte.
- Saint-Louis Balconied colonial houses on an island in the Senegal river, listed by UNESCO.
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