In Africa

Text Chloë Greenbank
Images Corbis, Chloë Greenbank

World-class historical sites, lush nature parks, beautiful beaches and more – Senegal has it all

10 Reasons to visit Senegal

1 Its groove

Senegal, and Dakar in particular, has a well-earned reputation for its music and nightlife. Its most recognised genre is the pulsating contemporary rhythm of Mbalax, popularised worldwide by local music legend Youssou N’Dour. The Senegalese star not only has his own recording studios in the capital, but also has his own club – Club Thiossane (Sicap Rue 10, La Medina) – and usually takes to the stage a couple of times a month. Another option is to join Dakar’s coolest crowds as they congregate in the nightclubs in Les Almadies (20 minutes north of town).

2 Its lively markets

There is no better place to experience the buzz and energetic atmosphere of the sprawling capital than in its markets. The Soumbédioune artisanal village (a short taxi ride from the city centre) is a great place to watch local craftsmen at work and to stock up on hand-made souvenirs. Back in the centre, Sandaga Market (Avenue William Ponty and Lamine Gueye) is an emporium for anything from food to fabrics, while Kermel Market (off the Avenue Albert Sarraut) is a feast for the eyes with its array of stalls selling fruit, vegetables, fish and flowers.

3 The fine dining

Dakar is awash with restaurants to satisfy most tastes and budgets. Seafood features heavily on most menus and one of the best places to sample it is Le Lagon 1 (Route de la Corniche Est), which sits on a small pier by the sea. Meanwhile, for sushi and a tantalising array of French-influenced dishes in an upmarket and contemporary setting, La Fourchette (4 Rue Parent, tel. +221 338 218887) is hard to beat.

4 Go island hopping

Take the short (literally 15 minutes) ferry hop from Dakar to Gorée Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Less than 1km long, the island is a charming retreat from the bustle of Dakar. Meander around the colonial-style, bouganvillea-clad houses before visiting the island’s museums documenting Senegal’s history and the island’s role in the African slave trade. There are various places to eat on the island and hostels offering places to stay.

5 The idyllic escape

Head south of Dakar, towards The Gambia, to where the Sine and Saloum Rivers meet. A popular weekend getaway for Dakar’s residents, this is one of the prettiest parts of Senegal, with mangrove forests, coconut trees, lagoons, dunes and islands converging. It’s also home to the Saloum Delta National Park, where you can take pirogue trips in search of flamingos, pelicans and other birdlife.

6 The French influence

Northern Senegal is the least populated part of the country and it’s also home to the charming old French colonial capital of Saint-Louis, another of Senegal’s UNESCO-protected World Heritage sites. Every year (typically over a long weekend in May or June) the city plays host to its own jazz festival, with artists coming from all over the world to perform. It’s also a great base from which to explore the Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary.

7 The far south

Despite occasional troubles, Casamance (which sits in the far south of Senegal just below The Gambia) is possibly the most alluring part of the country, with its tropical forests, seductive beaches and warm, welcoming people, the Jola. Cap Skiring is its most developed resort for tourism and is a top spot for swimming and sun-worshipping.

8 Lazy beach days

Boasting 560km of beautiful beaches, it’s easy to see why Senegal is becoming increasingly popular as a sun-and-sand holiday destination. Even Dakar has a couple of beach options for those who don’t have time to explore beyond the capital. There is a small, private beach at the Hôtel Lagon 2, or follow the local crowds to plage Bel-Air and the N’Gor and Yoff. But head north or south of Dakar and things only get better, with a succession of fine, sandy beaches interspersed with lagoons and pretty villages that hug the coastline.

9 Catching some waves

Although still in its infancy, Senegal has an up-and-coming surf scene with little surf shops cropping up in the most unlikely of places and more and more locals taking to the waves. The Almadies Peninsula, just outside of Dakar, is one of the best spots in Senegal for a surfing getaway. November to March is the best time to visit as the swells are being pushed down from the north

10 The natural phenomena

A well-known Senegalese attraction, the Lac Rose, about an hour’s drive from Dakar, is a shallow salt-saturated lake where the water often appears pink due to the high mineral concentration and the vast number of micro-organisms that inhabit it. Often compared to the Dead Sea, the high salt content in the lake means that everything floats. You need to see it to believe it!

Inspiring images from Brussels Airlines’ African destinations

A flower seller carries her colourful wares on her head at the Kermel Market in Dakar

This statue outside the Maison des Eslaves on the island of Gorée, two miles off the coast of Dakar, honours the slaves who were held here before being shipped far away from home

A man cycles across the Faidherbe Bridge on the Senegal River at Saint-Louis

Long-haul news

Text Tabitha Lasley

A round-up of travel news from Brussels Airlines’ long-haul network

Hotel with a view
HÔTEL SOKHAMON, SENEGAL

Where is it? Corner of Boulevard Roosevelt and Avenue Nelson Mandela, Dakar, tel. +221 33 889 7100, www.hotelsokhamon.com

What’s the view? The hotel sits right on the seafront and most of the rooms here look out over the Atlantic Ocean and the beach. Do your best to bag Petite Suite, which has both a sea view and lots of space.

What to expect Dakar’s first boutique-style hotel, the Sokhamon’s décor fuses contemporary design (think fluid organic shapes in concrete and serpentine bar stools) with Arabian touches, like the intricately carved chairs and balconies in the sea-view rooms. But the overall aesthetic is unmistakably African, as attested to by the use of local materials, brightly upholstered sofas and aquamarine, pink and terracotta on the walls.

What you need to know

There’s an on-site boutique selling bright African drapes and bead jewellery, an excellent restaurant called Le Sargall, and a bar that opens up on an ocean-view terrace – perfect for soaking up the last of the evening sun.

Why go there? Despite being in downtown Dakar, the Sokhamon is blissfully quiet, a welcome enclave of cool and calm after the heat and bustle of the capital. Once you’ve explored the city, it’s just a 20-minute ferry ride from here to the sun-baked island of Gorée, a UNESCO World Heritage site. How much does it cost? Rooms from €73 per night.

While you’re there…

Enclosed on (almost) all sides by Senegal, The Gambia shares the same Atlantic coastline, spectacular beaches, lush wetlands and temperate climate. And, like Senegal, it’s a paradise for birdwatchers. It’s relatively easy to cross the border, so it makes sense to combine a visit to one country with a couple of days spent in the other, and plenty of tour operators now offer trips that take in both.

If you’re travelling independently, you can take a bush taxi (taxi brousse) from Dakar and reach the Gambian border in about five hours. But if you’re travelling from Dakar to the Gambian capital of Banjul, be it by bus or bush taxi, you’ll need to allow a day.

Pay a visit

Parc National des Oiseaux du Djoudj

The third most important reserve of its kind in the world, Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary, near Saint-Louis, is home to 1.5 million birds (the white pelican, the purple heron, the African spoonbill and the cormorant, to name but a few). Covering some 16,000 hectares based around a huge lake, it’s the first area of wetland south of the Sahara and the first staging post for the 3m birds that migrate south from Europe every year. Provided autumn in Europe hasn’t been too mild, November sees the park packed out with pink flamingos, pelicans, ducks and waders.

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