Sene – Gambia Culture & People

Day 1: Arrival

Upon arrival at Blaise Diagne International Airport and after completing your entry formalities, you will be met by one of our representative and transferred to your hotel. Once you have checked in, your guide, who will be with you throughout your stay, will brief you on what to expect during your stay in Senegal and Gambia.

Hotel: N’diambour Hotel or Similar

Day 2: Dakar – Goree Island

After breakfast, begin the city tour of Dakar and vicinity. Sites include: the African Renaissance Monument: a 164 Feet high monument unveiled in 2010, overlooking Dakar and is taller than the Statue of Liberty. The once controversial bronze statue is a popular attraction among locals as well as visitors. It features a man, woman and child pointing, a symbol of renewed African hope. The woman is now decently clothed, as conservative groups forced the government to lengthen her formerly short skirt, at a cost of more than US$ 10 million, to more modest length.

We will also visit the Independence Place, the heart of the city, you will pass by the presidential palace and the main cathedral. Enjoy a scenic drive by the ocean on your way to the Soumbedioune market and the mosque de la révélation. The tour of Dakar will show you the contrasts between some upscale residential areas and other popular neighbourhoods.

We will also visit tourist hotspots like Kermel or Sandaga market.

In the afternoon, depart on a 20 minutes ferry ride to visit the charming yet infamous Goree Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Explore the usually quiet Streets lined with mostly pastel colored colonial era buildings from where you can enjoy an amazing view over the Dakar bay. Among the most famous buildings here is the House of Slaves which records the painful history of Goree’s past.

Observe the “Door of No Return” through which millions of Africans passed on the way to slavery in the Americas. The tour includes a visit to the ethnographic museum and a lecture by the curator on the history of Goree. We return to Dakar for overnight.

Meals included: Breakfast

Hotel: N’diambour Hotel or Similar

Day 3: Pink Lake

After breakfast, drive straight to the North with a stop at Pink Lake a rare natural phenomenon caused by a unique combination of microorganisms, halophilic bacteria, and a high concentration of salt with the sun which gives it different colors. Interact with the salt harvester.

Then continue drive to Saint Louis, the colonial Capital of Senegal. Check-in hotel and time permitting start the city tour.

Meals included: Breakfast

Hotel: Residence Saint Louis

Day 4: St. Louis – Lompoul

Following a well-deserving breakfast, we embark on a tour by horse carriage to explore the narrow streets of this area; the Kingdom of the Signars founded in the middle of the 17th centuries. The Signars are mixed ladies – who are descendants of black African mothers’ slaves and Europeans fathers’ slaves’ masters.

Stop at the governor palace, a fortress built in the 18th century. We will visit Nguet Ndar area, the famous fishermen village settled between the river and the Atlantic Ocean

After lunch, we drive back to Lompoul desert nestled between the great coast and the eucalyptus forest; this desert is characterized by its pink and orange sand dunes. Enjoy a camel ride and at the top of the dunes, stop for a picturesque view of the coastline and sunset. Dance your way into the night to a Djembe dance entertainment or enjoy a Senegalese tea tasting around a bonfire.

Overnight in tents and feel like nomads admiring the moon or the stars.

Meals included: Breakfast

Hotel: Ecolodge Lompoul

Day 5: Lompoul – Touba – Kaolack

After enjoying sunrise on the desert and breakfast, we proceed to the holy city of Touba. Visit the main Mosque which is the largest and most magnificent mosque in all of West Africa. You will learn about Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, the spiritual founder of Mouridism, the only brotherhood born in Senegal.

Spend a few minutes in the large library which holds thousands of volumes all hand written by the mystic founder. Learn about the history of Touba, an autonomous city which is much like the Vatican in and also noted as one of the most significant cities in Senegal.

Continue to Kaolack at the South with stops at villages. Meet locals; learn about their daily activities and culture. Get to Kaolack and visit the local open-air market if time permits.

Meals included: Breakfast

Hotel: Relais Kaolack

Day 6: Kaolack – Sine Ngayene – Jame Island – Banjul

We depart early morning to visit the Sine Ngayene stones circles complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It consists of 52 circles of standing stones, including one double circle. In all, there are 1102 carved stones on the site. Nearby is the quarry from which the monoliths were extracted and where the sources of around 150 stones can be traced.

We travel to Gambia by road entering the border by the East of Banjul. After completing immigration formalities, we will drive a short distance to the twin villages of Juffureh and Albreda which lie on the North Bank of the River Gambia about 25km upriver of Banjul. Juffureh is the land of Alex Haley’s “Roots movie”. The Albreda is regarded as an important slave trade post and gained popularity during the slave period because of its Flag Pole, which many believed would guarantee freedom to anyone who touched it after escaping from the nearby James Island.

Observe the ruins of Kunta Kinteh island, a place of lust between French, English, Portuguese and Dutch in the middle of Gambia river.

Sail back to the village of Juffureh to where the ancestry of “Kunta Kinteh” of Roots fame was traced.

The restored original home of the Kinteh clan still occupied by the Kinteh family can be visited.

After lunch, we drive towards Bara- the border at the West and sail by a ferry to reach Banjul. Transfer to your hotel and check-in.

Meals included: Breakfast

Hotel: Lemon Creek or Similar

Day 7: Lamin Lodge – Banjul – Serrekunda

This morning, we will discover the south bank of Gambia river by dugout canoe. Sailing through a vast labyrinth of creeks inside the mangrove forest, visit the village of the Socè tribes tucked behind the wetlands

Row back to Banjul and embark on a city tour. Start from the National Museum, with exhibits of the history of The Gambia including tracing the mix of African Culture and European colonialism. We then take a short drive through Banjul to “see the sights,” stopping to visit Albert market with much hustle and bustle, where anything from live chicken and vegetables to herbs and false hair can be bought.

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Visit Serrekunda, the most densely populated town in The Gambia; here you can see displays of “Tie & Dye” and the beautiful Batik cottons. We drive back to the hotel and overnight.

Meals included: Breakfast

Hotel: Lemon Creek or Similar

Day 8: Banjul – Joal and Bush – Fishermen Arrival

After breakfast, cross again by the ferry into Senegal for Joal at the mouth of Saloum river. Enroute, visit the oldest (1500 years old) and biggest baobab tree in West Africa followed by a visit to typical villages the Serere farmers, which are the second largest ethnic group in Senegal or make a stop at a Fulani nomadic camp – the third largest ethnic group.

nomadic camp – the third largest ethnic group.

After lunch, visit the shell island of Fadiouth- a symbol of tolerance where Muslims, Christians and animists co-exist peacefully and have a cemetery where they bury their dead side by side.

Late in the afternoon, we drive to Mbour fishing port and observe the return of the fishermen. Intense trade activity around, unique atmosphere in sensation and smell.

Continue to Saly for your overnight stay.

Meals included: Breakfast

Hotel: Royam Beach or Similar

DAY 9: Saly – Bandia Reserve – Somone Delta

Enjoy a scenic drive this morning to visit the Bandia National park for a three-hour Safari.

This is a great opportunity to see wildlife such as giraffes, antelopes, rhinoceros, monkey, buffalos, impala gazelles, oryx among others and several birds including the small hornbills, grey heron, ostrich, eagles, blackbirds and kingfishers.

Observe the legendary Baobab tree which has been used during the past.

Hotel: Royam Beach or Similar

Day 10: Departure

Enjoy this morning at leisure or go out for shopping or doing other excursions which may be outstanding. You will be transferred at the airport in time for your onward flight.