A country · 43 places · 8 regions

Senegal, all of it.

43 curated places across 8 regions — photographed, mapped, and noted with the season each is best in.

Dakar · via Wikimedia Commons

The 4 biggest regions — Dakar, Saint-Louis, Thiès Region and Kedougou Region — read below as chapters, with 4 more waiting past them.

Chapter I · Dakar · 17 places

Dakar

The westernmost capital city on the African continent occupies the Cap-Vert Peninsula and has been a major West African port and cultural crossroads since the French colonial period. The historic Médina quarter and the working-class Plateau district contain colonial-era administrative buildings alongside mosques and the vibrant Marché Sandaga. Dakar's contemporary art scene — centred on the Dak'Art Biennale — has made the city one of Africa's leading centres for modern visual art.

Dakar

Dakar, Senegal

✦ November to May · $$

Marché de Kermel

Dakar, Senegal

✦ November to March · $

IFAN Museum of African Arts

Dakar, Senegal

✦ November–February · $

All 17 places in Dakar →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter II · Saint-Louis · 5 places

Saint-Louis

Situated in the Senegal River delta, the Djoudj Sanctuary is a wetland of 16,000 ha, comprising a large lake surrounded by streams, ponds and backwaters. It forms a living but fragile sanctuary for some 1.5 million birds, such as the white pelican, the purple heron, the African spoonbill, the great egret and the cormorant.

✦ June–October · $$

Meet Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary All 5 places in Saint-Louis →

Chapter III · Thiès Region · 5 places

Thiès Region

A twin town on the Petite Côte where a wooden footbridge leads to Fadiouth, an island built almost entirely of clam shells. The shell-paved lanes, granaries on stilts and a cemetery shared by Christians and Muslims give the place a character found nowhere else in Senegal.

Joal-Fadiouth

Thiès Region, Senegal

✦ November to May, during the dry season · $

Popenguine

Thiès Region, Senegal

✦ November to May, during the dry season · $

Saly

Thiès Region, Senegal

✦ November to May, during the dry season · $$

All 5 places in Thiès Region →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter IV · Kedougou Region · 3 places

Kedougou Region

A slender waterfall plunging from the sandstone cliffs of the Fouta Djallon foothills into a shaded pool. The surrounding reserve protects one of Senegal's few populations of chimpanzees.

✦ July to October · $

Meet Dindéfélo Falls All 3 places in Kedougou Region →