12 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Senegal - Atlas Obscura

Unusual
Attractions
in Senegal

Rufisque, Senegal

Lake Retba

This deceptively salty lake looks like blushing pink lemonade.

The Great Green Wall of Africa

Over 4,700 miles of trees being planted to hold back the desert.

House of Slaves

Despite a fraught and controversial history this African island holds a powerful monument to the tragedy of the slave trade.

African Renaissance Monument

This giant statue is the product of a mixture of corruption, Stalinist architecture, and North Korean manpower.

Fadiouth Shell Island

And island made out of shells, including a cemetery.

Ndieulé Mbam, Senegal

Langue de Barbarie

A tree seems to grow from the ocean floor on this strange strip of sand slowly being overtaken by the sea.

IFAN Museum of African Arts

Dakar is home to one of the oldest African art institutions in West Africa.

Cap Manuel's Abandoned Bunker

Perched on top of a high cliff in Senegal, this abandoned bunker looks out over the Atlantic.

See All 12 Things to Do in Senegal See All 12 Places

Unique
Food & Drink
in Senegal

Miracle Berries

When life gives you lemons, this tropical fruit makes 'em taste like lemonade.

African Horned Cucumber

The spiky, fruit cup-flavored orb made an appearance on “Star Trek.”

Café Touba

In Senegal, black coffee meets sugar ’n’ spice in one heady brew.

Bouye

Juice from the Baobab tree “tastes like sunshine” and treats dysentery.

See all 6 things to eat in Senegal See all 6 things to eat in Senegal

Explore Senegal

Launch Map

Senegal Leaderboard

Places Added

Places Edited

Places Visited

Recent Senegal Activity

Theresj wants to go to Fadiouth Shell Island

jharden8 has been to Henriette Bathily Women's Museum

moritzeric wants to go to African Renaissance Monument

breaingram wants to go to Mosque of the Divinity

breaingram wants to go to Gorée Island

Stories
About Senegal

Once upon a time there was a cemetery here, in Tangier, Virginia.

From Indonesia to Ingonish, Some Bones Won't Stay Buried

As seas and storms erode coastlines, cemeteries are giving up their dead.

by Jennifer S. Holland

October 28, 2019

Baye Fall women cook the touffé chicken to be gifted to fellow Muslims at the Grand Mosque.

The Muslims Who Don't Fast During Ramadan

Members of Baye Fall eat, cook, and deliver food in grand processions.

by Katie Jane Fernelius

The Gambia River at Janjanbureh, in the eastern part of the country.

The True Origin of The Gambia's Bizarre Borders

According to an apocryphal story, British ships defined the country by shooting cannonballs off the sides of their ships.

by Sarah Laskow

January 20, 2017