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.

IFAN Museum of African Arts

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

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.

Cap Manuel's Abandoned Bunker

This abandoned bunker looks out over the Atlantic from its clifftop perch.

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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.

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Explore Senegal

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Recent Senegal Activity

beachglass wants to go to Lake Retba

CameronCoull wants to go to Mosque of the Divinity

CameronCoull wants to go to Joal-Fadiouth Fishing Port

CameronCoull wants to go to Cap Manuel's Abandoned Bunker

CameronCoull wants to go to Langue de Barbarie

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