Saloum Delta

Like the Omo Valley, people visit the Saloum Delta mostly for A (birding) while it is inscribed for B (the tradition of shellfish gathering and the historical shell mounds). Fortunately, unlike Omo, Saloum is well-documented, with clear maps. The place to start your boat journey is the laidback town of Toubakouta, which lies conveniently close to the Gambian border if you have plans for an onward journey. The town can also be reached from Dakar or even Saint-Louis within a day.

My B&B offered a ‘menu’ of no less than 24 tours and other activities, but my eyes already stopped at #2: a late afternoon boat trip to L’île aux coquillages. So at 4.30 pm, boat guy Ibu and I stepped into the large wooden, motored pirogue and went out. The waters of the Saloum River tributaries are calm (though the Delta is tidal). It is a good area for fishing: one of the other guests had caught two large barracudas the other day, which we had for a delicious dinner in the evening!  

Close to the town, you can see wooden racks standing in the water. These hold nets for the artificial production of oysters. But the oysters also grow naturally on the roots of the mangroves, which are the predominant type of vegetation along the river banks. We saw several women collecting these molluscs during low tide. The mangroves also provide honey, which is sold by the locals to tourists.

After a short interlude …

We visited the Saloum Delta in September 2021 with a private car from Dakar, it was a day trip, all the way to the small fishing community of Djiffer at the end of the presqu'Ile. It took us a bit more than 3 hours. The car was arranged by our guesthouse (La Villa 126, a fantastic place, Awa is the lovely manager there +221776790286, the direct contact to the driver is +221775386362 Abdoulaye) and reasonably priced. Djiffer is surrounded by water on both sides, and due to global warming and beach erosion, lots of beach shacks and fishermen's houses have been destroyed recently. We drove straight through the center to the fishing port where our driver/guide made some arrangements for the boat trip to the Saloum Delta. Gasoline was organised, the price then fixed (50 Euros), and soon we discovered the birdlife and mangroves in the direction of Falia & Dinouar villages. We did not see any shellfish mounds, but stopped on the way back in the picturesque fishing village of Joal-Fadiouth, there you are actually walking on real shells. Just at the pedestrian bridge is a seafood restaurant, it makes a good stop for fresh garlic shrimps or a grilled fish. The "Baobab Sacré" (on google map) makes another great stop on the way back to Dakar, as well as "Old Rufisque" which is in itself a Tentative site of UNESCO. 

The Land Rover came to a stop. Just ahead a roan antelope emerged from the brush and started to step delicately across our path. I was just pulling out my camera when Maria, our guide, suddenly screeched something about giraffes. The antelope panicked and fled as our driver Amadou gunned the engine and swerved the truck left off the track. I ducked back inside the vehicle as it jounced over the dry earth, breaking through stands of high, brittle grass. Two more Land Rover appeared alongside just as we ploughed to a halt in front of a covey of surprised looking Cape Giraffes. They stared thoughtfully down their noses at us, as though unsure what to make of us. Then, with a switch of their tails they made their decision and, as one, turned and ambled off through the trees.

A bit of an odd review this. It’s a review of a visit to a World Heritage Site that did not go anywhere near any element that got it inscribed in the first place. The Saloum Delta is a decent sized chunk of mangrove creek landscape and a hotspot for West African wildlife, particularly migratory birds. The mangrove creeks of Senegal and Gambia are particularly representative of the landscape of these countries and my partner and I had been converted to enthusiastic bird-spotters on a trio of walks and early-morning boat trips on the south side of the River Gambia. Yet the Saloum Delta is inscribed solely on Cultural …

Some practical info (site visited in April, 2018). The best place to start exploration of the area is a small town of Toubacouta (frequent local buses or sept-place from Kaolack, main road Kaolack - Karang - Gambian border is a basic transportation artery from Senegal to Gambia). Toubacouta has some descent number of hotels / hostels, shops, restaurants so its an ideal base for visiting the area.

The only way to reach Saloum Delta is to take a boat. There are usual two types of trips offered by local people: southbound trip from Toubacouta to Sipo village (typical Delta village located on artificial mounds made of millions of shells). In the village - around 30 huts you can visit any place as well as buy local products (honey, souvenirs). Trip include visiting some canals with mangrove vegetation as well as local birds.

Another trip is a northbound one to the place called "Ile au coquillages diorum". It is also an artificial island made of shells but much higher that Sipo. It also looks much older as there are baobabs trees that seems to be several hundred years old. The island is currently uninhabited. There are some hiking paths (unmarked)

Both trips costs 15.000 CFA each and takes 3-4 hours depending on the time spent in the village / island. During the trips you should have your own protection against the sun (boats are uncovered). Take also plenty of water and some food with you.

Comparing to other places in Senegal …