Discover the Small Coast in Senegal

The Small Coast is the most catholic area of Senegal with a great number of churches, vaults and missions.
Mbour the capital, 80 km in the south from Dakar, is a fishing port of 4.000 inhabitants marked by tourism and which attracts many amateurs of fishing to large. In its water abound, swordfishes, marlins, tunas, barracudas, sharks...

Not to miss in Mbour, every weekend of September, the festival of the circoncis Mandingues when Kankourang invades the city, where many Mandingues are installed there since the end of the 19th century. In their tradition Kankourang, mythical character covered with red barks of a tree called will fara, traverses the streets by terrorizing the population to protect the young people circoncis during their initiation. Kankourang represents a guard against the bad spirits.

During the traditional initiation Mandingue, which took place of mid-June in mid-September, not initiated were insulated and taken charges some by the initiates, Kingtang. The exit and the return to the village were accompanied by the dance by the sheets, Djambaadong. During their retirement, three months under the protection of Kankourang, took place the circumcision and the ritual of Samaso, educational activity the purpose of which was the transmission of the values, the respect of old, humility, courage...

To 5 km in the north of Mbour Saly Portudal, the greatest seaside resort of Senegal is created in the Eighties. The many hotels and centers of holidays of Saly accomodated more than 200.000 tourists in 2004.
In the north of Saly, the tourist village of Somone is appreciated for its splendid lagoon bordered of mangroves and its ornithological reserve where come to nest will hérons, brushes, pelicans... Well integrated tourism did not upset this authentic village of Lébous fishermen.

Somone (where our agency Touré Boye Immobilier is) formed part of this portion of balneal coast also including/understanding Saly and Ngaparou. The hotels and campings are obviously innumerable there. The residences also pushed a little everywhere. The zone is nevertheless quieter than that of Saly and the beaches, from the clearness of water and the superb lagoon, are most beautiful of the Small Coast. Restaurants and small shops flowered on the right on the left with the liking of constructions of residences of luxury.

This flowering of the residential field accompanied a development by the services and leisures which before were concentrated on Saly: one finds there from now on as much large stores of food that hirers out of quads.

It is the "Club of the Baobab tree", installed at the edge of the lagoon which it first moved massively into the zone at one time when there was not large-thing in the surroundings. Today, the lagoon of Somone, in addition to the beauty of its clear water curving between the sand banks of grè of the tide, constitutes an ecosystem of exception which should be protected. It was classified besides "natural reserve" in order to preserve the animal species as much of them (and in particular many birds) that flora and in particular solid masses of mangrove. This reserve covers a surface of approximately 7000ha where many pelicans and pink flamingos come to play about.

The sanctuary Our Injury of the Delivery is to be seen in Popenguine, symbol city of the catholics for his annual pilgrimage of the Whit Monday to the black virgin. The village is tourist but much more calms and quiet that Saly.

To visit in the North of Popenguine cliffs of Toubab Dialaw of colors ochres which shelter splendid ideal splits for the bathe.

Bandia, to 20 km of Mbour, is the first private reserve of Senegal created in 1990. On 1.200 ha this animalist reserve shelters in the medium of the tall grasses, baobab trees, caïlcédrats, eucalyptus, acacias, of many animals, antelopes, gazelles, oryx, dashes of Derby, cobes of Buffon, impalas, ostriches, giraffes, phacochères, buffaloes of Asia, crocodiles, rhinoceros, monkeys...

And a multitude of birds, will hérons, francolins, calaos, blackbirds, eagles, vultures...

Tariffs, adult 7.500 F.Cfa (11,50?), child 3.000 F.Cfa (11,50?), guide (obligatory) 3.000 F.Cfa (11,50?) by visit.

Vis-a-vis with the reserve of Bandia, a park of adventure perched in the baobab trees "Accrobaobab" opened in October 2004. Two courses, for the children and for the adults, who allow to progress of tree out of tree, tyrolienne, bridge of monkey, flying dugout, liana of Tarzan...
Tariffs at the half-day, 15.000 F.Cfa (23?) for the adults and 10.000 F.Cfa (15?) for the children.

Joal-Fadiouth, to 35 km in the south of Mbour and 115 km of Dakar, was born in 1996 from the regrouping from three villages Sérères, Joal, Fadiouth and Ngazobil.

The commune, of 5.000 ha for approximately 35.000 inhabitants, represents the first place of artisanal fishing in a number of products halieutics unloaded, one the third of the Sénégalaise production.

Agriculture, rice, millet, niébé, groundnut, have also much importance although half of the grounds make up of spots, of the grounds made uncultivated by salted water.

Joal, which is located on a sandy peninsula between the mangrove and the forest of Ngazobil, is the birthplace of Léopold Sédar Senghor. Its family house is the museum Mbind Diogoye today, of the name of his/her father Diogoye Basile Senghor who had 5 wives and 41 children. In this house vis-a-vis with the ocean are exposed objects and tools representative of the traditional culture Sérère, and an exposure reporting the fabulous political course of this poet, father of the independence sénégalaise, which made enormously for its country.

From Joal, the island of Fadiouth is accessible to foot by a bridge from 600 m which crosses the arm of the sea Mama Nguedj. Since 2005 a very new bridge replaces the old one and typical footbridge of Finio built in 1962 in trunks of rôniers.

This small 800 m length island, where some 10.000 inhabitants in strong Sérères majority and Christians live, is a cluster of shells piled up by the men for a very long time, from where his name of island to the shells.

The marine cemetery, where coast at coast Moslems and Christians are buried, is accessible by another long footbridge 200 m.

In the north of the island close to the mosque you can see attics with millet on piles, which protégent harvests of the fires and the rats.

According to the legend, on the island a large baobab tree of several hundred years is inhabited by a protective spirit of the village, Mama Ndagne. At side a small box in straw contains Fangol, the spirit of an ancestor who like sound living continuous to make wonders after its death.

The every years at August 15 for the Assumption it is the great festival of Fadiouth. During several days of the cultural events Sérères are organized, tournaments of fights, musics and Nguel ceremonies.
Out of traditional clothes, girls and boys dance Nguel at the rate/rhythm of the percussions. Face to face girls and boys slowly advance before the rate/rhythm accelerates.
This dance between young people born the same year is the symbol of the mutual aid in an age group.