Basse casamance Travel Guide

NB This text is about Basse Casamance National Park only, not about the province Basse Casamance.

Forest, open savannah, mud banks and mangrove swamp. Access by road from Oussouye. Open all year round. Camping accommodation available. Animals living in the park include buffalo, bushbuck, duiker, hyena, mongoose, monkey, porcupine and a wide variety of birds.

While this national park is one of the highlights of Senegal we recommend that you avoid it at this time as rebel activity has made it dangerous. The park is a preserve of forest savanna land and mangrove swamps. The diverse terrain provides homes for more than 50 types of animals including four varieties of monkeys 72 species of birds and the orycterope (a type of aardvark). The animals are generally difficult to find however. Still we felt compensated by the park’s fascinating plant life—its tropical forest with high-canopy trees and sparse undergrowth. The park located on the Casamance River can be viewed by boat or car. The river and its tributaries offer excellent hunting fishing bird watching and along its banks some of the best hiking in Senegal—only now is not the time for it. 160 mi/260 km southeast of Dakar.