Bandia Animals Reserve & Pink Lake tour from Dakar

A Baobab cemetery sits inside the game reserve, where storytellers were buried a thousand years ago.

This full-day tour from Dakar combines a 4x4 game drive through Bandia Animals Reserve with a jeep tour of the Pink Lake, covering two of Senegal's most distinctive landscapes. You'll ride through 3,500 hectares of African savannah with a ranger hunting for wildlife (giraffes, rhinos, zebras, hyenas, impalas and more), and stop at a Baobab cemetery where ancient burial sites still stand. The route then heads to the Pink Lake, ten times saltier than the ocean and colored pink by the sun, where you'll visit salt collectors and drive the former Dakar Rally finish-line dunes. The tour includes an air-conditioned vehicle, both a 4x4 for the reserve and a jeep for the lake, a guide in English, Spanish or French, and all entrance fees.

The experience

What makes this tour different is that it moves between two entirely separate Senegal landscapes in a single day. The first half is a game drive: you leave Dakar and head inland to Bandia, where you climb into a 4x4 built for safari and spend hours in the reserve with a ranger whose job is to find animals. The reserve sprawls across 3,500 hectares with over 60 kilometers of tracks, and the ranger knows where to look for giraffes, rhinoceros, buffaloes, zebras, elands, hyenas, impalas, kudu and warthogs. You'll also spot birds: the Abyssinian roller, red-billed hornbill, long-tailed glossy starling. The Baobab cemetery is part of the route: these massive thousand-year-old trees were used as burial places for storytellers in centuries past, and the cemetery still holds visible remains.

The second half shifts completely. After the reserve, you drive to the Pink Lake, which sits on the former arrival point of the Dakar Rally. The lake's color comes from the sun hitting water that is ten times saltier than the ocean, and the landscape is dunes and beach. You'll visit salt collectors at work, then climb into a jeep to drive the rally's old tracks across the dunes and shoreline. The whole day is built around seeing Senegal as it actually is: you'll pass through villages where people wear traditional African attire and travel by bush taxi, and you'll move through terrain most visitors never reach.

The tour runs eight hours total. You travel in an air-conditioned vehicle between the two sites, and your guide speaks English, Spanish or French. Hotel pickup is included, along with all entrance fees and taxes. The 4x4 and jeep are both part of the package. You don't arrange separate transport once you arrive at each location.

What’s included

• Air-conditioned vehicle with hotel pickup.
• a 4x4 WD for the Bandia game drive.
• a jeep for the Pink Lake dunes.
• a live guide in English, Spanish or French.
• a ranger at Bandia to locate wildlife.
• all entrance fees and taxes.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish, Spanish and French

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 6 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated 3 days ago

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problemsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Sogui tours senegal

Is this one for you?The eight-hour pace means an early start and a full day in the vehicle, so this suits travelers who want to cover two major sites without splitting them across multiple days. The game drive itself is a seated activity (you're in the 4x4 looking out), and the Pink Lake portion is a jeep tour across dunes, so it's active sightseeing rather than hiking or walking.

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Top questions

What languages is the guide in?

Live guide in English, Spanish and French.

What animals will I actually see on the game drive at Bandia?

Bandia is home to giraffes, rhinoceros, zebras, hyenas, impalas, buffaloes, elands, kudu, warthogs and a range of bird species including the Abyssinian roller and red-billed hornbill. A ranger accompanies the 4x4 specifically to locate wildlife across the reserve's 60 kilometers of tracks, though sightings depend on where animals are on the day you visit.

Why is the Pink Lake pink, and what will I do there?

The Pink Lake's color comes from the sun reflecting off water that is ten times saltier than the ocean. You'll visit salt collectors working at the shore, then drive a jeep across the dunes and beach, retracing the route of the former Dakar Rally's finish line.

How long does the tour take, and what's included in the price?

The tour runs eight hours total. Included are the air-conditioned vehicle, the 4x4 for the reserve, the jeep for the lake, your guide in English, Spanish or French, all entrance fees and taxes, and hotel pickup from Dakar.

Will I see the real villages and how people live in Senegal?

Yes. The route takes you inland through areas where you'll pass villages, see people in traditional African attire, and observe bush taxis, the local transport. The tour is built around showing the authentic landscape and daily life of Senegal, not just the reserves.