Girls playing elastics in St. Louis, Senegal.
For eight days in March 2026, I travelled through Senegal and The Gambia on a private tour with a guide and driver, crossing between Atlantic cities, deserts, mangrove deltas, wildlife reserves, and sites deeply tied to the history of the transatlantic slave trade. It became one of those journeys that constantly shifted between beauty, energy, discomfort, and reflection.
My first stop in Dakar was the Musée Théodore Monod, located within walking distance of my hotel in Dakar. The museum sits among several important civic and cultural buildings, making the area feel like one of the city’s historic and intellectual centers.
I arrived early in the morning before the museum had opened, which gave me time to study the entrance gate more closely. The metal gates were decorated with shapes that resembled faces or traditional masks, hinting at the collections inside. Behind them stood the museum itself, a cream-colored Neo-Sudanese building typical of the 1930s. The institution actually consists of two buildings designed in the same style, combining Sudanese architectural influences with colonial-era design.
Once inside, the museum revealed one of West Africa’s major collections of traditional African art and ethnographic objects. Dedicated to the arts and traditions of West Africa, the museum houses around 10,000 pieces from roughly twenty African countries, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa. More than 300 objects are permanently displayed to the public.
The galleries include funerary masks, terracotta statuettes, drums made from animal skins, carved wooden figures, textiles, and ceremonial objects spread across two thematic pavilions. Alongside its historical collections, the museum also hosts exhibitions of contemporary international art, helping connect traditional African craftsmanship with modern artistic expression.
The combination of the cream-colored exterior, the distinctive masked gate, and the museum’s extensive collection made it a memorable introduction to Dakar and to Senegalese cultural history.
Contemporary art at Musée Théodore Monod; photography by Mónica Alcázar-Duarte, a Mexican-British multi-disciplinary visual artist
Just a short walk away stood Our Lady of Victories Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of African Remembrance. Built in 1929 on the site of a former Muslim cemetery, the cathedral is one of Dakar’s major landmarks, and as an admirer of Art Deco architecture I was immediately drawn to its design and sense of grandeur. The vast Byzantine-style dome dominates the interior, pierced by tall Greek-style windows that flood the space with light. Looking upward, I found myself mesmerised by the mural painted across the ceiling, depicting the ascension of humanity to heaven. The fresco blends both white and Black figures in a strikingly multicultural interpretation of spiritual ascent, reflecting the meeting of European religious art and African identity within a predominantly Muslim country. The simplicity of the artwork somehow made it even more emotionally powerful. Originally conceived as a memorial to African soldiers who died during World War I, the cathedral itself combines European Catholic traditions with African influences, from Sudanese-inspired towers to the use of African materials such as Gabonese wood.
Later, I met up with my guide to explore more of Dakar’s cultural landmarks, beginning with the Museum of Black Civilisations. Opened in 2018, the museum celebrates the history, achievements and cultural contributions of Black civilisations across Africa and the diaspora. Its exhibitions ranged from ancient artefacts to contemporary works, all housed beneath a striking circular dome inspired by traditional African architecture.
The distinctive facade of the Museum of Black Civilisations.
A guide at the Museum of Black Civilisations.
The first room at the Museum of Black Civilisations.
Next stop was at Marché Kermel, one of Dakar’s most distinctive markets. Although I didn’t buy anything there, I was fascinated by the building itself, especially its striking entrance and unusual architectural style. As someone drawn to historic architecture, I found it far more interesting than an ordinary market visit.
Originally inaugurated by the French in 1910 in the heart of Dakar’s colonial district, the market replaced a far more modest structure and was designed using neo-Moorish architectural elements more commonly associated with French North Africa. Architectural historians have described the facade as an example of an 'invented tradition,' blending imported North African colonial aesthetics into a West African setting for the first time. The horseshoe arches, decorative detailing and almost theatrical entrance give the building a distinctive identity that feels both North African and uniquely Senegalese at the same time.
The story of the market did not end there. After a devastating fire destroyed the building in 1993, independent Senegal chose to reconstruct it as a near replica of the colonial-era original, preserving not only the market itself but also the layered history and symbolism attached to its architecture. Knowing that history made wandering around the building even more fascinating, particularly in a city like Dakar where African identity, colonial legacy and modern cultural pride constantly intersect.
Views of Marché Kermel.
One place I had always wanted to visit was the African Renaissance Monument, the colossal 52 metre bronze statue overlooking the city. Completed in 2010 to mark the 50th anniversary of Senegal’s independence from France, it remains the tallest statue in Africa. Ironically, once I arrived I got swept into a nearby Holi festival and ended up taking only a few photos of the monument itself as coloured powder flew through the air around us.
The African Renaissance Monument and the Holi Festival around the back of the statue.
We also visited Place du Souvenir Africain, the African Remembrance Square, created to honour the memory of Black peoples, martyrs and activists whose stories shaped the continent and the wider diaspora.
Views of Place du Souvenir Africain, the African Remembrance Square.
The most emotional part of Dakar for me was visiting Gorée Island, which we traveled to by ferry. It hasn’t been easy to comprehend the horrific reality of slavery while travelling through West Africa, and Gorée brought that history painfully close. At the island’s House of Slaves stands the infamous 'Door of No Return,' the narrow doorway facing the Atlantic Ocean through which enslaved Africans took their final steps before being forced onto ships bound for the Americas and Europe. Inside the House of Slaves, men, women and children were separated into cramped cells, while young women were selected and abused by slave owners.
"Human beings were chained and shackled. As many as 30 men would sit in an 8-square-foot cell with only a small slit of the window facing outward. Once a day, they were fed and allowed to attend to their needs, but still, the house was overrun with the disease. They were naked except for a piece of cloth around their waists. They were put in a long, narrow cell to lie on the floor, one against the other. The children were separated from their mothers. Their mothers were across the courtyard, likely unable to hear their children cry. The rebellious Africans were locked up in an oppressive, small cubicle under the stairs, while seawater was sipped through the holes to ease dehydration.
Above their heads, in the dealer's apartments, balls and festivities were going on. But even more poignant and heart-wrenching than the cells and the chains were the small "door of no return" through which every man, woman, and child walked to the slave boat, catching a last glimpse of their homeland." Africana The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience; Editors: Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Although historians debate how many enslaved people passed specifically through this building compared with other ports along the West African coast, the site remains one of the world’s most powerful symbols of the transatlantic slave trade and its human cost.
Arriving by ferry at Goree Island.
What makes Gorée even more haunting is that today it is paradoxically beautiful. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is filled with pastel coloured houses, flowering bougainvillea, quiet laneways, schools and a small hospital, all entirely free of cars. Residents travel back and forth to Dakar on the short ferry crossing, while visitors wander through streets that feel peaceful and picturesque despite the unimaginable suffering once tied to them. That contrast between beauty and horror stayed with me long after leaving the island.
A guide with tourists at House of Slaves, Goree Island.
The Door of No Return at the House of Slaves, Goree Isand.
Some of the many charming laneways at Goree Island.
An artist discussing and demonstrating his sand drawings.
Various views of Goree Island.
The following day we left Dakar to explore the rest of Senegal. We drove north to Lake Retba, better known as Lac Rose or the Pink Lake. Although the lake was not as pink as the one I have visited in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia, the boat ride and the salt harvesting were worth experiencing. From there we continued for several hours towards Saint-Louis, the former colonial capital of French West Africa.
Views of Lac Rose.
Saint Louis quickly became one of my favourite stops. On the first evening I ended up drinking wine in a bar with several travellers from an Intrepid tour, comparing similarities and differences with our itineraries. Solo travelling has distinct advantages but I was missing the change to chat with other travellers; my guide and driver were Muslim, observing Ramadan at the time which made me feel slightly guilty with every sip of water I took along the way. They both said that they were 'used to it', when I asked how they could go without water for so long in the hot climate. The following morning I wandered around the island’s galleries and colonial streets by myself, as the tour didn't start until later. The city has a faded elegance, with decaying French colonial architecture mixed with vibrant artistic life.
Meeting Amadou Diaw, founder of the Museum of Photography in Saint Louis. The pool at Museum of photography.
One of the highlights was meeting Amadou Diaw, founder of the Museum of Photography in Saint Louis and several other museums across the island. After founding Senegal’s first private business school, he turned towards arts philanthropy, and hearing him speak about preserving Senegalese culture was fascinating.
We also toured the fishermen’s district where colourful wooden pirogues lined the beach, another reminder of how central the Atlantic is to life along this coastline.
Fishermen bringing in their haul.
Colourfully painted pirogues.
Street art and people in St. Louis.
That evening we travelled into the dunes of Lompoul Desert for a night of glamping beneath the stars. There were camel rides, drumming, dancing, and an atmosphere that felt both touristy and genuinely joyful. One of the best moments came when Mika unexpectedly joined the band on the drums. He is clearly a man of many talents and refuses to let the fact he had polio as a child hold him back.
After spending a night in the desert, we continued on to Great Mosque of Touba, one of the most important religious sites in Senegal. As we approached the holy city of Touba, the mosque’s towering minarets dominated the skyline long before we arrived. Rising from the flat African landscape with extraordinary confidence, the mosque can be seen from almost every vantage point in the city, a deliberate symbol of the spiritual importance of Touba and the Mouride brotherhood.
As a woman, I was required to wear an abaya to enter the mosque grounds, but fortunately Mika was able to borrow one for me. Dressed appropriately and respectfully, I entered what felt not only like a place of worship, but a place of pilgrimage. Touba holds a significance in Senegal similar to that of Mecca and Medina in the Islamic world. Every year, millions of Mouride followers travel here for the Grand Magal pilgrimage to honor Amadou Bamba, the founder of the Mouride Brotherhood, whose tomb lies within the mosque complex itself.
The Great Mosque of Touba is considered one of the largest mosques in Africa, with a capacity of around 7,000 worshippers. Completed in 1963, the mosque has continued to expand and evolve over the decades. Its architecture is both grand and deeply spiritual, with five elegant minarets, enormous domes, polished marble courtyards, and intricate detailing that reflects the importance of faith in everyday Senegalese life. The central minaret, known as Lamp Fall, rises 87 meters into the sky and has become one of Senegal’s most recognizable landmarks.
then we headed to heading south towards the mangroves of the Saloum Delta.
In Banjul, one of my stops was the towering Arch 22 and its small museum. Somehow, despite visiting, I managed not to take a single proper photo of the arch itself from the front, something I only realised later. My extremely enthusiastic guide decided to test my knowledge of the history of slavery with an impromptu quiz, which I failed spectacularly, although amusingly my own guide seemed to disagree with several of the “correct” answers. The monument itself was built in 1996 to commemorate the 1994 coup.
In Senegambia, I unexpectedly found myself staying at a resort, not usually my style, but the gym won me over. One of the trainers patiently helped me with weight training, and the following morning I joined a yoga class. Not all the excursions sat comfortably with me, though. During a lion encounter experience, the animals were being prodded with sticks to force them to lift their heads for tourists’ photographs. When I refused to be filmed walking alongside the lions, much to the disappointment of the others in the group, I felt certain I’d made the right decision.
Another deeply moving visit was to Kunta Kinteh Island, formerly known as James Island, which stands as a reminder of The Gambia’s role in the transatlantic slave trade. The island takes its current name from Kunta Kinteh, the Mandinka man whose story became famous through the series Roots. Standing there, surrounded by the remains of the fortifications, it was impossible not to reflect on the human suffering tied to this small island.
And then there were the baobabs, everywhere. People often associate these extraordinary trees with Madagascar, yet they dominate the landscapes of Senegal too. My most memorable encounter came at the ancient Samba Dia Baobab, believed to be around 800 years old and often called the “Baobab of Kings” because kings were once enthroned there.
“Get in the tree!” the guide instructed.
“I won’t fit in that hole,” I protested, trying to suppress my claustrophobia.
Before I could argue further, I was unceremoniously grabbed under the arms and lowered through the opening, not exactly my most graceful moment. Inside, however, the hollow trunk felt strangely magical. Baobabs are considered sacred in Senegal, and in the rapidly growing city of Saly, near the airport south of Dakar, many of these ancient giants remain protected. New buildings simply have to rise around them, because the trees themselves cannot be removed.
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