Bandia Reserve is a great and easily accessible destination from Dakar for a day trip. It’s 3500 hectares of fenced but natural habitat for many African animals. It’s an amazing experience which gives you a chance to get close to most of the African mammals and reptiles (excluding predators) and watch beautiful bird spieces.
Bandia Reserve Senegal adventure!
Can you believe that all bird species have moved to Bandia Reserve naturally?
Bandia is a privately-owned conservation park which takes good care of the animals and their reproduction.
The reserve helps to protect some African wildlife like rhinos, some rare species of antelopes, giraffes and impalas – a medium-sized antelope. Most of the animals from Bandia National Park come from Senegal, but some were brought from South Africa.
How to get to Bandia National Park?
The easiest way to get to Bandia National Park is to hire a taxi from Dakar (around 40 Euro round trip), which will take you directly to Bandia Reserve and wait at the entrance for 1-3 hours until you complete your safari.
You don’t have to pay the taxi driver in advance!
The Park is located 75 km from Dakar.
Best time to visit Bandia Reserve in Senegal.
The best time to visit Bandia National Park is early in the morning or late afternoon when the animals become more active and don’t hide from the extreme heat in the savanna forest.
It is highly advisable to start your trip early in the morning, keeping in mind terrible traffic in Dakar.
Entry fee to Bandia Reserve.
Entry fee to Bandia Reserve Senegal:
- Adults: 12 000 F/€19
- Children until 12 years old: 7 000 F
- Safari 4WD jeep rental with up to 11 seats: 40 000 F/you can wait for more tourists to share the jeep, although we visited the park in low season and enjoyed exploring the area only the two of us.
- Tour Guide: 6 500 F/you have to hire a guide along with a jeep.
All tourists entering the park are always accompanied by one of the local professional tour guides. They are highly experienced and have a great knowledge of the reserve’s history and tracking the animals.
Top 3 recommended, top-rated tours to Bandia Reserve | Tripadvisor:
Serere people in Bandia Reserve
Red soil and sand spreading across the park is a very typical picture of the African savanna. Serere people – it’s a local tribe that used to inhabit the Bandia Park area.
Nowadays, Serere people live mostly in western Senegal and Gambia and speak the Serer language. You will hear the whole story while in a park and visit one of the baobabs that was used as a ceremonial and cemetery site by the Serere people (bones are remaining under the tree).
Serer believe that for the baobab to become a tomb, it cannot be inhabited by any spirits.
Where to eat in Bandia National Park?
There are few nice restaurants near the entrance of the park, with plenty of crocodiles in the surrounding waters. There are also a few shops with local souvenirs. Please remember that only we can support the wildlife and help species to survive. We can easily contribute to avoiding treating animals or humans in the wrong way, so it would be great to remember:
- Never buy souvenirs made of animal parts
- We all live in Instagram times but please avoid photos with wild animals (especialy lions, crocodiles), as they are being heavily drugged and abused not to be aggressive toward tourists
- Avoid places and activities if the ethics is doubtful
- Avoid zoos, circuses, and paid photos
- Don’t ever feed the animals – it is also a danger to yourself!
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