St.-Louis

St.-Louis is the major town of northern Senegal, on an island at the mouth of the Senegal River on the border with Mauretania to the north. It was the first French settlement in West Africa, and was the capital of French West Africa as well as the first capital of Senegal. The old part of town on the island is old historical colonial buildings, most of them unrestored and many tumbling into ruin. The Pont Faidherbe Bridge, designed in 1897 by Gustav Eiffel, connects the island to the mainland. Originally its middle section rotated to allow steamships to pass up the river.

view from caleche street and Pont Faidherbe bridge street with colonial buildings street with balconies colonial buildings street with balconies old buildings old street steam-powered cargo crane grand staircase goats woman cooking outside children

two women woman boy

The Langue de Barbarie (Tongue of Barbary) peninsula separating the river from the open Atlantic to the west was historically the African district and today is a busy fishing village, Guet N'Dar.

fishing boats on beach fishing boat sand street women eating fish drying dried fish dried rays smoked fish fish heads main street fishing boats on beach, looking across at our hotel fishing boats on beach horsecart boys boys children

woman great white pelican in front of shop

The small Réserve Spéciale de Faune de Guembeul, 12km south of St.-Louis, protects native Sahel animals, including giant African spurred (sulcata) tortoises and dama gazelles.

addax antelope addax antelope sulcata tortoise sulcata tortoise sulcata tortoise baby sulcata tortoise dama gazelle scimitar-horned oryx Charlotte and guide on the trail in Guembeul spider dragonfly

addax antelope dama gazelle dama gazelle dama gazelle feeding on acacia Dorcas gazelle dorcas gazelles Charlotte and baby sulcata tortoise

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Last modified 31 January 2008