The private reserve of Bandia constitutes a small jewel of ecological success by the surprising regeneration of its flora and the reintroduction of large African mammals, sometimes disappeared for centuries, under demographic pressure and poaching. It is located 65 km from Dakar and 15 km from Saly-Portudal (seaside resort on the “small coast”) on the main road (N1) going to Mbour and Casamance.
Here is what the Mondios guide says: “Halfway between Thoiry and, in short, the Tanzanian Ngorongoro or the Kenyan Masai-Mara, the Bandia reserve invites you to take pleasant photographic safaris. Both close to the capital and the beaches of Saly-Portudal, it puts the mythical African fauna within everyone's reach”. Indeed, in its 3,500 ha, one surprises with a point in the heart, the hordes of large antelopes and gazelles in a grandiose environment of giant baobabs, thorny bushes and capricious lianas.
Most animals allow themselves to be approached (reasonably!): photograph