Plan your trip to Dakar, Senegal

Senegal, the westernmost country in Africa, sits on the Atlantic Ocean between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania. A former French colony, Senegal gained independence along with the French Sudan in 1960 as the Mali Federation, though the union only lasted a few months. In 1982 The Gambia, almost an enclave within Senegal along the Gambia River, formed the confederation of Senegambia with the country; this union also did not last, dissolving in 1989. Despite these short-lived confederations, Senegal continues to be one of the most stable democracies in Africa, never experiencing a coup d’état and transferring power peacefully in 1981 and again in fully democratic elections in 2000.

The capital of Dakar, home to over 1.5 million people, offers a range of open-air markets, cafés and nightlife. Just outside Dakar, museums on the island of Gorée pay tribute to those captured in the slave trade from the 16th to the middle of the 19th century. About 20 miles north of the capital, sand dunes, a baobab forest and traditional villages surround Pink Lake, also known as Retba. The lake is just what the name suggests: a pink lake. High mineral and salt content create the unusual color.