Kachikally Crocodile Pool

In the middle of Bakau town, the Bojang family keeps one of The Gambia's three sacred crocodile pools: Kachikally, where scores of Nile crocodiles laze around a green pond believed to hold fertility power - women seeking children come for ritual washing with the pool's water, and babies born after are often named Kachikally in thanks. The crocodiles, fed and habituated across generations, are startlingly placid; the resident stars tolerate a careful touch under the keepers' eyes. A small ethnographic museum on the compound sets the shrine in the wider frame of Gambian belief and history, and the visit supports the family trust that maintains it all.

What you actually see

• The crocodiles - dozens of habituated Nile crocs around the sacred pond.
• The shrine tradition - the fertility rituals the pool has served for centuries.
• The museum - masks, instruments and history in the compound.
• Bakau town - the fishing beach and botanic garden nearby.

When to go

Year round; dry-season middays find the most crocodiles hauled out and sunning. Mornings are calmer of tour groups. The fishing beach at Bakau adds a vivid half hour either side.

Honest expectations

The crocodile touch is at the keepers' invitation and on their terms - these are habituated but real predators, and sensible visitors follow instructions exactly. The site is modest and busy with guides angling for tips; agree arrangements upfront. The shrine is genuinely sacred to its community - photograph rituals only with clear permission.

Nearby

Bakau's fishing beach and botanic gardens, the Cape Point strand and Serekunda's market.