Cap Skirring

Cap Skirring runs along the Atlantic at the southwestern tip of Senegal, a long beach of pale sand backed by palms and cashew, with a scatter of hotels and campements behind it and a fishing village at one end. Fishermen settled it first, and the French of Ziguinchor took it up as a beach in the 1960s, when their aero club laid out the first airstrip. It is the Casamance's beach destination and much less developed than the Petite Côte, partly because getting there is harder. The water is warm, the surf is moderate, and the country behind is green rice and palm forest rather than scrub.

The landscape

• The beach - a long strand of pale sand backed by palms.
• The fishing village - Kabrousse and the boats working off the southern end.
• The campements - small locally run guesthouses among the palms, alongside the larger hotels.
• The green hinterland - rice fields and palm forest behind the coast.

When to go

November to May is the dry season and the peak. The rains from June to October are heavy and many places close. Flights are seasonal and the road is a long drive from Ziguinchor.

Good to know

Access is the constraint: seasonal flights, a ferry to Ziguinchor, or a long road through the Gambia. Some hotels are all-inclusive enclaves with little connection to the area. Rip currents occur along the beach and there are no lifeguards.

Nearby

Diembering is north along the coast, Oussouye is inland, and Carabane is up the river mouth.