Carabane Island

Carabane sits at the mouth of the Casamance river and was the first French establishment in the region, occupied from 1836 and briefly the administrative centre before Ziguinchor took over. What remains is a village of a few hundred people among the ruins of that period: a Breton-style brick church now roofless and used as a hall, a colonial trading house, a cemetery with a grave set upright, and mango and silk-cotton trees growing through the rest. There are no cars.

What you actually see

• The old church - a nineteenth-century brick church, roofless and now used as a meeting space.
• The trading house - the surviving colonial building, part of it operating as a campement.
• The cemetery - including the well-known upright grave of a French officer.
• The car-free village - sand lanes under mango and silk-cotton trees.

When to go

November to May is the dry season and calmest for the crossing. The rains from June are heavy. Boats from Elinkine run to no fixed timetable and stop early in the day.

Honest expectations

Carabane is on Senegal's tentative list for World Heritage but is NOT inscribed, and is sometimes described as though it were. Access is by pirogue only and the last boat back leaves early. Accommodation is a couple of campements and power is limited.

Nearby

Elinkine is the mainland landing, Oussouye is inland, and Cap Skirring is southwest.