Guembeul Nature Reserve

Guembeul is small, only a few hundred hectares of Sahelian scrub and a brackish lagoon behind the Langue de Barbarie, but it does specific work: it holds breeding groups of species that were lost from Senegal and have been brought back, including scimitar-horned oryx, dama gazelle and dorcas gazelle, alongside African spurred tortoises. The lagoon takes flamingos and waders, and the whole reserve is walked or driven in an hour or two with a guide.

Highlights

• The reintroduced antelope - scimitar-horned oryx and dama gazelle in breeding enclosures.
• The tortoises - African spurred tortoises, the third largest tortoise species.
• The lagoon - brackish water taking flamingos, pelicans and waders.
• The Sahel scrub - thorn and grass typical of the zone, easy to walk.

When to go

November to April is dry and the most comfortable. Bird numbers on the lagoon peak in the northern winter. Early morning and late afternoon are when the animals move.

What to expect

The antelope are in large enclosures rather than free-ranging, and the reserve is candid that this is a breeding and reintroduction programme rather than a wilderness. It is small and takes two hours. There is little shade.

Nearby

The Langue de Barbarie park is on the coast just west, and Saint-Louis is north.