Dakar, Senegal

The coastline of Dakar with view of the Divinity Mosque
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mosquee_de_la_divinite_Ouakam.jpg
Author: Popo le Chien


Dakar is the capital and largest city in Senegal. It covers 82.38 sq km (31.81 sq mi) on the Cap-Vert Peninsula, on the westernmost part of Senegal as well as the African continent and the Old World mainland. The city has a population of 1.1 million people (2012 estimate) within a metropolitanh area of 2.45 million people.

Human habitation on the Cap-Vert Peninsula has been recognized as early as the 15th century. When the Portuguese arrived and settled on the island of Gorée, which they used as a slave trading port, Cap-Vert was part of the Jolof Empire. Slave trading continued until 1815, when it was permanently abolished by the French.

Some time in the 17th century, a village called Ndakaaru was established. It is located across from the island of Gorée. In 1795, the Lebou people revolted against the local ruler of then Cayor province, and set up what the French called the Lebou Republic, with Ndakaaru as the capital. This was where the French in 1857 established a military post which they called Dakar.

Dakar was originally part of Goré, but was separated out in 1887. Then in 1902 it replaced Saint-Louis as the capital of French West Afirca, and went on to become the capital of independent Senegal today. It is best known as the finishing point for the Dakar Rally.

Dakar, Senegal
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dakar_-_Panorama_urbain.jpg
Author: Initsogan

Visiting Dakar

The Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport is the main gateway to Dakar and Senegal. It receives flights from Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Algiers, Bamako, Banjul, Bissau, Brussels, Cap Skirring, Casablanca, Conakry, Cotonou, Douala, Dubai, Freetown, Istanbul, Lagos, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Libreville, Lisbon, Lomé, Madrid, Milan, Niamey, Nouakchott, New York City, Ouagadougou, Paris, Praia, Rome, Tripoli, Tunis and Ziguinchor.

Dakar Cathedral
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dakar_cathedrale.jpg
Author: Manu25

Places of Interest in Dakar

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.