A gathering of the top jazz players from across the globe, this is arguably Africa's best jazz festival in a town of enduring French colonial charm.
Why we love it
- The charming colonial ambience of this historic French colonial city with its unique island style
- 3 sensational nights of jazz featuring some of the world’s most renowned jazz artists as well as local legends
- A day trip to the magnificent National Park of the Birds of Djoudj with its hundreds of bird species including the much-loved Flamingo
Itinerary
Day 1 - Dakar
- This morning, you’ll be met by our local Peregrine guide and
Day 2 - 3 - Saint-Louis
- Today you will be transferred north to the magical island-city of Saint-Louis – the former French colonial capital of Senegal and, for a period of time, the capital of all of French West Africa.
- Most of the colonial sector of Saint Louis is located on the small island on the Senegal River. With the allure of its historic streets and colonial buildings, Saint-Louis has been accorded UNESCO World Heritage status.
- We’re in St Louis first and foremost to enjoy Africa’s most important jazz music festival where performances take place in small atmospheric clubs and on big open-air stages alike. Jazz music was originally introduced to St Louis by visiting American soldiers and the local bands soon caught on! Recordings from Cuba made their way to St Louis’ shores too and soon expanded jazz's popularity.
- Your local guide will help you to purchase tickets for the festival with costs ranging from CFA 25,000 (about €38) to CFA 100,00 (about €150).We’ll spend the morning exploring the colonial streets of Saint-Louis via horse-drawn buggy! After lunch we’ll relax and get ready for a night on the town at the jazz festival.
- The line-up of performers varies from year to year, but an impressive range of world-famous musicians will be performing, including artists such as Senegal’s own Ablaye Cissoko, renowned singer and ‘kora’ player. The ‘kora’ is a unique 21-string west African instrument.
Day 4 - National Park of the Birds of Djoudj - Saint-Louis
- We’ll head off on a day trip today 60 kilometres north of Saint-Louis to the National Park of the Birds of Djoudj. Covering an area of 120,000 square kilometres, the park is home to several wetlands habitats including rivers, water channels, lakes, basins and marshes, as well as woodland savannah. It is especially significant because it’s one of the first major places south of the Sahara Desert with permanent water.
- Nearly 400 species of birds have been recorded in the park including flamingos and pelicans, with over 3 million individual migratory birds passing through the reserve each year.
- After our day in the Birds of Djoudj, we’ll return to Saint-Louis for another great evening of jazz.
Day 5 - Saint-Louis
- We’ll spend another day exploring the delights of Saint-Louis, wandering the atmospheric old streets that are reminiscent of a bygone colonial era.
- We’ll head out tonight for our final night of the jazz festival!
Day 6 - Saint-Louis - Dakar
- After all the music and festivities of the St Louis Jazz Festival, we’ll be transferred back to Dakar where our trip ends on arrival.
