What to do at Lac Rose?

Lac Rose, also known as Lake Retba, is a salt lake in Senegal. Its pink hue comes from a micro-algae that thrives in extremely saline water; the intensity of the colour varies with the light, the season and the time of day.

Around the lake the landscape changes quickly: shores worked for salt harvesting, villages, then belts of dunes. That variety is exactly why there is no single way to visit Lac Rose.

This is the format that covers the most ground. In one outing you move from the lakeside to the dunes, reaching viewpoints you simply cannot walk to.

Choose it if you want scope and a bit of adrenaline, and if you are comfortable on a motorised vehicle. No previous experience is needed: a hands-on introduction and a safety briefing come first.

The opposite of quad biking: everything slows down. You follow the lake at walking pace, accompanied by a handler.

It is the format best suited to families and to anyone who mainly wants to look — and it is the best way to photograph the lake late in the day.

From the water you get close to the areas where salt is harvested by hand. The boatman explains how the lake works, its salinity and the harvesters' work.

It is the calmest and most explanatory of the three activities: the one that gives the place its context.

All three activities are short and complement each other well: many visitors pair a motorised outing with a calm one in the same half-day.

If you are unsure, start with the pirogue or the camel ride: they give you a reading of the site, and the quad ride then makes far more sense.