Lac Rose
A lake ten times saltier than the sea, which turns pink under the midday sun.
Duration
4 hrs – 6 hrs
Best time
Around midday, in the dry season
Open
Every day
Entry price
To confirm
Lake Retba is ten times saltier than the ocean — up to forty per cent salinity, comparable to the Dead Sea. An alga, Dunaliella salina, produces a red pigment to protect itself from the light, and that gives the colour, strongest in the dry season and under midday sun.
Harvesters work standing in the water for hours a day, their skin coated in shea butter for protection, bringing up salt by the basket. It was the finish of the Paris-Dakar rally. The lake was heavily diluted by flooding in 2022 and its colour has become unreliable.
Getting there
Thirty-five kilometres north-east of Dakar, an hour by road depending on traffic. A taxi for the day or an organised trip.
What the price covers
the shore is free; 4x4 tracks and pirogue trips are charged
What to bring
- Windbreaker
- Dry bag
Rules on site
The pink colour is not guaranteed: it depends on the season, the hour and the lake's dilution, badly disrupted since 2022. The salt burns any cut and ruins swimwear; rinse in fresh water when you come out.
