Senegal
Senegal in August
🌧️ Rainy seasonWarm, humid and often rainy.
🎒 Pack: light, breathable clothes & sunscreen · compact umbrella or rain jacket · quick-dry fabrics
Why August scores 7.5What goes into the score
How it works- Weather comfort6.3
- ✓Warm (30°C highs / 25°C lows)
- !Very humid/sticky (dew point 24.5°C)
- !Wet: ~215 mm rain, ~6 heavy-rain days
- Air quality8.1
- ✓Moderate (PM2.5 ~17 µg/m³)
- Seasonal hazards9.5
- !Flood: ~6 heavy-rain days in an average August
- Safety baseline8.0
- ·Normal precautions
| Aug | Mar | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 7.5 Very good | 9.2 Excellent |
| Season | 🌧️ Rainy season | ☀️ Dry season |
| High / low | 30° / 25° | 25° / 19° |
| Rain | 215 mm | 3 mm |
| Humidity | dew pt 25° | dew pt 17° |
| PM2.5 | 17 µg/m³ | 17 µg/m³ |
Typical-month data: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis) 2015–2024 (modelled, not a forecast). Temperatures: Dakar weather-station normals.
Holidays & crowdsAugust 2027
No long holidaysNo long public-holiday weekends this month. School holidays aren't counted, so check those if you want to avoid family crowds.
Other public holidays: Prophet's Birthday (14 Aug, date estimated) · Assumption Day (15 Aug)
National holidays only; regional holidays and school breaks aren't included. Source: holidays (open-source public-holiday calendar).
Explore SenegalEvents, sights, food & souvenirs
Check event dates locallyWest African country on the Atlantic, visited for Dakar's music and food, Gorée Island, the Saloum Delta and the colonial town of Saint-Louis.
Grand Magal of ToubaDate variesIslamic calendar (18 Safar) — date moves about 11 days earlier each year; mid-2020s falls in July or August
A huge pilgrimage of the Mouride brotherhood.
Why go: Roads are very busy.
Where: Touba
Coming up later
Independence DayEvery year4 April every year
Parades celebrate independence in 1960.
Why go: Public holiday.
Where: Dakar
Tabaski (Eid al-Adha)Date variesIslamic calendar — date moves about 11 days earlier each year; mid-2020s falls in May or June
The biggest holiday, with families sacrificing sheep.
Why go: Transport is crowded as people travel home.
Where: Nationwide
Gorée Island
A UNESCO-listed island off Dakar, linked to the Atlantic slave trade, with the House of Slaves.
💡 Reached by ferry from Dakar.
African Renaissance Monument
A huge bronze statue on a hill in Dakar.
Lac Rose (Lake Retba)
A lake with salt harvesters; the water can look pink.
💡 The colour is usually strongest in the dry season.
Saint-Louis
A UNESCO-listed former colonial capital on an island in the Senegal River.
Sine-Saloum Delta
Mangroves, lagoons and islands with birdlife.
Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary
A wetland with large numbers of migratory birds.
Thiéboudienne
Rice and fish cooked with vegetables, the national dish.
💡 Local restaurants at lunch
Yassa
Chicken or fish in a lemon and onion sauce.
💡 Local restaurants
Mafé
Meat in a peanut sauce.
💡 Local restaurants
Bissap
A hibiscus drink.
💡 Street vendors
Café Touba
Coffee flavoured with spice.
💡 Street vendors
Wax print fabrics
Bright printed cloth.
💡 Marché HLM in Dakar
Sand paintings
Pictures made with coloured sand.
💡 Craft villages
Djembe
Hand drum.
💡 Craft markets