Niokolo-Koba National Park

The Niokolo-Koba National Park (fr. Parc National du Niokolo Koba PNNK) is a World Heritage Site and natural protected area in south eastern Senegal near the Guinea-Bissau border.






One of the largest national parks in West Africa, Niokolo-Koba National Park is situated in the south east of Senegal and is famous for its diverse wildlife. The park, which covers an area of over 9,000 sq km (3,474 sq mi), is home to over 80 different mammal species, including lions, leopards, elephants, buffalos, hippos and hyenas, as well as some 30 types of reptile and over 300 different bird species.



The landscape throughout the park is generally flat, the varied vegetation includes savannah, forests, lakes and marshes. The park is well watered as the Gambia River, along with its tributaries, the Niokolo-Koba and the Koulountou, runs though it. Included on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1981, the park is also an international biosphere reverve.

Today many of the large mammals are under threat from poaching, the numbers of leopards and elephants - the only herds remaining in Senegal have shown significant decreases in recent years. The park's future is further threatened by several dam schemes and a road project which are under consideration in the area.

While more tourists have been visiting the park of late, the numbers are still fairly modest due to the park's relative remoteness and its distance from Dakar, the capital. Potential visitors to the park may need to be reminded that, as in many wildlife reserves, though you will almost certainly see animals such as antelope and buffalo at Niokolo-Koba, sightings of lions or elephants, for example, are by no means guaranteed.