Home » Seasonal rentals in Senegal » Eco-Lodges » Eco-Lodges for Rent in Cachouane

Cachouane is a Diola village of about three hundred people at the mouth of the Casamance River, south of Carabane Island. No road runs through it, there are no shops, no ATM, and the phone signal comes and goes. That is exactly why people go.

The only place to stay here is a campement (eco-lodge): a few huts run by a village family, a shared table, and days set by the tide rather than by a watch. This page groups the campements of Cachouane, in Lower Casamance.

We are a Senegalese company and we put you in direct contact with the properties. The resident rate is shown on each listing.

Cachouane & the village campement

Three hundred people. That's the figure to keep in mind, because it determines everything else. At this scale, there is no tourism economy separate from the village: the campement is a local family hosting you, with fish caught in the morning, rice grown in the paddies behind, and oysters gathered from the mangrove roots. You're not staying next to a village, you're staying in it. You feel the difference from the first meal.

Cachouane belongs to the municipality of Diembéring, in the Oussouye department, Ziguinchor region. The village sits on a point between the river and the bolongs (tidal creeks), which gives it two ways in: by road from Diembéring, or by pirogue from Elinkine — the most beautiful crossing, and the one most travelers choose. A village pirogue runs the route a few days a week; outside those runs, the campements arrange the transfer. To be clear: the journey is part of the stay, and you need to plan for it.

Diola culture gives the place its depth. Flooded rice farming, kapok tree forests, sacred groves whose access is decided by the community, ceremonies whose calendar is none of your business. Here you visit with someone from the village, you ask before taking photos, and you accept that part of what happens around you is not meant for visitors. That is what gives the place its value, not what limits it.

Finally, there's a fragility the village doesn't hide: fresh water is scarce, the soil is becoming salty, and erosion is wearing away this point. It is not an unchanging backdrop. Cachouane's campements, like the village, live with this reality — and part of what you spend here stays local, which is no small thing in a municipality of this size.

What a campement in Cachouane offers

• Huts built from local materials — low buildings, thatch or corrugated-iron roof, mosquito net, fan when the electricity allows. Comfort is simple and described as such.
• Family campement — run by a village family, with a shared table under a tree or a straw shelter. It's the standard format here.
• Full board — the absolute rule in Cachouane: there's nowhere else to eat, everything is taken at the campement. Fish, rice, mangrove oysters in season.
• Family hut — several beds for families and groups.
• Long stay — many travelers extend; the campements adapt easily and often offer a discount for longer stays.

There are no hotels, residences or furnished apartments here, which makes sense given the size of the village. If you're looking for those, you'll find them in Cap Skirring, an hour away.

Things to do

• The bolongs — pirogue trips through the creeks and mangrove tunnels are the main activity, often led by a boatman from the village.
• The nearby islets — several sandbanks and small islands can be reached for the day, where you grill oysters gathered on the spot. It's the excursion everyone talks about when they get back.
• Birds — the river mouth and the mangrove bring together herons, egrets, kingfishers and migratory birds in the dry season.
• The village and the rice paddies — Diola life is discovered on foot, with a guide: the kapok tree on the square, the paddies, the techniques of flooded rice farming.
• The beach and the river — empty. Completely empty.

When to go

The season runs from October to June. That's the dry season: the tracks are passable, the pirogues run normally, the campements are open and the mosquitoes stay manageable. From November to April, the migratory birds are there and the weather is at its best.

From July to September, the rainy season (hivernage) makes Casamance stunning — flooded paddies, lush vegetation — but complicates everything: waterlogged tracks, less reliable connections, lots of insects, and many campements closed or running with reduced staff. If you're considering this period, confirm the campement is open before you commit.

Good to know & booking

From Dakar, you can fly to Cap Skirring in season, take the ferry to Ziguinchor, or go by road via the Gambia. Then you need to reach Cachouane: by the track from Diembéring, or by pirogue from Elinkine. Arrange this last leg with your campement before you set off — the village pirogue only runs on certain days, and improvising costs you hours of waiting on a jetty.

Bring cash for the whole stay: there's no ATM and no card terminal in the village. Pack an effective insect repellent, a headlamp — there's no street lighting —, a power bank, and your personal medication: the nearest pharmacy is not close by. And be prepared that leaving may take you a day: here, you don't just hail a taxi.

Heading upriver, the campements of Pointe Saint-Georges are the best base in the region for spotting manatees.

Booking happens in two steps, which suits a place like this: you pay 20% of the stay online to secure your dates and be put in touch with the campement, then you pay the balance on site when you arrive. Here, plan to pay that balance in cash: there's no card terminal and no ATM in the village.

Cancellation is free up to 7 days before arrival in low season (June 1 – October 31) and 14 days in high season (November 1 – May 31); after that, the booking is firm. Given the pirogue connections, a useful detail: if you book less than 7 or 14 days before arrival, the booking is firm immediately, but you can still change your dates once, up to 48 hours before, subject to availability. The resident rate is shown on each listing, is for people who live in Senegal — the Senegalese diaspora included — and is activated on a verified account: we call every applicant. Tourist tax: 1,000 FCFA per person per night, paid on site. It goes to the owner and does not pass through Senegal Rent; we mention it so you can budget for it. The reverse case is covered too: if the campement cancels, we look for an equivalent option in the same part of Lower Casamance, and if you don't agree to it, all fees are refunded.

Who is it for?

Travelers who are looking for silence and are ready for it: Cachouane is not a stopover, it's a destination in itself, and you stay at least two or three nights to make the trip worthwhile. Mangrove and bird lovers, who find here one of the finest areas in Lower Casamance. Travelers interested in Diola culture, provided they accept being accompanied and not understanding everything. Families with older children, for whom a week without screens or cars is an experience in itself. And Casamance regulars, who already know Cap Skirring and want to go one step further.

On the other hand, if you need air conditioning, a reliable connection, the option to go out to dinner elsewhere or to leave the same day, this isn't the right place — and it's better to know now than on the jetty at Elinkine. Cap Skirring, an hour away, offers all of that.

What people remember about Cachouane are the evenings. The meal ends, someone brings out a guitar or doesn't, night falls all at once as it does everywhere at these latitudes, and all that's left is the sound of the water and the fireflies between the trees. No lights for miles, the whole sky overhead, and the very real feeling of having finally found a place where no one can reach you.

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