Madeleine National Park- Travel Tips

What to See, How to Plan & Tours

Madeleine National Park, off Senegal's coast near Dakar, comprises a small, uninhabited archipelago shaped by steep sea cliffs over millions of years. Covering just 0.45 km², it is the world's smallest national park and a UNESCO Tentative List site. The largest island, Sarpan, holds Stone Age artifacts and hosts breeding colonies of red-billed tropicbirds, white-breasted cormorants, and bridled terns. French naturalist Michel Adanson documented a centuries-old carved baobab here in 1749, though it later disappeared. The islands remain significant for their geological formations and rare seabird populations.