Discover Velingara

In the Vélingara Department, cultural sites, border areas, and landscape features come together. The town of Vélingara, which shares its name with the department, lies on the road from Kolda and serves as a stop along the route through inland Senegal. Its cultural profile includes historic traces in Parumba and Payoungou; the Anambé Basin provides an additional landscape feature in the surrounding area.

Culture and historic sites

Among the notable cultural heritage items are surviving parts of the sacred Tamouldé drum of Moussa Molo Baldé. Coly Baldé keeps it in the village of Parumba. The drum was used to make announcements within a radius of fifty kilometres. Its role as a means of communication is therefore part of its history, as is its connection to Moussa Molo Baldé.

The Moussa Molo tunnel near Paroumba in the Vélingara Department is about three kilometres long and was built in a cave. The Tata de Kabendou at Payoungou served as Dianké Waly’s residence; traces of the structure remain in the tall grass. The two sites represent different kinds of historical evidence: the tunnel is defined by its cave setting, while traces of the former residence remain at the Tata.

Alla la Kolong, the “Well of God” in the municipality of Kandia, is considered culturally significant by the local population. In Payoungou, south of Vélingara, the Dialangbantang is represented by a kapok tree. When bathing at the Dialangbantang, the king would fall if he was incapacitated. In the town of Vélingara, also look out for local handicrafts.

Landscape and geographic orientation

Part of Niokolo-Koba National Park lies in the Vélingara Department. The municipality of Linkéring borders the park to the east. Ouassadou lies at the department’s far southeastern edge and borders Guinea to the south. At department level, the border areas extend to The Gambia, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau; this location encourages cross-border trade.

The Kayanga-Anambé complex is part of the hydrographic network of the Vélingara Department. In the destination’s surrounding area lies the Anambé Basin, enclosed by the high rim of the Vélingara crater. The basin is an important rice-growing area in southern Senegal. Thus, the regional landscape around Velingara brings together water and agriculture, while the Kayanga-Anambé complex provides the geographic link to the department.

Kolda as the wider context

In the wider destination of Kolda, the international weekly market in Diaobé is one of the region’s markets; Diaobé is in the Vélingara Department. If you plan to visit the market, check the dates and local arrangements.

The Daaka of Médina Gounass is also part of the wider destination of Kolda. This annual ten-day spiritual retreat draws thousands of worshippers from all regions of Senegal and neighbouring countries. It was founded in 1942 by the marabout Thierno Mouhamadou Saïdou Ba (1900–1980). The site is ten kilometres from the town of Médina Gounass. The town is in the Vélingara Department of the Kolda Region; it is about 160 kilometres from the town of Kolda and 80 kilometres from Tambacounda. Exact dates vary from year to year.

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