Far from the usual tourist routes, discovering a geographically and culturally isolated territory where people live according to ancient animist beliefs, in a daily routine modulated by the customs and rhythms of nature, amidst propitiatory rites and sacrificial ceremonies.

An itinerary leading to the heart of the Sahel, in the mountainous region in the extreme south-east of Senegal. It is home to the Bedik and Bassari, animist peoples still faithful to the cult of fetishes and ancestor spirits, genii protectors of the villages of straw and stones. Villages in which existence flows slowly, cadenced by the cycle of the seasons and the times of man, who from childhood reaches adulthood through complex initiation rites in which the whole village participates. We head to the Casamance, the southernmost tip of Senegal, a natural sanctuary of extraordinary beauty amid villages that are small traditional monarchies with kings and notables, mangrove canyons and labyrinths of rivers and still waters around which palm trees and thatched-roof huts nestle. Here, it is possible to immerse oneself in the life of the Diola, a people who have jealously preserved the customs and traditions of the animist tradition, proudly rejecting all attempts at Islamisation and remaining faithful to the spirits of the forest.

Accompanied by Diego Giusti, Nikon Travel photographer, we will go in search of the Peulh nomads, visit artisanal gold mines, and let ourselves be carried away by the ancestral traditions of the Bedik, Bassari and Diola peoples, capturing unique landscapes and colours.