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Kachikally Crocodile Pool
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Kachikally Crocodile Pool

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Kachikally Crocodile Pool
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See what travellers are saying
  • Luv2TravelFarNWide
    Atenas, Costa Rica1,385 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Interesting and fun
    Never believed I could be comfortable walking amongst a bunch of very large crocodiles, and even petting one, but I was. There is an interesting history to this place. The owner has fed the crocs only fish for their entire lives, and they have been acclimated to people, so as long as you follow their instructions to move slowly and ONLY pet their backs, you are safe. Makes for a great photo op! And the museum outside is definitely worth a stop.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 27 November 2023
  • Annalisa B
    Brussels, Belgium58 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    à voir
    very interesting site, apparently in activity since centuries. There is a little interesting museum, a park and LOTS of crocodiles. You may even touch some of them. The explanations given by the guide on how the keep the crocodiles number under control were not convincing at all, so we remain with the question.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled with friends
    Written 30 November 2023
  • David B
    Delray Beach, Florida1,105 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Don't Shed Tears for These Crocodiles
    Over a dozen crocodiles laying al around the pool, mostly sleeping. You get to walk a path with your guide around the place when suddenly you notice there is no fence between you and those crocodiles about 4 feet away. Luckily, only a few are moving and you are really glad they were fed earlier in the day. I would question your fitness as a parent if you brought your kiddos on your visit. Just remember if you want to touch one (and people do) touch the crocodile as far away from its mouth as possible. If you love Komodo Island and its free roaming dragons you will like this place.
    Visited December 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 10 December 2023
  • Travelling Coffee Shop
    Otley, United Kingdom49 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Crocs, crocs and more crocs
    Never seen so many! The more you look, the more you see. Very knowledgeable guides ensure your visit is safe. There are some cross you can actually touch Also a very interesting museum about Gambias recent history is on the same site.
    Visited January 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 12 January 2024
  • sellis44
    Grimsby, United Kingdom294 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fantastic
    Visted around 11am and it seems to be a good time to go. Not busy or rushed. Guide was knowledge and good fun. A wonderful opportunity to find out and get up close to these fascinating animals. They are well cared for and happy to tolerate humans as they are well fed. Do listen to the guide as some pregnant crops will not be so happy to be approached. Great local information in series of rooms on the way in about tribes, musical instruments, and info about military history. Entrance fee 100 D and an opportunity to leave a contribution to help towards food for the crops.
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 4 April 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles747 reviews
Excellent
276
Very good
290
Average
142
Poor
25
Terrible
14
LyndsMo
London, UK13 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Fantastic experience
Apr 2023 • Couples
This was my 2nd visit to Katchikally Crocodile Pool once again it was a remarkable wondrous experience. We went quite late in the day plus it was ramadan time so it was very quiet. We were the only people there. There was a 200 delacies entrance fee. Before going to see the crocodiles there is a small museum we walked around which consisted of 3 rooms with information about the area , pictures and a few historical artefacts. The whole way round we were accompanied by a cat. He literally walked everywhere with us until we got to the exit of the rooms. Instinctively the cat stopped at the door and left us to continue out towards the crocodiles. She obviously knew not to go out there around the crocodiles, we stopped at a very ver old massive cotton tree on the way towards the crocodiles. The young man who cared for the crocodiles were so informative and put us at ease as when we got out towards the crocodiles. On this occasion, there were plenty of them out on the land. We counted at least 12 crocodiles amongst leaves and against the trees. This was a scarily wonderful experience to be this close to the crocodiles, we even saw the albino crocodile which was so big. The young man showed us the crocodile eggs and told us about the crocodiles. We made a small donation towards feeding the crocodiles as they must go through a large amount of fish to keep them going. This was a fantastic experience. Definitely not for the faint hearted.
Written 3 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kate
724 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nice experience
Dec 2022
A local taxi driver drove us to the place - the museum is very small, but the things on display are quite interesting. The pool itself and the opportunity to touch a crocodile - quite unique. The guys at the pool took good care that everyone had a chance to take a picture with an albino crocodile in a safe and organised manner. In general, a place to visit if you want to look the croc in the face :)
Written 19 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tiz2020
Peterborough, UK80 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
We stroked a crocodile
Feb 2022 • Couples
First there is some interesting museum
pieces about the tribes etc. Then you go to the pool. The guy who looks after the crocs really knows them well and you can tell he cares for them. You can stroke the crocodile under the supervision of their keeper.
Plenty of opportunity to donate to the upkeep of the crocs. Don’t buy the exercise books on offer at the price they ask for, so much cheaper in the shops!
Written 14 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Debs M
Bridgwater, UK200 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Beautiful all round
Dec 2022 • Couples
We visited the crocodile park with Black and White tours.
First there’s a history museum which was very interesting on the history of The Gambia, then a walk do to the crocodile pool.
Wow what lovely creatures.
With guidance we were able to have photographs with the crocodiles and learn how they live and eat.
Great trip all round
Written 18 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Travelling Coffee Shop
Otley, UK49 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Crocs, crocs and more crocs
Jan 2024 • Couples
Never seen so many! The more you look, the more you see. Very knowledgeable guides ensure your visit is safe. There are some cross you can actually touch
Also a very interesting museum about Gambias recent history is on the same site.
Written 12 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Compass46706320178
12 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
A very worthwhile trip.
Jan 2023
My wife and I visited the crocodile pool whilst on a recent holiday in Bakau. We hired the services of an excellent local tour guide, Babucarr Fofana. Babu's office is in a street kiosk directly in front of the Ocean Bay Hotel in Bakau. Babu took us on a walk around Bakau to see some sights we were interested in. We went to the National Botanical Gardens, where Babu organised for us to tour the gardens with the Director of the gardens, who explained the plant species we were viewing and the relevance of the plants to the Gambia ecology and economy. Babu then took us to the Bakau Community School and onwards to the Katchikally Crocodile Pool. Babu gave us a guided tour of the museum at the pool and then the pool itself. He is a very knowledgeable guide with excellent English. Babu said we would have the opportunity to stroke the crocodiles, but what he hadn't told us was that they are free to roam the grounds. At first we found this a little alarming, but the pool guide explained that the crocodiles were fed every morning and that they would then not be interested in people unless disturbed. Indeed, all the crocodiles were sunning themselves and quite amenable to being stroked....carefully. The purpose of the pool and the crocodiles was explained to us and its continuing importance in Gambian folklore and society. All in all an excellent and interesting trip.
Written 26 February 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helen F
Cambridge, UK165 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Lots and lots of crocodiles including the elusive albino Charlie
Nov 2021
This was a really bizarre experience. The guide was telling us that it was perfectly safe to stroke the crocodiles and have photos taken with them. The reptiles were practically comatose, now bearing in mind that they are cold blooded creatures, they should have been very lively indeed in a temperature of 34-36 degrees. When questioned about the state of their inertia we were told that they have been trained to only perceive fish as food, which l am sorry to say was a complete and utter load of Croc! They were undoubtedly sedated which was very sad to see and l and 1 other in our group refused to participate in such a farce.
Written 5 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
sellis44
Grimsby, UK294 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Fantastic
Apr 2024 • Family
Visted around 11am and it seems to be a good time to go. Not busy or rushed. Guide was knowledge and good fun. A wonderful opportunity to find out and get up close to these fascinating animals.
They are well cared for and happy to tolerate humans as they are well fed. Do listen to the guide as some pregnant crops will not be so happy to be approached.
Great local information in series of rooms on the way in about tribes, musical instruments, and info about military history.
Entrance fee 100 D and an opportunity to leave a contribution to help towards food for the crops.
Written 4 April 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
David B
Delray Beach, FL1,105 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Don't Shed Tears for These Crocodiles
Dec 2023 • Couples
Over a dozen crocodiles laying al around the pool, mostly sleeping. You get to walk a path with your guide around the place when suddenly you notice there is no fence between you and those crocodiles about 4 feet away. Luckily, only a few are moving and you are really glad they were fed earlier in the day. I would question your fitness as a parent if you brought your kiddos on your visit. Just remember if you want to touch one (and people do) touch the crocodile as far away from its mouth as possible. If you love Komodo Island and its free roaming dragons you will like this place.
Written 10 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Annalisa B
Brussels, Belgium58 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
à voir
Nov 2023 • Friends
very interesting site, apparently in activity since centuries.
There is a little interesting museum, a park and LOTS of crocodiles.
You may even touch some of them.
The explanations given by the guide on how the keep the crocodiles number under control were not convincing at all, so we remain with the question.
Written 30 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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KACHIKALLY CROCODILE POOL (2024) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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