In the northern part of the country, south of the Senegal Basin, lies the arid Fouta Ferlo, a hot dry Sahelian plain with little vegetation. Gained independence from France in 1960. The official language is French. There are many local languages, the principal one being Wolof. Other groups include Senegalo-Guinean, Mand and Peulh.
Some hotels also have fax machines.
There are cybercaf s in Dakar, Saint Louis and other major towns. There are facilities at main post offices and several hotels. Airmail to Europe takes between seven and ten days, and surface mail between two and six weeks. All newspapers are in French and nearly all are controlled directly by political parties. From time to time these change.