| Duration: | 2 Day(s) - 1 Night(s) |
| Tour Category: | Full Day Tours |
DOGON COUNTRY
This morning, travel to Sangha and start the visit to the fascinating Dogon Country. With its fascinating rocky, Sahelian landscape, the Dogon Country is considered to be one of the most extraordinary places on earth.
The Dogon are a group of people living in the central plateau region of the country, south of the Niger bend near the city of Bandiagara in the Mopti region. The Dogon are best known for their mythology, their mask dances, wooden sculpture, and their architecture. The principal Dogon area is bisected by the Bandiagara Escarpment, a sandstone cliff of up to 500m (1,640 ft) high, stretching for about 150 km (almost 100 miles). Dogon life is centered on sacred rights and rituals that take place in the hollow cliffs of the escarpment on which the Dogon houses are built.
Dogon culture is surrounded by mysticism and intrigue, from an astonishing knowledge of the solar system to the unique structure of Dogon villages. On your way visit Songho known for its Rock paintings and grotto where kids are circumcised in groups every 3 years. Learn the ritual of that initiation that opens the door to manhood. From the top of the cliff enjoy a wonderful view of that Dogon village. Visit Niogonon, supposed to be the most beautiful Dogon village.
Arrive, check in Hotel, time permitting visit Sangha, on the top of the Bandiagara escarpment. Visit the villages of Sangha, Ogols, and Bongo; see the traditional women's house and the sacrificial altar of the Hogon (the Dogon people's traditional and spiritual leader). Enter a compound and have a view over Sangha. Visit a Dogon seer. Overnight in Sangha, we shall stay in the relatively basic Campement Sangha (A/C Room) /the best of Sangha.
Following breakfast, we will descend the Bandiagara escarpment and visit the village of Banani where we will see ancient Tellem cave dwellings in the cliff face and mask carvings. Continue to the villages of Ireli and Amani, the site of a sanctuary for crocodiles which are sacred to the Dogon people. Climb up and visit the village on the edge of the Bandiagara Cliff.
Return to Bandiagara or Mopti after the visit.
