Taste Of Mali Tour

Day 1: Arrival – Bamako

Arrive today at any time. You will be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure. Overnight in Bamako.

Meals Included: None

Azalai Grand Hotel or similar

Day 2: Bamako

City tour of Bamako: Enjoy an overview of the city from Point G Hill, also known as the Hill of Health. Visit the National Museum, which provides an excellent introduction to the ethnic diversity of the country. Visit Bamako’s recycling market, where local artisans transform old metal into new products. At the city’s craft bazaar, we shall see sculptors, weavers, leather workers, jewelers, and metal workers exhibiting their wares and displaying their skills.

One area of the market is devoted entirely to traditional African medicines. Here, you will find freshly shrunken heads of birds, monkeys, and crocodiles, along with lizard skins and other unusual treatments. Tour the handicraft center to shop for souvenirs.

After the visits, return to your hotel to relax and overnight.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Azalai Grand Hotel or similar

Note: There are currently no regular domestic flights to/from Timbuktu. Before the tour is confirmed, if flights are still not available, we will amend the program to an overland itinerary, which will require two nights in Timbuktu.

Day 3: Bamako – Timbuktu (2-hour flight)

This morning, take an early flight to the legendary city of Timbuktu.

Located near the Niger River and at the terminus of the great trans-Saharan caravan routes, Timbuktu became fabulously wealthy in the 16th century. Loaded with blocks of salt and other trade goods, huge camel convoys spent weeks crossing the unforgiving Sahara to reach the city. Here, salt was traded pound-for-pound with African merchants bringing gold and ivory along the Niger from the heart of Africa.

Wander through the dusty streets of Timbuktu, admiring magnificent mud-brick structures such as the Djinguiraiber Mosque, Sidi Yahia Mosque, and the Sankoré Mosque, which welcomed many Muslim scholars. Visit the houses of various 19th-century European explorers who once used Timbuktu as a base.

Continue the tour with visits to the Ethnological Museum, Al Mansour Korey Museum, Heinrich Barth Museum, and the Maison des Artisans. Overnight in Timbuktu.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Hotel La Colombe or similar

Day 4: Timbuktu – Mopti (45-minute flight)

This morning, depart from a place whose name is synonymous with remoteness—Timbuktu—and fly to Mopti.

Board a traditional motorized boat for an approximately seven-hour cruise on the Niger River to Kona (55 km). En route, visit Kotaca, a riverside village with a beautiful mosque, along with other villages. Observe fishermen at work. Lunch (traditional African cuisine) will be prepared and served on board. Upon arrival in Kona, drive back to Mopti.

Enjoy a city tour of Mopti, showcasing the fascinating mix of Malian cultures, including Bambara, Bobo, Bozo, Dogon, Fulani, Tuareg, Songhaï, and Hausa. Visit the beautiful mosque, the fishing port, and the bustling market, where you can shop for gold or silver jewelry, Tuareg leatherwork, and Fulani cotton or wool blankets.

Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch

Hotel Kanaga or similar

Day 5: Mopti – Djenné – Bandiagara (310 km)

After breakfast, drive to Djenné, Timbuktu’s ancient sister city on the Niger River. Visit Djenné on its weekly market day, when the town is at its most colorful. Djenné, Mali’s architectural jewel, was founded in the fourth century and has scarcely changed since the Middle Ages. The atmosphere in the streets will transport you back to medieval times.

Visit the magnificent Grand Mosque, built in the 12th century, the largest mud-brick structure in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visit the archaeological site where a young virgin was once sacrificed for the prosperity of the city. Continue to the local museum, then visit Djenné Djéno, the ancient city and archaeological site.

Continue toward Dogon Country. En route, visit Songho, known for its rock paintings and the grotto where boys are circumcised in groups every three years. Learn about the initiation ritual marking the transition to manhood. From the top of the cliff, enjoy a stunning view of the Dogon village. After the visits, drive to Bandiagara for an overnight.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Hotel La Falaise or similar

Day 6: Dogon Country – Mopti (~155 km)

This morning, travel to Sangha and begin exploring the fascinating Dogon Country. With its dramatic, rocky Sahelian landscape, Dogon Country is considered one of the most extraordinary places on Earth.

The Dogon people live in the central plateau region of Mali, south of the Niger Bend near the city of Bandiagara in the Mopti region. They are best known for their mythology, mask dances, wooden sculptures, and distinctive architecture.

The principal Dogon area is bisected by the Bandiagara Escarpment, a sandstone cliff rising up to 500 meters (1,640 feet) and stretching for about 150 kilometers (nearly 100 miles). Dogon life centers on sacred rites and rituals conducted in the hollow cliffs where their houses are built. Their culture is surrounded by mysticism and intrigue, from astonishing astronomical knowledge to the unique structure of Dogon villages.

Visit Sangha atop the Bandiagara Escarpment, exploring the villages of Sangha, Ogols, and Bongo. See the traditional women’s house and the sacrificial altar of the Hogon, the Dogon spiritual leader. Enter a compound to enjoy panoramic views of Sangha.

Visit a Dogon seer, then descend (light trekking) the escarpment to visit Banani, noting the ancient Tellem cave dwellings in the cliff face, followed by Ireli and Amani, where you will visit the sacred crocodile sanctuary. Continue to Tireli to witness a Dogon mask dance. Climb back up the cliff and proceed to Mopti for the night.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Hotel Kanaga or similar

Day 7: Mopti – Ségou – Bamako (640 km | approx. 7–8 hours)

After breakfast, depart from Mopti for Ségou. En route, visit San to see the local mosque, designed as a replica of the Djenné Grand Mosque. Upon arrival in Ségou, experience the traditional process of making mud cloth and admire the beautiful Sudanese-style colonial architecture.

Visit Sékoro village, known as “Old Ségou,” the former capital of the Bambara Kingdom. See the tomb of King Biton Coulibaly and several ancient mosques. Continue to Bamako, where you will be transferred to the airport in time for your onward evening flight.

End of your Mali Discovery Tour!

Meals Included: Breakfast

Price Includes:

(Based on a minimum of 2 people, double occupancy)

Meeting and assistance upon arrival and departure

Round-trip airport and hotel transfers

Assistance with airport departure formalities

Flights BKO/TOM/MZI

Accommodation in listed properties or similar

Transportation in a private air-conditioned Toyota Land Cruiser or microbus

Services of a trained English-speaking tour guide

Admission fees to all listed sites

Luggage handling

Meals as indicated (B, L, D)

All museum entrance fees

Dogon mask dance and Niger River cruise to Kona

Price Does Not Include:

International flights to/from Mali

Travel insurance

Visa fees

Gratuities

Tuareg dance in Timbuktu

Personal expenses such as souvenirs and optional purchases