Camping Tour Of Mali

Day 1: Arrival

You are met at the airport, assisted, and transferred to your hotel, where you will prepare before experiencing Bamako by night with your tour guide. Overnight at Azalaï Grand Hotel.

Day 2: Bamako

Wake up at any time in the morning and begin your tour of Bamako. Today, you will explore the capital city of Bamako, situated on the Niger River, one of Africa’s greatest rivers. Start at Point G for a panoramic view of the city, then visit the National Museum, the city market, and the recycling market.

Mali is a country of many tribal peoples, each with its own exuberant styles of clothing and jewelry. There is nowhere better to see this colorful diversity than in the streets and markets of Bamako.

Bamako has a large arts and crafts center where sculptors, weavers, leatherworkers, jewelers, and metalworkers exhibit their wares and 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 traditional treatments. Overnight in Bamako.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Day 3: Bamako – Sikasso

This morning, we drove to Sikasso, passing through the rich agricultural lands of southern Mali. Sikasso is considered Mali’s breadbasket. We will see the remnants of the Tata, an ancient palisade that once encircled the city and, for a time, held off the French colonial army.

At the Mamelon, the former residence of the kings of Sikasso, and in the Sénoufo tribal homeland cultural center, we will learn about this brave tribe and its strong heritage. We end our visit to Sikasso with a stop at the Missirikoro Grotto, where Muslim and occult worshippers pray side by side. Overnight in Sikasso.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Day 4: Sikasso – Ségou

After breakfast, drive to Ségou, a former colonial administrative center. Admire the beautiful Sudanese-style colonial architecture, and visit the pottery market, traditional weavers, and other artisans. Experience how traditional mud cloth is made.

Visit Sékoro Village, the former capital of the Bambara Kingdom, where you will see the tomb of King Biton Coulibaly, the founder of the Bambara Kingdom, and a mosque older than the village itself.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Day 5: Ségou – Djenné

This morning, we completed our visit to Ségou and traveled to Mali’s architectural jewel, Djenné. Founded in the fourth century, the city has scarcely changed since the Middle Ages. As we stroll through the streets and bazaar, we will be transported back to medieval times. Tomorrow is the weekly market day, when Djenné is at its most colorful.

A definite highlight is the magnificent Grand Mosque, the largest mud-brick structure in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We will also visit the local museum and the site where a young girl was sacrificed for the prosperity of the city. There will be time to wander through the narrow streets of Djenné to admire this architectural gem.

Drive to Senossa to visit a Fulani village and learn about education in the community. Visit the boys’ quarters and walk through the village. You may encounter young Fulani women wearing traditional attire. Photograph a Fulani woman with her earrings and head tie. Overnight in Djenné.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Day 6: Djenné – Dogon Country

Today, we drive to Dogon Country. With its fascinating rocky Sahelian landscape, Dogon Country is considered one of the most extraordinary places on earth. Experience unique village life and marvel at ancient Tellem cave dwellings.

The Dogon people live in the central plateau region 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 architecture.

The principal Dogon area is bisected by the Bandiagara Escarpment, a sandstone cliff up to 500 meters (1,640 feet) high, stretching approximately 150 kilometers (almost 100 miles).

Life here is centered on sacred rites and rituals that take place in the hollow cliffs where Dogon houses are built. Their culture is filled with mysticism and intrigue, from astonishing astronomical knowledge to the unique layout of Dogon villages.

Visit the Dogon village of Songho, renowned for its rock paintings and circumcision grotto, then continue to Sangha for overnight.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 7: Dogon Country

After breakfast, descend the cliff to visit Banani, Ireli, Amani, and Tireli. You will see, among other sites, a traditional women’s house, a sacrificial altar of a Hogon (the Dogon religious leader), a Dogon seer, ancient Tellem cave dwellings in the cliff face, and possibly a traditional Dogon mask dance. Camping overnight.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 8: Dogon Country

Today, we continue trekking through Dogon Country via Idjeli and Combokani, reaching Nombori, where we will visit the museum before continuing to Dourou for overnight camping.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 9: Dogon – Mopti

After days of trekking, drive to Mopti, the “Venice of Mali,” nestled between the Niger and Bani Rivers. Highlights include the fishing port, the beautiful mosque, and the bustling, colorful market, where many of Mali’s cultural groups can be seen: Bambara, Bobo, Bozo, Dogon, Fulani, Tuareg, and Songhay. Return to your hotel after the visit and relax.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Day 10 & 11: Pinasse Cruise

This morning, begin cruising toward Timbuktu in a motorized pirogue. Spend two nights and three days on the Niger River, admiring beautiful sunsets and sunrises. Visit fishermen’s camps and riverside villages. Observe the Bozo people fishing and various river birds. You may even see a hippopotamus.

Nights will be spent in tents along the riverside, with meals prepared on board by your local chef.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 12: Arrival in Timbuktu

Arrive on the third day in Timbuktu. You will be met in Korioumé and transferred to your hotel, where you can bathe and relax before the following day’s city tour.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 13: Timbuktu

Located at the terminus of the great trans-Saharan caravan route, Timbuktu became fabulously wealthy in the 16th century. Huge camel convoys loaded with salt and other trade goods 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 River from the heart of Africa. Wander the dusty streets of Timbuktu, admiring magnificent mud-brick structures such as the Djingareyber Mosque, the Sankoré Mosque, the Sidi Yahia Mosque, and the Palace of Bouctou.

Visit the ethnological museum and the Maison des Artisans. See the houses of various 19th-century European explorers who used Timbuktu as a base. In the afternoon, enjoy a camel excursion into the Sahara Desert to visit a Tuareg camp and share tea on the dunes with your Tuareg hosts, the Princes of the Desert.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Day 14: Timbuktu – Mopti

Today, we complete our tour of Timbuktu and drive back to Mopti, stopping at interesting locations along the way to admire the landscape. Upon arrival, decide with your guide on late-afternoon or evening activities.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Day 15: Mopti – Teriya Bugu

Visit Teriya Bugu, “the Hut of Friendship,” headquarters of the Association for Rural Development. The center is surrounded by eucalyptus groves, orchards, fisheries, and a farm supplying fresh food to its restaurant. Two beekeepers manage 140 hives to produce honey.

Enjoy a relaxing walk through mango trees and banana plants, observe birds, and see monkeys, camels, horses, crocodiles, peacocks, and other wildlife in the on-site mini-zoo. Visit the Museum of Father Verspieren and enjoy the fresh air along the Bani River. Overnight in Teriya Bugu.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Day 16: Drive to Bamako and Departure

After breakfast, drive to Bamako. Arrive on time, check in at the hotel, refresh, and relax before your onward departure.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Tour Price Includes

(Price per person based on two people, double occupancy)

Round-trip airport-to-hotel transfers

Accommodation in the listed properties or similar

Tours in a private vehicle

Experienced English- and French-speaking guides

Admission to all listed sites and activities

Mopti–Timbuktu cruise

Luggage transfer

Meals as indicated

Tour Price Does Not Include

International airfare to Africa

Domestic airfare

Travel insurance

Meals not listed

Personal expenses (telephone, laundry, etc.)

Visa fees

Gratuities for drivers and guides