| Duration: | 12 Day(s) - 11 Night(s) |
| Tour Category: | Festival Tours |
Day 1: ARRIVE BAMAKO
The international flight arrives in Bamako. You will be met, assisted and transferred to your hotel.
Meals: none
Overnight: (3-star Hotel)
Day 2: BAMAKO to SEGOU
After breakfast drive to Segou, Mali’s second-largest city and former colonial administrative center. Admire the beautiful Sudanese-style colonial architecture. Visit the pottery market, traditional weavers, and other artisans, visit the Bogolan workshop where you may practice the technique of dying mud cloth. This evening cruise to Kalabougou the pottery village and learn the art of pottery making.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: (3-star Hotel)
Day 3: SEGOU to MOPTI
Drive to Mopti. Tour Mopti and see the fascinating mix of Malian cultures: Bambara, Bobo, Bozo, Dogon, Fulani, Tuareg, Songhaï, and Hausa. Visit the main mosque and the fishing port. Shop for gold or silver jewelry, Tuareg leatherwork, and Fulani cotton or wool blankets at the bustling market. This evening enjoys a sunset sail on the Niger River in a motorized pinasse.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: (Hotel)
Day 4: MOPTI to TIMBUKTU
After breakfast, drive to the legendary city of Timbuktu. This ancient city was the ending point of the great trans-Saharan caravan route. Timbuktu was extremely wealthy in the 16th century as convoys of camels carrying goods for trade spent weeks crossing the unforgiving Sahara to arrive in this famous metropolis. Picnic along the way, arriving in time to witness the magnificent sunset over the dunes.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: (Hotel)
Day 5: TIMBUKTU - FESTIVAL SITE
Today visit the city of Timbuktu, admiring such magnificent mud-brick structures as the Djingarey Berre Mosque, the Mosque of Sankore, and the Palace of Bouctou. Observe the houses of the various 19th-century European explorers who used Timbuktu as a base.
Visit the ethnological museum and Maison des Artisans. In the afternoon, travel to the site of the Festival in the Desert. Relax before dinner then enjoys the festivities which last until the early hours of Saturday morning.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight at Hotel
Day 6: FESTIVAL SITE
Activities at the festival site continue. Enjoy the music festival finale, which lasts all night long.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: (Private Tent)
Day 7: FESTIVAL SITE – TIMBUKTU – MOPTI
In the morning, return to Timbuktu then continue to Mopti, where the Niger and Bani rivers meet. Mopti is Mali’s most important port city.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: (Private Tent)
Day 8: MOPTI to DJENNE to MOPTI
Drive to Djenne, Timbuktu’s ancient sister city on the Niger. Visit Djenne on its weekly Monday market day. Wander through the market and the streets of Djenne where you will be transported back to medieval times. Observe the Grand Mosque, the largest mud brick architecture in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site. This evening return to Mopti for overnight.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight at Hotel
Day 9: MOPTI to DOGON
After breakfast, travel from Mopti to Dogon. Tour the Dogon villages, and experience one of the most extraordinary places on earth. In the 11th century, the advancing Arab combatants forced the Dogons to flee their homes in the north. They found shelter and adapted to one of West Africa’s most unforgiving regions. The Dogon people built their villages high up on the narrow ledges of cliffs so that they could easily see any advancing enemy from afar. This unique area is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Visit the village of Songo, renowned for its rock paintings and circumcision grotto.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight at 3-star Hotel
Day 10: DOGON
After breakfast, descend the Bandiagara escarpment. Walk through the rocky terrain to visit the villages of Banani, Ireli, Arou, and Tireli. The Dogons are known for their mythology and rituals including the worship of the spirits of nature and of the ancestors. Traditions have been preserved through the centuries, making Dogon one of the most original civilizations of West Africa. Witness a traditional Dogon Mask Dance (providing there are at least 8 travelers).
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight at 3-star Hotel
Day 11: DOGON to SEGOU
after breakfast, drive to Segou. The drive takes you through varying rural villages where you will observe the traditional ways of life. On the way to Segou, you will have the opportunity to stop and visit markets and other photo opportunities.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight at 3-star Hotel
Day 12: SEGOU/BAMAKO/DEPART
After breakfast, drive to Bamako. You will explore this capital city situated on the Niger, one of Africa’s great rivers.
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 art and craft center where sculptors, weavers, leather workers, jewelers, and metal workers exhibit their wares and skills. One area of the market is devoted entirely to traditional African medicines. Here you’ll find the freshly shrunken heads of birds, monkeys, and crocodiles, along with lizard skins and other gruesome treatments. Visit the recycling market where old steel and other metals are transformed into useful materials and tools.
This evening you will be transferred to the airport for your onward flight.
Meal(s) Included: Breakfast
Tour Price Includes:
Hotel accommodation as indicated in the itinerary
2 nights camping in private tents with mats
All ground transportation by 4×4 vehicle
Hot meals prepared at the Festival site
Bottled water
Tours as outlined in the program
All other meals indicated
One tour guide per vehicle
Roundtrip airport to hotel transfers
All taxes and admission fees to included sites
Tour Price Does Not Include:
Travel Insurance
International airfare to Mali
Meals not listed
Visa fees
Gratuity to driver and guide
Festival entry pass
Sleeping bags (recommended)
Gratuity to driver and guide
Prices are determined by the number of guests per vehicle, not including driver and guide
