Day 1, Wednesday December 23rd 2009: Europe – Accra
Arrival at the airport in Accra. The guide welcomes you and brings you to your hotel for the night. According to the schedules, visit of Accra. At first capital of the British colony of Gold Coast, the city became the capital of an independent Ghana in 1957. Ghana was that year the first European colony in Africa to gain its independence. The site was developed from the fortified castles that have been built by the Europeans for the slave trade. Accra is now the administrative and economic centre of the country. Accommodation: Labadi Beach Hotel.
Day 2, Thursday December 24th 2009: Accra – El Mina – Cape Coast. From Accra, you take the road along the Golden Coast toward Cape Coast and then Elmina, where you visit the Saint-George castle, the most ancient European construction still alive from the whole West Africa. You then go back Cape Coast for the evening and night. Accommodation: Sanaa Lodge.
Day 3, Friday December 25th 2009: Cape Coast - Lomé
From Cape Coast, you take the road to Togo and cross your first frontier just before arriving in Lomé. The Togolese capital still keeps in its downtown traces of colonization German: wards properly aligned and separated from each other, so that commercial life is not to be confused with the more administrative activities. The central market is traditionally the realm of the “Mama Benz”, these women who are enriched by selling fabrics imported from Europe. The heart of the city is dominated by the activities of the central market. The calm administrative district stands besides the noisy market. Here you can find green fairways and colonial style buildings. In a suburban area locates the market for fetishes. People come here to solve the problems of everyday life. Here you can find chameleon’s skins, shark teeth or thunder stones. Accommodation: Hotel Mercure Sarakawa
Day 4, Saturday December 26th 2009: Lomé – Ouidah - Cotonou
We continue our way to Benin. Our first stop is in Ouidah, the true cradle of voodoo, famous for its numerous temples and monasteries. We visit the pythons’ temple where people worship the snake Dangbé. Ouidah is also one of the most historic places in the country. Former Portuguese trading post, it became the main port on the coast of Benin and one of the great centres of the slave trade in the 17th and 18th centuries. We see the old Portuguese fort converted into a museum, go visit the family De Souza, whose ancestor Felix, slave trafficker, was also appointed viceroy by Guézo. We also have a walk in the late afternoon by the moving slaves’ route leading to the ocean, a road that many men, women and children took for a voyage without return. After the visit of Ouidah, you drive to Cotonou, Benin's economic capital and largest city, where you spend evening and night. Accommodation: Hotel Novotel Orisha.
Day 5, Sunday December 27th 2009: Cotonou – Ganvié - Abomey
We leave Cotonou and take the short route to Ganvié. Located on the Lake Nokoué, Ganvié is the most famous lakeside villages of Africa. It was founded in the 18th century by Aïzo people to protect themselves from monarchs Allada of Abomey who were seeking for slaves. The huts on stilts made of bamboo, the floating market and fishermen compose a very picturesque show. Leaving Ganvié, you continue till Abomey, the capital of the prestigious Kingdom of Dahomey. We visit the museum. Housed in the former palace of kings Ghézo and Glèlè who reigned in the 19th century, it has some priceless treasures: royal thrones, récades or wooden statues often plated with a sheet of bronze that symbolize the various kingdoms. The palace is also known for its famous bas-reliefs of bright colours, illustrating proverbs. Accommodation: Motel d’Abomey.
Day 6, Monday December 28th 2009: Abomey - Natitingou. After a stage of a long asphalt road and track, we leave the forest to reach the northern savannah and the city of Natitingou, in the Atakora massif. Accommodation: Hôtel Tata Somba.
Day 7, Tuesday December 29th 2009: Natitingou - Ouagadougou. Throughout the Pendjari National Park, where you discover African fauna, you continue up north and enter a new country, Burkina Faso. After Fada n’Gourma, the road leads you to the capital city, Ouagadougou. Accommodation: Hôtel Azalaï Indépendance.
Day 8, Wednesday December 30th 2009: Ouagadougou – Gorom Gorom. From Ouagadougou, you join the far north-east of the country, and enter the desert and the tuaregs area. The aim is to be in Gorom Gorom for Thursday, market day. Gorom Gorom is one of the most typical and colourful market in the whole West-Africa. You’ll have the chance to attend and enjoy it! Accommodation: Tuareg Campement.
Day 9, Thursday, December 31st 2009: Gorom Gorom - Douentza. Early in the morning, you go up North and you are slowly progressing through the tracks to enter the last country of your trip: Mali! After a day drive, you arrive in Douentza, heart of the country, from where you’ll enter the Dogon Country on next day. Accommodation: Bivouac.
Day 10, Friday, January 1st 2010: Douentza – Dogon Country
You leave Douentza and go straight to the Dogon Land, entering the cliff of Bandiagara.Through some of the most beautiful villages of the Dogon Country, you’ll discover by walk and 4x4 the fascinating universe of the Dogon people. Dogons originally came from the Manden, south-west of Mali, in the 14th century and have established themselves in the heart of the cliff, on the plateau and in the plains, building villages with a very particular architecture. Dogons are also very well-know for their particular cosmogony, studied by the French ethnologist Marcel Griaule. 3 Youga, Koundou, Banani, and then Iréli, Amani, Tiréli… so many villages where you will have the opportunity to discover the Dogon people. Accommodation: Bivouac.
Day 11, Saturday, January 2nd 2010: Dogon Country – Bandiagara. After 3 days of intense discoveries, you leave the Cliff behind you and spend a last night in Bandiagara, capital city of the Dogon Country, home city of the famous Malian writer, Amdou Hampâté Bâ. Accommodation: Hôtel Kambary Cheval Blanc.
Day 12, Sunday, January 3rd 2010: Bandiagara - Djenné. From Bandiagara, you drive to Djenne, millennium city and probably the most beautiful city in Mali. Built on an island between two branches of Bani, a tributary of Niger, Djenne is commonly called “twin sister" of Timbuktu. The city namely shelters the big Mosque, of Sudanese architecture in banco, which is the vastest mud building in the world. Djenne is in fact the first of three UNESCO World Heritage sites you will visit during the trip. Accommodation: Hôtel Djenne Djenno or equivalent.
Day 13, Monday, January 4th 2010: Djenné – Mopti. As you are lucky, you will be in Djenne on a Monday, market day! Located on the main square of the city, at the foot of the mosque, the big market is undoubtedly the liveliest and the most colourful in the whole country. After lunch, we take the short road to Mopti, “Malian Venice”, commercial metropolis of first importance and a real crossroads of people in the heart of Mali. First fishing port in the country, Mopti is well-know for its pirogue manufacture that you will have the opportunity to visit. Accommodation: Hôtel Kanaga or equivalent.
Days 14 & 15, January 5th & January 6th 2010: Mopti – Niger River
You leave Mopti and you discover a new landscape and a different world: the Niger River! You embark on a pinasse for a long descent of the river Niger that will lead you in 3 days to Timbuktu. All along the cruise, you will discover the nature and the life at the edge of the river Niger. It is especially by meeting people, through stopping places in the camps of Fulani breeders and Bozo fishermen that you will appreciate the immense source of life which constitutes the river in these regions. During the cruise, you will also have the opportunity to see some magnificent mud built mosques. You will also make a stop in the famous Malian musician Ali Farka Touré’s village. He was the mayor of the village few years before his death in 2006. Accommodation: Bivouacs.
Day 16, Thursday January 7th 2010: Niger River - Timbuktu
The river finally brings you to the mysterious Timbuktu, gateway to the Sahara Desert. You take time to visit the mythical town, “city of the 333 saints”: its two magnificent mosques built in banco: Djingareiber and Sankoré which dominate the city, the Ahmed Baba centre, where thousands of ancient Arabic manuscripts are kept, and the houses of the famous explorers who made the history of Timbuktu, René Caillé and Heinrich Barth, whom Timbuktu people will speak about with pleasure. Accommodation: Auberge Caravansérail or equivalent.
Days 17 & 18, January 8th & January 9th 2010: Essakane (Desert Festival). Then comes the time of the Festival! With an artistic programming dedicated to the cultures of the desert, it is inspired by local traditional festivities such as Takubelt in the region of Kidal or Temakannit in the region of Timbuktu, which regularly gather nomads.In 2009, Salif Keïta, Bassékou Kouyaté, Habib Koïté, Tartit or Afel Bocoum set fire to the white sand dunes of Essakane.
Accommodation: Bivouacs
Day 19, Sunday January 10th 2010: Essakane – Timbuktu – Bamako - Europe. From Timbuktu, you finally fly to the last stage of our journey: Bamako, the lively Malian capital city, probably the most typical of all the West of the continent. Before leaving Mali to Europe, you’ll have few hours to experience and appreciate the capital city, its national museum and its different markets. Accommodation: Hôtel Mandé (Day-Use) Flight to Europe at night
Member discount:
10% discount for InfoHub customer. Request a free gift certificate.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Price Includes:
- Transfers are made in personal air-con 4WD all along the trip
- The excursion on the Niger River between Mopti and Timbuktu will be performed aboard our own well equipped pinasse. We’ll take care of you from your arrival at the airport in Accra until your
departure from Bamako.
Also see tour packages in:
Africa
Ghana
Burkina Faso
Mali
Local Culture
Cultural Journey
Festival Tours
Email it to a friend:
Click here to email this vacation to a friend
|
, ext: 19125
