Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrive Bamako Senou Airport – transfer to hotel. Stay the night in Bamako at the Grand Hotel (4*).
Day 2: Depart Bamako at 8:00AM for a 7-hr drive to Djenne (567 km). Djenne is the sister of Timbuktu and one of the oldest towns in West Africa. It is built on an island in the Niger River Delta and we must cros on a ferry to reach it. After we check into our hotel, we will have a walking tour to visit the famous mosque (built in 1280 when the 26th king “Djenne Were” koi Komboro converted to Islam) and walk through the narrow, winding streets to see the beautiful architecture of the clay houses that make Djenne such an original and beautiful “city”. Stay the night at Djenne Campement, Hotel Maafir or Hotel Djenne-Djeno.
Day 3: Monday is market day and the most interesting day to visit Djenne... We will wake up to a quite different Djenne full of people and activity! We will visit Djenne’s mission culturale which houses the plan of Djenne-Djeno, the ancient settlement of Djenne, dating back to 250 B.C. and the artifacts that have been excavated and the colorful marketplace – depart Djenne mid afternoon for a 2-hour drive to Mopti (130 km). Stay the night at Hotel Kanaga, Ambedjele or Maison Rouge.
Day 4: Depart Mopti after breakfast for a 2-hour drive (100 km) to Dourou – Pays Dogon has been declared a World UNESCO heritage site for its natural and cultural significance where vibrant people still live as they have for centuries along 200 km of escarpment and who continue to be studied by anthropologists around the world – we will pass through Bandiagara enroute to Dourou, entrance and capital of Pays Dogon. After lunch in Dourou and a visit of the village, we will begin our trek down the Bandiagara escarpment through a breathtaking gorge to the village of Nombori (1.5 hr trek* – 5 km) where we will spend the night. Stay the night in Nombori on the rooftops of the chief’s compound For those with knee or vertigo problems, it is best to drive down and back up the escarpment.
Day 5: An early wake up at the crack of dawn by roosters and donkeys. It’s part of the Dogon experience! The light of the sunrise on the escarpment is beautiful. After breakfast, we will visit the village of Nombori and trek 2.5 km to Idjeli (it is flat, so trek not difficult, but a donkey or cow cart is available) where we will have lunch. After lunch, we will visit the springs and the Hogon in Indjeli Gotagna - late afternoon, after the heat of the day subsides, we will trek for 1.5 hours to the village of Tireli where we will spend the night. Stay the night in Tireli on the rooftops of the chief’s compound.
Day 6: After breakfast, we will see a spectacular Dogon Masked Dance Ceremony in the morning light and visit the village of Tireli – we will then trek 4 km to Amani (1 hour). We will have lunch in Amani and visit the crocodile pond – late afternoon, we will trek 1 hour (flat) to Ireli. Here we can see the best preserved habitats of the Tellum and Dogon peoples. Stay the night in Ireli on the rooftops of the chief’s compound.
Day 7: After a visit of Ireli, we will trek back up the escarpment through a beautiful valley with many tellum houses to Sangha where we will have lunch at the Campment. After lunch, we will depart for our return drive to Mopti/Severe (115 km), stopping in the village of Songo along the way, famous for its picturesque setting and rock paintings at the site of circumcision. Stay the night at Hotel Kanaga, Ambedjele or Maison Rouge.
Days 8 & 9: Depart Mopti for a 3-day Niger river journey to Timbuktu in a traditional pinasse. We will see many different species of birds, perhaps some hippos, and stop to visit several Fulani and Bozo river villages en route. Camp along the banks of the Niger river under star-filled Sahara skies.
Day 10: Arrive Korioume (12 km from Tombouctou) - transfer to hotel – we recommend dinner at Hotel La Maison as they have excellent cuisine! Stay the night at Hotel La Maison or Hotel Caravansail (or Hotel Colombe, Hotel Bouctou, Hotel Du Desert for larger groups).
Day 11: We will have a tour of Timbuktu visiting the 3 oldest mosques in West Africa, (the university is the Sankore Mosque, Djingareber and Sidi Yehia mosques), the explorers’ homes, Ethnological museum, Al-Mansur Korey House, marketplace where one can still buy salt and the Ahmed Baba Center and Haidara Library to see the ancient manuscripts that have survived since the 13-14th centuries Late afternoon, visit the desert door of Timbuktu and take a sunset camel ride into the desert to visit a Tuareg campement (2-5 km). We will have an opportunity to mingle and drink tea with the nomad Tauregs, (eat a traditional moshe dinner optional) and be entertained by their traditional singing, drumming and dancing with sabers before returning to Timbuktu for the night (option to sleep in the desert). Night: Stay the night at Hotel La Maison (or Hotel Colombe, Hotel Bouctou, Hotel Du Desert for larger groups).
Day 12: Depart early morning for an all day desert drive to Mopti (approx 400 km) arriving mid-late afternoon – after we check into our hotel, we can have drinks at Bar Bozo and watch the sunset over the river Niger – bring your cameras as it makes a particularly beautiful picture. Stay the night at Hotel Kanaga, Ambedjele or Maison Rouge.
Day 13: After breakfast, we will have a morning tour of Mopti visiting its bustling harbor, marketplace, old town and mosque Mopti is often referred to as the “Venice of Mali” known for its port linking all of Mali’s towns and villages along the Niger. Here we will see the big slabs of salt that come from the far north, carried across the Sahara desert by the Tuareg caravans to Timbuktu where they are loaded onto pinasses that sail down the Niger to Mopti to be bought and sold. There are many different faces of Mali selling and buying in the marketplace: Peul, Bozo, Dogon, Moors, Tuareg and Songhai, and a quartier in Mopti where we can see the famous Peulh (Fulani) women who wear the big gold earrings (who are featured on Mali’s national postage stamps and posters all over Mali). Depart after an early lunch for a 5-hour drive to Segou (405 km) – it time permits, we will have a short visit of Segou to see its port and colonial buildings before dinner. Stay the night in Segou at Hotel Djoliba (Hotel L’Esplanade, Hotel L’Aubgere or Independence).
Day 14: After breakfast, we will visit Boubacar Doumbia’s atelier – Boubacar is the leading Bogolon (mud cloth) artist in Mali. He or one of his staff will give a demonstration on how mud cloth is made from start to finish and then you can have your own hands-on experience of making a sample piece which you can keep as a souvenier Depart for our return drive to Bamako (235 km), stopping en route in Segou-Koro, ancient capital of the Bambara Empire, to meet the village chief who is a direct descendent of Biton Coulibaly (the first King of Segou-Koro) and visit Biton Coulibaly’s cemetery and palace from which roof you can view the village and 2 ancient mosques; one mosque is older than the town of Segou-Koro and built by an unknown person and the other mosque was built by the King and given as a gift to his mother when she converted to Islam. After a late lunch, we will visit Bamako’s National Museum, recycling market and Grand Marchee – if it is a clear day, we will drive up to Point G for a panoramic view of Bamako and the Niger river. Early dinner and transfer to Bamako Senou airport for flight departure.
Note: It is no longer possible for tourists to go inside the Djingareber mosque.
Member discount:
10% discount for InfoHub customer. Request a free gift certificate.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Price Includes:
- Bamako airport transfers
- One English/French speaking lead guide the whole trip
- 4x4s with chauffeur and fuel from Timbuktu to Mopti
- 8 nights hotel in rooms with air-con, private douche, petit dejeuner and hotel tax
- Djenne ferry, tourist tax, local guide and entrance fee for mission culturale and rooftop panaromic view of Djenne mosque
- Complete 3-night Dogon trek to include porters, cow carts, village taxes, sleeping fees, food and Masked Dance Ceremony (Dogon guide if lead guide is not Dogon)
- 2-night Niger River journey in a traditional pinasse from Mopti to Timbuktu: includes food, tents and mattresses
* Program prices are per person based on double/twin room hotel occupancy, B&B.
Also see tour packages in:
Africa
Mali
Local Culture
Cultural Journey
Crafts Tours
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