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Malian Majestic

Bamako-Timbuktu

14 days

Day 01: Bamako

Upon arrival at Bamako-Sénou International Airport, your tour guide and your driver assist with airport formalities and transfer to the hotel.

Day 02: Bamako

Take a city tour of Mali’s vibrant capital city of Bamako. Visit the national museum, women’s museum and Médine recycling market. After lunch visit the handicraft centre and enjoy a panoramic view from “the hill of knowledge.” A visit to Bamako is hardly complete without a trip to its world-renowned “Great Market” in the heart of the city.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 3: Bamako- Ségou

After breakfast, drive to Ségou, the region of the largest ethnic group in Mali, the Bambara people. Stop in Sékoro the former capital city of the 18th century Bambara Kingdom. Enjoy new sights, sounds and smells at the vegetable market, the harbour and pottery market where a beautiful sunset on the Niger River awaits. Ségou displays the beautiful Sudanese-style architecture at its best. Visit traditional weavers and mud cloth artisans to witness the making of one of Mali’s most exciting products the “Bogolan” Cloth.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 4: Ségou - Djénné

From Ségou travel to Djénné through cotton and calabash fields. Stop in Terekoungo to visit the animist sanctuary and the Bobo sacred well.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 5: Djénné-Sangha Dogon Country

Take a walking tour of Djenné, the twin city of Timbuktu and see its hundred-year-old adobe mosque, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Great Mosque of Djénné is the biggest mud building in the world. Visit some of the 44 Koranic schools as well as the old Moroccan district. The colourful Monday market will be an unforgettable experience. After lunch, depart for Dogon country.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 6 and 7: Hike up the Dogon cliffs

The exploration and trekking of the fascinating Dogon universe starts early in morning. The cliffs, also known as Mali’s “Grand Canyon” were settled by a mystic people of Africa whose age-old traditions and customs are still very much alive. The Dogon fled from their homes in the Mandingo counties around the 13°C, to escape the Islamic invasion and built houses clinging about 200 m to the cliffs for their protection. Stop by different villages where time has stood still to experience the daily lives of the Dogon people. Meals provided include picnic lunches and dinners and nights are spent in tents under the vast and starry Malian sky.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 8: Dogon country-Mopti

On the way back to Mopti, visit the sacred rock paintings in Songho, the circumcision grotto, and eat lunch at the lovely Bozo restaurant in Mopti. A tour of Mopti, which means, “meeting place” in the Fulani language shows the rich ethnic diversity of Mali. Mopti, a melting pot of various ethnic groups is home to the Bozo, Fulani, Songhai, Bobo, Bambara, Mossi, Bella, and Tuareg peoples who all live in harmony. Witness the importance of the Niger River and visit Bozo fishermen's villages, nomadic Fulani camps, the old district, and the souvenir market.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Days 9-10 and 11: Boat cruise to Timbuktu

While cruising on the Niger River, witness its importance in the daily lives of the people of the delta. Shepherds herding hundreds of cattle, fishing and trading boats and fishermen casting or hauling in their nets are some unique features of this tour. Interact with Bozo fishermen and Fulani shepherds while you visit their villages. The lively scenes of people going about their business as well as the extensive bird and animal species on the river are a photographer’s or wildlife enthusiast’s dreams come true. Spend the nights camping out on the bank of the river. Arrive and transfer from the port to hotel in Timbuktu on day 11.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner (O/N)

Day 12: Timbuktu, the mysterious city of the 333 saints

Timbuktu is the ultimate destination for most visitors to Mali because of its importance in medieval times. Be immersed in Tuareg culture in the heart of the Sahara Desert on this visit to legendary Timbuktu. Explore ancient mosques and universities where centuries ago scholars came from around the world to study the Koran, math and medicine. Visit the museum and Ahmed Baba Institute where Islamic manuscripts are archived and preserved. Walk in the footsteps of the explorers Réné Caillé, Gordon Laing, and Mungo Park and Djingareïber, the mosque built by Emperor Mansa Moussa in the 14th century after his famous pilgrimage to Mecca. Visit the markets where blocks of salt from the camel caravans are displayed just like they were centuries ago. Take a camel back ride with a camel caravan into the deep desert to visit a Tuareg camp.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 13: Timbuktu-Bamako

Fly from the Timbuktu airport to Bamako for mid-morning arrival. Transfer to hotel for lunch. Spend the afternoon relaxing or exploring the city.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner (O/N)

Day 14: Bamako- Departure

Excursion to the Mandingo mounts. Explore the prehistoric cave of Kourukorokalé, Faraba a typical Mandingo village and the sacred hut of Kangaba, which houses sacred stones and other items. Learn about the history of the Manding Empire from the traditional wordsmiths, the griots. Have lunch in Kangaba then return to Bamako to spend the rest of the day relaxing and transfer to airport for your international flight back.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner (O/N)