| Duration: | 6 Day(s) - 5 Night(s) |
| Tour Category: | Classic Tours |
Day 1: Arrive Bamako
Arrive in Bamako at any time.
You are met at the airport and transferred to your hotel. Time permitting tour of Bamako: an overview of Bamako city, the National Museum of Bamako, the recycling market, and the handcraft center.
Overnight Hotel Mirabeau or similar.
Meals included: None
Day 2: Bamako – Mopti
Start your tour with a journey to the Venice of Mali. A short stop on the way to admire Ségou city with its Sudanese architectural style, here, learn and experience how to make a Bogolan (traditional clothes) and keep your sample for souvenir, see Ségou on its market day; continue to Mopti having impression of village life. Arrive late afternoon Mopti. Time permitting, a sunset sail on the Niger River in a motorized boat to take pictures.
Check-in at Kanaga Hotel or similar and relax for the next day's tour.
Meals included: Breakfast and Dinner
Day 3: Mopti – Dogon Country
This morning, travel to Sangha and start the visit to the fascinating Dogon Country. With its fascinating rocky, Sahelian landscape, the Dogon Country is considered to be one of the most extraordinary places on earth.
The Dogon are a group of people living in the central plateau region of the country, south of the Niger bend near the city of Bandiagara in the Mopti region. The Dogon are best known for their mythology, their mask dances, wooden sculpture, and their architecture. The principal Dogon area is bisected by the Bandiagara Escarpment, a sandstone cliff of up to 500m (1,640 ft) high, stretching for about 150 km (almost 100 miles). Dogon life is centered on sacred rights and rituals that take place in the hollow cliffs of the escarpment on which the Dogon houses are built.
Dogon culture is surrounded by mysticism and intrigue, from an astonishing knowledge of the solar system to the unique structure of Dogon villages. On your way visit Songho known for its Rock paintings and grotto where kids are circumcised in groups every 3 years. Learn the ritual of that initiation that opens the door to manhood. From the top of the cliff enjoy a wonderful view of that Dogon village. Visit Niogonon, supposed to be the most beautiful Dogon village.
Arrive, check in Hotel, time permitting visit Sangha, on the top of the Bandiagara escarpment. Visit the villages of Sangha, Ogols, and Bongo; see the traditional women's house and the sacrificial altar of the Hogon (the Dogon people's traditional and spiritual leader). Enter a compound and have a view over Sangha. Visit a Dogon seer. Overnight in Sangha, we shall stay in the relatively basic Campement Sangha (A/C Room) / the best of Sangha.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4: Dogon – Mopti
Following breakfast, we will descend the Bandiagara escarpment and visit the village of Banani where we will see ancient Tellem cave dwellings in the cliff face and mask carvings. Continue to the villages of Ireli and Amani, the site of a sanctuary for crocodiles which are sacred to the Dogon people. Climb up and visit the village on the edge of the Bandiagara Cliff. Drive to Mopti after the visit. Overnight at Kanaga Hotel
Meals included: Breakfast and Dinner.
Day 5: Mopti – Djenné – Ségou
This morning you travel from Mopti to Mali’s architectural jewel, Djenné. Founded in the fourth century, Djenné has scarcely changed since the Middle Ages. The atmosphere in the streets transports you back to Medieval times. Visit Djenné city; visit the mosque, the world's greatest mud brick built in 1906-07.
After the visit, drive to Ségou where you overnight at the Independence Hotel or similar.
Meals included: Breakfast and Dinner
Day 6: Ségou – Bamako
This morning after breakfast, on your way to Bamako stop in Sékoro (the old Ségou) capital of the Bambara Kingdom where the founder and first king Biton Coulibaly is buried. Visit the village and its mosque that is older than the village and one knows who built it. Continue to Bamako where you will see highlights of Bamako if not visited the first day.
Meals included: Breakfast
Tour Price Includes: price is based on 02 travelers, double occupancy
Meeting and assistance upon arrival and departure, Round trip airport to hotel transfer, Assistance with airport departure formalities, accommodations in the properties listed or similar, Transportation in private 4x4 vehicle, Trained English-speaking tour guide, Admissions to all listed sites, Luggage transfer, Meals indicated by B, L, D, sunset sail on the Niger River.
Tour Price Doesn't Include:
International flight to Mali, travel insurance, visa fees, gratuities, etc.
