Worodougou Tour

Day 1: Arrival – Bamako

The international flight arrives in Bamako where you will be met, assisted, and transferred to your hotel. Radisson Blu Bamako or similar.

Tour orientation by your tour guide and the rest of the time on your own.

Meals Included: None

Day 2: Bamako

City tour of Bamako: Have an overview of Bamako from the hill Point G called again the hill of Health; visit the National Museum, providing an excellent introduction to the ethnic diversity of the country; visit the recycling market of Bamako where local artisans change old metal to other products; the city’s craft bazaar we shall see sculptors, weavers, leather workers, jewelers and metal workers exhibiting their wares and displaying their 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. Tour the handicraft center to shop for souvenirs. After visits return to your hotel to relax and overnight. Radisson Blu Bamako or similar.

Meals included: Breakfast

Day 3: Bamako – Sikasso (374 km)

This morning we drive to Sikasso, passing through the rich agricultural lands of southern Mali. Sikasso is considered to be Mali's breadbasket.

We shall see the remnants of the Tata, an ancient palisade that encircled the city which, for a time, held off the French colonial army. In the Mamelon, the residence of the kings of Sikasso and the cultural center of Sénoufo tribal homeland we shall learn about this brave tribe and their strong heritage. Overnight in Sikasso. Hotel du Cinquantenaire or similar.

Meals Included Breakfast

Day 4: Sikasso – Ségou (296 km)

For breakfast, we end our visit to Sikasso with a tour of the Missirikoro Grotto where Muslim and occult people worship side by side. Drive to Ségou former colonial administrative center.

Take an afternoon cruise in a traditional pinasse on the River Niger to the Bambara village of Kalabougou. The village is known for its pottery and we may see the women creating and kilning them. Hotel Auberge

Meals(s) Included: Breakfast

Day 5: Ségou – Mopti (405 km)

This morning we complete a tour of Ségou with the Mud clothes fabric center where we learn the process of dying and experience it. We will keep our samples as souvenirs. We will enter the city and see local women preparing local brew (millet beer), visit the tapestry center;

We shall visit the ancient colonial buildings and in Sékoro (old Ségou), the former capital of the Bambara kingdom. There learn the history of Ségou. Visit the family of the village chief where we may interact with him. Visit the Tomb of the first King of Ségou, wander in the streets, and visit the mosque that is older than the village and no one knows who built it.

After visits, we travel to Mopti, the Venice of Mali.

Overnight at Kanaga in Mopti.

Meals included: Breakfast

Day 6: Mopti – Djenné – Mopti (131 x 2)

After breakfast travel to Mali's architectural jewel, Djenné.

Djenné was founded in the fourth century it has scarcely changed since the Middle Ages and, as we stroll through the streets and the bazaar we will be transported back into medieval times.

If today is Monday, on its weekly market day visit Djenné when it is at its colorful best; you will visit the market in front of the magnificent Grand Mosque, the largest mud-brick architecture in the world and one of Unesco's World Heritage sites, visit the museum where a representative of ‘Mission Culturelle’ will take you to the site of Djéno Djenné being the old Djenné.

You will learn about the history of that ancient city of Djenné.

After visits drive overnight in Mopti.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Day 7: Mopti - Dogon Country (~ 120 km one part unpaved)

Today, we drive to Dogon Country. With its fascinating rocky, Sahelian landscape, the Dogon Country is considered to be one of the most extraordinary places on Earth. Experience the unique village life and marvel at ancient Tellem cave dwellings.

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 150km (almost 100 miles).

This tribe's 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. Their culture is surrounded by mysticism and intrigue, from an astonishing knowledge of the solar system to the unique structure of Dogon villages.

We will visit the Dogon village of Songho, renowned for its rock paintings and circumcision grotto, and drive to Sangha comprised of 10 distinct Dogon villages - some of which are traditional animists while others have converted to Islam. We shall visit the women’s house and have a special visit with the Dogon spiritual leader, Le Hogon. Overnight in Sangha at Campement Sangha.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 8: Dogon Country

Following breakfast, we will descend the Bandiagara escarpment and visit the village of Banani where we will see ancient Tellem cave dwellings on the cliff face. Continue to the villages of Ireli and Amani, the site of a sanctuary for crocodiles which are sacred to the Dogon people. You will bear witness to a traditional Dogon Mask Dance. We will drive to Bandiagara overnight at Hotel at Le Falaise

Meals Included: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Day 9: Dogon Country – Ségou (456 km)

You leave Dogon country and drive to Ségou, en route, see in San the local mosque designed as a replica of the Djenné Grand Mosque, visit Terekungo village, the site of a sacred well inhabited by protector spirits of the Bobo people see the local. Continue to overnight in Ségou at Auberge Segou.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Day 10: Ségou - Bamako – Depart (235 km)

Breakfast and drive to Bamako. Go for lunch at a local restaurant. Visit the “Artisanat” handcraft center for visit. At last, we will drive to the hotel and get room to refresh and relax before transfer time to the airport.

You’re transferred approx 3 hours before your international flight time.

Tour Price Includes:

Round trip airport to hotel transfers, Accommodation in the properties listed or similar, Tours in private A/C 4x4 vehicle, Experienced English/French-speaking guides, Admissions to all listed sites and activities, sunset sails, Camel ride, Dogon mask dance, Luggage transfer, Meals indicated.

Tour Price Does Not Include:

International airfare to Africa, travel insurance, meals not listed, personal items such as telephone, laundry, and visa fees, gratuity to drivers and guides.