Saga Tours of Mali — West Africa Adventure Travel
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Danfina Tour – 12 days
Mali · Burkina Faso · Ghana

Journey through the heart of West Africa, from the Sahara Desert to the old Slave Coast

11 nights hotel; no camping


Every tour is private, scheduled on dates of your choice, beginning on a Saturday in Bamako, MALI and ending on a Wednesday in Accra, GHANA; there are no fixed-date group departures.

Contact us for prices. Groups of any size are welcome. Be sure to specify the month/year of travel, and how many persons are in your party—prices are digressive, so a better value per person for a party of four than a party of two, etc.


Day 1 Saturday: Arrival in Bamako, MALI
International flight arrives in Bamako in the evening; our staff will meet you in the Arrivals hall of Bamako airport, and provide your hotel transfer; overnight in Bamako (Grand Hotel, or similar)


Day 2 Sunday: Bamako - Segou (235 km; ~3hrs)
Begin your West African journey with visit to Mali's National Museum (see www.mnm-mali.org) with its impressive collections of textiles from the 11th to the 20th century; ancient Bamanan, Dogon and Senoufo sculptures; terracota objects from archeological sites; and contemporary African paintings and sculptures. We will also visit the city market and the artisans' village, then drive to Segou, Mali's former colonial capital.
After lunch, we will visit Segou, with its interesting mix of traditional and colonial architecture; we will stop by the Kasobane boutique with its high-end traditional and contemporary textile art; we will visit the Nieleni cooperative, which makes hand-woven high-quality wool rugs; and we will end the day with stroll through the traditional pottery market on the waterfront; overnight in Segou (Hotel Independance, or similar)
with Breakfast

Day 3 Monday: Segou - Djenne (335 km; ~4½hrs) - Mopti (130 km; ~1½hrs)
8h00 AM departure (or earlier) for our onward drive to Djenne, ancient sister-city of Timbuktu, arriving in time to see the large and colorful weekly market. Djenne was one of the first commercial centers of the Sahel region: it was the meeting place of the nomads from the Sahara, the local farmers and cattleherders, and the fishermen from the inland delta of the Niger.
After exploring the market, we will stroll the ancient alleys and narrow streets, and see the oldest house in Djenne, dating from the XIIth century; also see the magnificent Great Mosque, the world's largest mud brick architecture, originally constructed in the XIIIth century, this is one of Unesco's World Heritage sites; we will visit the Djenne museum as we depart, and onward to Mopti for overnight (Hotel Kanaga, or similar)
with Breakfast

Day 4 Tuesday: Mopti - Timbuktu (380 km; ~5½hrs)
Enjoy an early morning walk along Mopti's riverfront: note the cargoes of salt slabs just arrived from the northern salt mines, or smoked fish to ship south; see young boys bathing sheep in the river before taking them to market. Around 9h00 AM, we will depart Mopti for an interesting drive across the Sahel ecosystem, to the legendary city of Timbuktu, gateway to the Sahara Desert; along the way, we may see desert nomad families travelling with their camels and goat herds; ferry-crossing and onward to our hotel, for overnight in Timbuktu (Hotel Hendrina Khan, or similar)
with Breakfast

Day 5 Wednesday: Timbuktu / Sahara Desert
Today we visit the legendary and historical city of Timbuktu. In its glory-days, Timbuktu attracted Muslim scholars from the entire Arab world; see the ancient mosques and former universities, the museum and the Ahmed Baba Institute archives of ancient Islamic manuscripts, the explorers' houses, and the market which receives the azalaïs, the salt caravans from the desert — at one time salt was literally worth its weight in gold.
Lunchtime break, then in the afternoon we depart on our camel caravan into the Sahara Desert to visit a Tuareg camp on the dunes; the Tuareg people are known as the Princes of the desert, or the Blue Men of the desert (for the blue tinge on their skin from their indigo-dyed clothing); return to Timbuktu for overnight (Hotel Hendrina Khan, or similar)

NB: due to security concerns we do not go deep into the desert.

with Breakfast

Day 6 Thursday: Timbuktu - Mopti (380 km; ~5½hrs) / Niger River
Goodbye to Timbuktu, and we return across the Sahel to Mopti, where we will enjoy a relaxing sunset sail on the Niger River in a traditional pirogue; overnight in Mopti (Hotel Kanaga, or similar)
with Breakfast

Day 7 Friday: Mopti - Dogon country (120 km; ~2hrs)
Today we proceed to to Mali's fascinating Dogon country. The Dogon tribe originated in the south of Mali, which they fled to preserve their animist religion from the spread of Islam. When they arrived at the Bandiagara cliffs, they found the Tellem people occupying grottos carved in the face of the cliff; they eventually displaced the Tellem people, and used the grottos to bury their dead; funerary rites are an important part of the Dogon culture.
We will explore Dogon country and the Bandiagara escarpment (another Unesco World Heritage site), and we we will see many examples of the classic traditional Dogon architecture (small stone houses and circular granaries) and contemporary fetishism. We will visit Sangha, composed of 10 distinct Dogon villages, then descend the escarpment (on foot, if you wish) to visit Banani village, one of the most beautiful of the cliff villages. In the afternoon we will visit Songo village, site of a rocky grotto where circumcision ceremonies are held every three years; note the old and new rock paintings which represent noble Dogon families; overnight in Bandiagara (Hotel La Falaise, or similar)
with Breakfast

Day 8 Saturday: Dogon country - Ouagadougou, BURKINA FASO (365 km; ~5hrs)
After breakfast we will depart Mali's Dogon country for Burkina Faso's capital city, Ouagadougou; check into our hotel, and have an afternoon city tour of Ouagadougou: we will visit the Grand Market and the National Museum, with its interesting collection of regional clothing, masks, household utensils and ancestral statues; also visit the crafts markets at the Artisans' Center, where we will find basketry, batik fabrics, wooden statues and masks, jewelry, leatherwork and bronze castings; we will also visit the Music Museum, if it has reopened after renovations; overnight in Ouagadougou (Hotel Silmande, or similar)
with Breakfast

Day 9 Sunday: Ouagadougou - Tiebele - Tamale, GHANA (495 km; ~7hrs)
Today we depart Burkina Faso and francophone Africa, for anglophone Ghana; en-route we will visit Tiebele village, in Gourounsi country. We will visist the Royal Court of Tiebele, and see the interesting fortress-like houses of the Kassena people. The houses are of various shapes and sizes depending on the status of the occupants, and they are beautifully decorated with geometric patterns on the walls; they are constructed of mud and feature flat roofs for sleeping in the hot weather; the houses are painted by the women, with local red, blue, white and black pigments. We resume our journey to the Ghana border, and onward to Tamale for overnight (Gariba Lodge, or similar)
with Breakfast

Day 10 Monday: Tamale - Kumasi (390 km; ~5hrs)
We will visit the large central market in Tamale to see the gonja cloth weavers at work, and browse through the fetish section to get a look at some 'interesting' items for sale; then we continue our drive through the countryside to Kumasi, in Ashanti country, and Ghana's second largest city. We check into our hotel, then proceed to visit Kumasi: the National Cultural Center, the Manhyia Palace (home of the actual Asantahene), and the Kejetia market, the largest market in West Africa, an unforgettable melange of colors and sounds; overnight in Kumasi (Hotel Georgia, or similar)
with Breakfast

Day 11 Tuesday: Kumasi - Cape Coast/Elmina (225 km; ~3½hr) - Accra (150 km; ~2hrs)
Today we move on to coastal Ghana, with a drive to Elmina, to visit the fishing harbor and the original old town; we will have a walking tour of St. George's Castle, and a stroll to St. Jago Hill for a panoramic overview of historic Elmina. Then onward to Cape Coast, which was the first capital of Britain's Gold Coast colony. By the late 17th century, Cape Coast had grown from a small fishing village to one of the most important trading ports along the coast; and through the 18th century, the local economy was driven by its role as the heart of the transatlantic slave trade. We will visit the historic old town section, and the notorious Cape Coast Castle, former bastion of the Atlantic slave trade, with three large slave dungeons accessible only from the seaward side of the fort, and the Door of no Return; Cape Coast Castle is now a Unesco World Heritage site. At day's end we drive to Accra for overnight (Novotel Accra, or similar)
with Breakfast

Day 12 Wednesday: Accra - final departure
On this our final day, we have a city tour of Accra, including the National Museum, the Cultural Centre, and the Nkrumah Mausoleum; in the afternoon we have a walking tour of James Town with its colorful local markets and colonial-era shops; in the evening, your will be transfered to the airport for final departure
with Breakfast

1 km ~ 0.6 mile; distances are approximate
Driving times are approximate, depending on local conditions, stops, and border crossings

NB: Hotels subject to availability; see proposed hotels description.

The tour with these hotels is our default "Better" standard (3-4* hotels where available).
Upgrade to "Best" standard (4-5* hotels where available) is also possible.
NB: in rural areas there is little choice of accommodations, and we utilize the same "best available" hotels for all tour standards.


Tour package includes:

Tour package does not include: international flights to Bamako, MALI and onward from Accra, GHANA; tourism visas (Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana); lunches, dinners, drinks/bottled water; optional Dogon mask dance; tips and personal expenses.

Optional traditional Dogon mask dance in a village — upon request

Hotel upgrades in the capital cities are available upon request.


NB: Posted itineraries are subject to change, and quoted prices are accordingly subject to change; itineraries and prices are locked-in when a tour is booked.

Please note: Saga Tours does not handle international air reservations and ticketing.

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