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

Discover the Sahel, on the fringes of the Sahara Desert

11 nights hotel; no camping


Every tour is private, scheduled on dates of your choice, beginning on a Thursday in Bamako, MALI and ending on a Tuesday in Niamey, NIGER; 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 Friday: 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 Saturday: 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 Sunday: Segou – Mopti (405 km; ~5hrs)
Breakfast, then 8h00 AM departure and onward drive through the heartland of Mali, to Mopti, the "melting pot" of Mali, located between the Bani and the Niger rivers; afternoon city tour of Mopti: see the Komoguel mosque, the fishing port (see pirogues being made by hand), and the bustling market where many of Mali's ethnic groups come to trade: Bambara, Bobo, Bozo, Dogon, Fulani, Tuareg and Songhay—shop for gold or silver jewelry, hand-made cotton or wool blankets, or some of Mali's beautiful wood carvings (masks, statues, etc.); overnight in Mopti (Hotel Kanaga, or similar)
with Breakfast

Day 4 Monday: Mopti – Djenne (one-way 130 km; ~1½hr) – Mopti
9h00 AM we depart on our excursion to Djenne, to experience the large weekly market, when Djenne is at its colorful best. 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.
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 return to Mopti for overnight (Hotel Kanaga, or similar)
with Breakfast

Day 5 Tuesday: Mopti – Timbuktu (380 km; ~5½hr)
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 6 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 7 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 8 Friday: Mopti – Dogon country (120 km; ~2hr)
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; option to witness a spectacular traditional Dogon mask dance. 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 Falaise, or similar)
with Breakfast

Day 9 Saturday: Dogon country – Ouahigouya, BURKINA FASO (160 km; ~3½hrs)
08h00 AM departure from Dogon country for Burkina Faso; we will cross the border and continue to Ouahigouya, capital of the old Yatenga kingdom; we will check into our hotel, then visit Ouahigouya, including the historic Yatenga Naba's compound (Naba = "King") and Naba Kango's tomb—Naba Kango was one of the most fearsom of the Mossi rulers; he died violently in 1787; overnight in Ouahigouya (Hotel Amitie, or similar)
with Breakfast

Day 10 Sunday: Ouahigouya – Ouagadougou (180 km; ~2½hrs)
This morning, onward drive to Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso; we will thoroughly explore "Ouaga": visit the Moro Naba's palace, the Grand Market, and the National Museum, with its interesting collection of regional clothing, masks, household utensils and ancestral statues; we will visit the Music Museum if it is reopened (currently under renovation), and the crafts markets at the Artisans' Center, where we will find talented artisans making basketry, batik fabrics, wooden statues and masks, jewelry, leatherwork and bronze castings; overnight in Ouagadougou (Hotel Silmande, or similar)
with Breakfast

Day 11 Monday: Ouagadougou – Niamey, NIGER (500 km; ~6½hrs)
After breakfast, we will depart Burkina Faso for Niger—observe the Sahelian countryside and rural villages as we drive northeastward; we cross the border and continue to Niamey for overnight (Grand Hotel, or similar)
NB: due to security concerns we do not go deep into the desert.
with Breakfast

Day 12 Tuesday: Niamey - final departure
On the final day of our journey, we will have a city tour of Niamey, including the National Museum and exhibits of dinosaur skeletons, as well as the infamous Arbre de Ténéré, the large city market, and the artisans' village Wadata; we will visit the Grand Mosque with its massive minaret and tiled dome. In the afternoon we take an excursion to Koure to see one the last remaining herds of giraffes in West Africa; return to Niamey for hotel check-out; and evening transfer to the airport, for final departure
with Breakfast

Option: supplemental Day 13, Day 14
2-days/1-night at the Tapoa Reserve, part of the Parc Regional du W
Day 1: drive to Tapoa (150 km; ~3hrs); afternoon game drive
Day 2: morning game drive; afternoon return drive to Niamey, and transfer direct to Niamey airport, for final departure

On the game drives, hope to see elephants, antilopes, buffalo, leopards, lions, cheetahs, baboons, crocodiles, hyenas, jackals, warthogs, and many species of migratory birds. The parc is now open year-round but the ideal time for animal-viewing is the dry season, March-June; the hotel is open November-May.
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 Niamey, NIGER; tourism visas (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger); 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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