Saga Tours of Mali — West Africa Adventure Travel
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Mali Classic tour – 12 days

In the comfort of all-hotel accommodations, experience all of Mali's treasures:

Niger River · Sahara Desert · fascinating Dogon country
also visit Djenne, Mopti, Timbuktu, Segou and Bamako

11 nights hotel; no camping


Every tour is private, scheduled on dates of your choice, beginning on a Monday and ending on a Friday in Bamako; 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 Monday: 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 Tuesday: Bamako - Segou (235 km; ~3hrs) 09h00 AM begin your private Mali Classic tour with a scenic drive to Segou, Mali's second largest city and former colonial administrative center; we will chack into our Segou hotel, and take a lunch break. In the afternoon, we will visit the market and the Kasobane boutique with its high-end traditional and contemporary textile art; we will stop by the Nieleni cooperative, which makes hand-woven high-quality wool rugs; then visit another women's cooperative that makes traditional millet beer; we end the day with stroll through the traditional pottery market on the waterfront; overnight in Segou (Hotel Independance, or similar)
with Breakfast

Day 3 Wednesday: 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 Thursday: 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 Friday: Timbuktu / Sahara Desert

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

Today we visit the legendary and historical city of Timbuktu.
In its glory-days, Timbuktu attracted Muslim scholars from the entire Arab world; we will visit 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)
with Breakfast

Day 6 Saturday: Timbuktu - Mopti (380 km; ~5½hrs)
Goodbye to Timbuktu, and we return across the Sahel to Mopti, where we will enjoy a relaxing sunset stroll on the banks of the Niger River, quite a contrast with the sands of Timbuktu; overnight in Mopti (Hotel Kanaga, or similar)
with Breakfast

Day 7 Sunday: Niger River
Today we enjoy a full day's sailing excursion on the Niger River, in a private, motorized pirogue (large, flat-bottomed river boat); we will visit Bozo fishing villages and nomadic Fulani camps along the shore, observe the large variety of Mali's birds, and perhaps see hippos in the river (do not approach—hippos are dangerous); return to and overnight in Mopti (Hotel Kanaga, or similar)
with Breakfast, Lunch

Day 8 Monday: Mopti / Djenne (130 km; ~1½hr) / Dogon country (240 km; ~3½hrs)
Excursion to Djenne, Timbuktu's historical sister-city, on its colorful weekly market day when villagers from miles away come to buy and sell. 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.
We will explore the market, then 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 on our way out of town, as we drive to Mali's fascinating Dogon country; overnight in Sangha (Hotel Campement Guina, or similar)
with Breakfast, Dinner

Day 9 Tuesday: Dogon country
Today we begin exploring 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 begin with a visit of Sangha, a large agglomeration of 10 distinct Dogon villages, some animist, some Islamic; we will descend the Bandiagara escarpment to visit Dogon cliff villages Banani, Ireli, Amani (see the sanctuary of sacred crocodiles, totem animal of the Dogon people), and Tireli, where we may (optionally) witness a traditional Dogon mask dance, which is part of the Dogon people's funerary rites; overnight in Sangha (Hotel Campement Guina, or similar)
with Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 10 Wednesday: Dogon country - Segou (480 km; ~6hrs)
Today we will visit the villages Nando (see the interesting mud-castle mosque) and Niongono, perched on the cliff like a medieval citadel (NB: climbing is required to visit Niongogo); then we go to Songo village, renowned for its circumcision grotto with rock paintings; circumcision ceremonies are held here every three years for all Dogon boys aged 9-14 years old; the rock paintings are historical representations of noble Dogon families; in the afternoon we return to Segou for overnight (Hotel Independance, or similar)
with Breakfast

Day 11 Thursday: Segou - Bamako (235 km; ~3hrs)
Visit Sekoro village, which was the original Segou and former capital of the Bambara kingdom; it is now just a sleepy village on the banks of the Bani river; we will meet the village chief, who is a descendant of the King Biton Coulibaly, and see the king's tomb; then return drive to Bamako, with the rest of the day at leisure; overnight in Bamako (Grand Hotel, or similar)
with Breakfast

Day 12 Friday: Bamako - final departure
And today we visit Bamako: over-view of this sprawling city from Point G, with a visit of the ancient grottos and rock paintings. Then on to the 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. In the afternoon we will also visit the city market, the artisans' village, and the fetish market for traditional medicine; in the evening, transfer to the airport for you onward flight
with Breakfast

1 km ~ 0.6 mile; driving times are approximate, depending on local conditions and stops

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

Tour package includes:



Tour package does not include: international airfare to/from Bamako; Mali visas; non-specified meals, drinks/bottled water; optional Dogon mask dance; tips and personal expenses.

Optional traditional Dogon mask dance in a village — 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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