Day 1: Bamako
Morning arrival at Bamako International Airport. Transfer to Hotel Tamana.
Day 2: Bamako - Ségou
We will visit the capital of Mali: the National Museum of Bamako, the Great Market, the artisan market, the market of traditional medicines and fetiches, the market of Medina, where they make tools to work the land, the Great Mosque and the Cathedral.
After a meal of traditional food at a restaurant we will depart towards Ségou, a 3 hours ride by car.
We will spend the night in Hotel L’Esplanade.
Day 3: Ségou - Djenné
We shall visit the former capital of the Bambaro Kingdom, a quiet city, that invites to stroll along the Niger River under the shade of the balanzanes or “butter trees” so abundant in this area. Adobe houses alternate with colonial style buildings.
We will get to know the market and get acquainted with the making of Bambara pottery and of the bogolán (colored cotton fabric of exquisite design made with a combination of natural dyes and different colours of mud).
In the afternoon, we head towards Djenné, 4 hours car ride.
We will visit the city of Djenne: the Komboro Mosque, the largest adobe mud mosque in the world, built by King Komboro at the end of the XIIIth century and rebuild in 1905; the tomb of Tapama Djenepo, a girl sacrificed for the prosperity of the city; the colorful Great Market; Koranic schools where children write the Koran on wooden tablets; the archeological site of Djenne Djeno and the Cultural Museum.
Spending the night at hotel Le Maafir.
Day 4: Djenné - Mopti
We will depart towards Mopti (2 hours by car). Accommodation at Hotel Y a pas de probleme.
City located at the confluence of the Niger and Bani Rivers, Mopti contains a busy and animated river port crowded with boats arriving and leaving, carrying all kinds of products. Here we will visit workshops where the river boats called "pinasses" (long wooden boat driven by outboard engine) are built and repaired.
We will also visit the craft market, the old city (Komoguel), where the Sougouni Market and Great Mosque dating from 1935 are located.
In the afternoon, we will take a short excursion on the Niger River in a pinasse.
Day 5: Mopti – Timbuktu
Departure for Timbuktu, about 7 hours by car.
Check into Hotel La Colombe.
Day 6: Timbuktu
We will visit Timbuktu, legendary and mythical city, known the world over for its splendid past and for many years accessible only to Moslems.
This city, located at the edge of the Sahara Desert and designated as a UNESCO protected site, has long been a market place for merchants dealing in salt and gold.
Traditional houses contain Arab-style sculpted wooden windows and doorways decorated with forged iron.
Places to visit include: The Djingareiber Mosque, Ahmed Baba Cultural Centre, the houses of early explorers, the city wall, the Tuareg Museum and craft market, the Sankore Mosque, the first Islamic university and the Sidi Yahia Mosque.
We will have lunch at the hotel and then take a camel ride to a Touareg encampment.
Day 7: Timbuktu – Dogon Country
Departure to the Dogon Country, 8 hours car ride. Spending the night in Bandiagara, at hotel Falaise.
Day 8: Dogon Region
We will explore the spectacular countryside of the Bandiagara escarpement. We will visit the Dogon villages inhabited since the XIVth century where this unique culture has been preserved thanks to the oral traditions of their people and little outside influence.
We will see Dogon houses whose wooden doors and windows contain symbolic sculptures. Their multiple rooms are arranged around a central courtyard where daily tasks take place. Men and women keep their wealth in separate granaries, mud buildings having thatched conical roofs.
Other typical village buildings include: the "house for speech or debate" (the toguna) built with a low ceiling so that calm discussions are encouraged, place where the elders meet to make decisions affecting the village; the "house for menstruating women", where women live during their menstrual period; the "house of the Tellems", houses of the former inhabitants, constructed on the face of the cliff and used today as burial sites and the house of the hogon, the tribal chief in charge of transmitting his knowledge to his successor.
Visiting Djiguibombo, Kani Kombole,Teli. and Ende. Spending the night in Bandiagara, at hotel Falaise.
Day 9: Bandiagara – Ouagadougou
Departure towards the capital city of Burkina, about 5 hour’s car ride. Places of particular interest that we will visit in Ouagadougou are: the National Museum, the National Museum, the Palace of Moro-Naba, and the Great market.
Night accomodation at hotel Yini.
Day 10: Ouagadougou – Gaoua
We will be visiting the Lobi Country, populated by a number of ethnic groups, of which the majority are the Lobi people who live in this region since the thirteenth century. Of particular interest are the sukalas, the housing of the Lobi, whose distribution tell the history of this fascinating people, profoundly animists and great defenders of their traditions and independence.
Accomodation in Hotel Hala.
Day 11: Lobi Country – Bobo Dioulasso
We will be visiting the Great Mosque of Bobo-Dioulasso, the Great Market and its neighborhood of crafts artists: Kibidwe.
Night at Hotel L’Auberge.
Day 12: Bobo Dioulasso – Bamako
Return to Bamako.
Evening transfer to the airport.
Included in this trip:
-Eleven nights lodging in hotels, including the use of a room prior to departure flight.
-Breakfasts. In the Dogon Region, lunch and dinner are included (drinks are excluded except for bottled water).
-Travel by all terrain vehicle with air-conditioned system, including driver and gas.
-Experienced guide for all visits.
-Excursion in a pinasse.
-Transfers to and from the airport.
-Hotel and local tourist taxes.
Not included: international flights, visa, non-specified meals and drinks, tips and personal expenses. | 
