Vibrant mosque architecture in kano nigeria, Mali

MALI · Tourism

The Great Mosque of Djenne

The mud-brick mosque at Djenne is the largest building of its kind on earth, the Bandiagara escarpment holds Dogon villages built into the cliff, and the Niger loops nine hundred kilometres north into the desert before turning back.

West AfricaRegion

27Tourism experiences

Timbuktu, Djenne, and the Niger bendKnown for

01

Featured destinations

Where the country actually takes you.

Traditional festival in agadez niger, Mali

The Niger Bend

The river runs north into the Sahara, thinks better of it, and turns southeast.

Photo Sani Maikatanga / Pexels

Mountain reflecting on a lake, Mali

The Bandiagara Escarpment

A hundred and fifty kilometres of sandstone cliff, with villages built into the face of it.

Photo Elman Huseynov / Pexels

Stunning waterfall at grand canyon s ribbon falls, Mali

Falls at Woroni

Small falls on the sandstone plateau above Bandiagara, running only after the rains.

Photo Alex Moliski / Pexels

Lakes & Rivers

The Niger and Lake Debo

Pinasses working the river between Mopti and Timbuktu, and the inland delta spreading behind them.

A dry tree on the beach under the sky, Mali

River Sand, Not Sea

Landlocked — the beaches here are sandbars on the Niger, and people swim off them.

Photo Domenico Bandiera / Pexels

Vibrant traditional musicians with horns, Mali

The Gallery Forest

Ribbons of woodland along the river, and the baobabs standing alone on the plain behind.

Photo alameen .ng / Pexels

02

Wildlife & safari

What lives here, and how you see it without disturbing it.

Group of people sitting on sand, Mali

Wildlife

Elephants in the Gourma

The Gourma herd makes the longest elephant migration in Africa, on a loop into Burkina Faso.

Photo Djamel Ramdani / Pexels

A tree on brown grass field, Mali

Not the Business Here

There is no lodge circuit. The Gourma elephants are a conservation story, not a game drive.

Photo Harsh / Pexels

A mosque in kaduna nigeria, Mali

Re-Plastering Djenne

Every year the town rebuilds the mosque's surface by hand in a single day.

Photo Abdulrahman Abubakar / Pexels

03

Culture & heritage

The part of a country you cannot photograph from a vehicle.

A man holding a handmade guitar, Mali

Culture

Where the Blues Came From

Ali Farka Toure, Toumani Diabate, Salif Keita and Tinariwen are all from here.

Photo Zakaria HANIF / Pexels

Traditional african horseman in vibrant attire, Mali

Dogon, Bambara, Tuareg, Fulani

Dogon on the escarpment, Bambara on the river, Tuareg and Fulani on the plains north of it.

Photo LekePOV / Pexels

Grilled trout with vegetables on bbq, Mali

Tigadege Na and Capitaine

Groundnut stew, and Nile perch grilled whole on the riverbank at Mopti.

Photo Efrem C. / Pexels

Women and child in village on desert, Mali

The Sigui and the Dama

Dogon masked ceremonies, the Sigui every sixty years and the Dama for the dead.

Photo alameen .ng / Pexels

An elephant splashing water with its trunk, Mali

Bogolan and Bamana Sculpture

Mud-dyed bogolanfini cloth, Bamana chiwara antelope crests, and Dogon carved doors.

Photo Diego F. Parra / Pexels

Ancient mud brick village with traditional architecture, Mali

Timbuktu

Three mud mosques, and a library tradition that ran to hundreds of thousands of manuscripts.

Photo 奇徐 / Pexels

Vibrant cultural parade with traditional attire, Mali

Four Sites, All at Risk

Djenne, Timbuktu, Bandiagara and the Tomb of Askia — every one of them on the danger list.

Photo Skylight Views / Pexels

04

Cities & everyday life

Where people actually live between the landmarks.

Bustling street market scene in urban africa, Mali

Bamako and Mopti

A capital sprawling both sides of the Niger, and a port town built on three islands.

Photo LekePOV / Pexels

Brown wooden door on brown concrete wall, Mali

Sudano-Sahelian

Mud walls, projecting palm beams, and buttressed towers — a style that belongs to this river.

Photo Kakhraman Nazarov / Pexels

Minaret of great mosque of testour seen behind a building wall, Mali

Monday Market at Djenne

The whole delta comes to the square in front of the mosque, once a week.

Photo DigitalByNADAS Photography / Pexels

Children playing in a rural village in zambia, Mali

Hard Country for It

The security situation makes most of Mali unvisitable at present, and that is the honest answer.

Photo Ana Kenk / Pexels

05

Adventure & outdoors

For travellers who would rather walk it than watch it.

Serene botanical garden pathway in spring, Mali

Adventure

Walking the Dogon Country

Village to village along the escarpment, sleeping on roofs, four days or fourteen.

Photo Magda Ehlers / Pexels

Mountain climbers on rocky path in tatra mountains, Mali

The Escarpment on Foot

The Dogon country is walking country, and always has been.

Photo Artūras Kokorevas / Pexels

Brown concrete building near the swimming pool, Mali

Almost None

A handful of hotels in Bamako. The rest of the country is guesthouses and roofs.

Photo Denys Gromov / Pexels

06

Travel inspiration

The frames people come home with.

Photography / Scenic Views

Mud and Long Shadows

Djenne an hour before sunset, when the toron beams throw stripes down the wall.

Clear sky over pyramid, Mali

The Tomb of Askia

A pyramid of mud at Gao, built in 1495 for the emperor of Songhai.

Photo Мадина / Pexels

Why Visit This Country

Why Mali

Because Djenne, Timbuktu and the Dogon country are three of the great sights of Africa.

Why Mali

Because Djenne, Timbuktu and the Dogon country are three of the great sights of Africa.

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