Mali is the diamond in West Africa’s crown with its legendary towns spread along the banks of the mighty Niger River. The most remarkable and remote of these towns is Timbuktu, whose reputation was forged by 19th Century explorers still remains today in the dunes about 65km from this fabled town takes place the most unique musical event in world music – the Festival au Desert. The day is taken up wandering around the site, listening to impromptu music, looking around local craft stalls, and watching the various activities of the desert Tuareg singing, dancing or charging around on their camels. The music starts on the main stage in the early evening, continuing on until the early hours of the morning. The standard is high and many of the groups are from around the Timbuktu/Gao area. It is incredible that there is so much talent around these small villages. There are acts from Burkina and other West African countries, as well as from further a field. It would be hard to imagine a comparable mix anywhere else on earth. In the heat of the day nothing beats spending an hour or so sitting with a cold beer in one of the open bars, watching the comings and goings of life around the camp, and when the evening concert kicks in, the desert comes alive with the rhythms of West Africa. This tour also takes in the major attractions of Mali including trekking to the Dogon villages along the Bandiagara Escarpment, visiting Djenne on market day, with the great mud-built mosque forming an amazing backdrop to the market, and Mopti, the bustling port on the banks of the River Niger.
Brief Itinerary
| DAY 1 |
Bamako |
| DAY 2 |
Djenne |
| DAYS 3/4 |
Bani River and the City of Fish, Mopti |
| DAY 5 |
Dogon Country |
| DAYS 6/7 |
Trekking amongst the escarpment villages of Dogon Country |
| DAY 8 |
Mopti |
| DAY 9 |
Timbuktu |
| DAYS 10-12 |
Festival in the desert |
| DAY 13 |
Homburi |
| DAY 14 |
Segou |
| DAY 15 |
Bamako |
Trip Notes
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detailed trip notes
Inclusions
10 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 6 dinners * English speaking local guide * All camping equipment (except sleeping bag) * trekking in Dogon Country * Permits and entry fees * Private vehicle transport * Arrival and departure airport transfer
Why Book with World Expeditions?
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World Expeditions
World Expeditions is one of the world’s leading adventure travel companies offering ground breaking itineraries on every continent. The company has been operating small group trekking and adventure travel holidays and vacations since 1975.
We are widely recognized for ground breaking Responsible Tourism initiatives. In particular, the award winning Community Project Travel Program helps to improve the living conditions of some of the world’s most remote communities
Today, with offices around the globe, we offer more than 500 stand alone itineraries; small group active adventures and expeditions, cycling and walking tours and cultural journeys. Each itinerary has several scheduled departure dates throughout the season.
Supported by some of the world's most experienced and respected adventurers, including mountaineers Peter Hillary and Tim Macartney-Snape working with us as specialist guides, World Expeditions’ has helped shape the adventure travel industry standards since its inception almost four decades ago.
Our all-inclusive, no hidden extras pricing policy combined with longer, creative itineraries and the use of quality ground services attracts people who have high expectations of their travel experiences.
In 2004, we became the first adventure operator whose product was being distributed on Lonely Planet’s Travel Services section on their website.
World Expeditions is truly global company with offices in London, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, as well as Auckland, Ottawa and Montreal.
Why Travel with World Expeditions?
We own most of our operational bases around the world. This ensures that we can provide high quality trips of exceptional value with no hidden extras. Our trips are all inclusive, so there is little need to pay for anything once your trip commences until it ends. Our hands-on approach and years of experience has ensured a safety record second to none as we’ve pioneered some of the most unique itineraries in the adventure market place today.
World Expeditions has been seriously committed to responsible travel and true sustainability since we began in 1975 when we established our philosophy and stated ideal which was to “take only photographs and leave only footprints”.
Almost four decades of pioneering adventure travel has proved the positive conservation outcomes when travel is managed for sustainability. We believe a responsible, long-term vision can deliver true sustainability and with the participation of all our clients and business partners the challenge is being met and achieved.
An example of this commitment to sustainability has been our efforts to preserve the forests of Nepal. This has involved changing an entrenched culture of burning wood for fuel. World Expeditions has pioneered the change to kerosene as an alternative to wood on all trekking expeditions in Nepal. We do not have camp fires and we strongly discourage trekkers from buying wood-fueled hot showers in lodges along the trail. As a founding supporter of the International Porter Protection Group (IPPG) we also lead the way in porter protection by providing a good working wage for all Nepalese staff, food and extra clothing for those working above the tree line, life insurance cover and emergency helicopter insurance. Our efforts were recognized at the World Travel Mart in 2006 when our porter policies received a ‘Highly Commended’ in the Mountain Environment category.
Our philanthropic program ensures we ‘give something back’. Our current initiative is Community Project Travel. The concept behind our Community Project Travel range of trips is based on the ethos of “travel with a purpose”. It is a range of small group adventures, each about two weeks in length, whereby participants commit four to five days of their holiday to making a difference to a community in need. A portion of the traveller’s participation fee contributes to the associated material costs of the project. In 2006 our travellers helped to refurbish the Saramthali school in Nepal, collected 7 tonnes of ghost nets from the Arnhem land coastline, helped to build a new school room for the Xo village in Vietnam as well as erect a footbridge for the village of Qelqanqa in Peru so that kids could access the school safely.
In recognition of our environmental policies, we are the only Travel Company ever to be fully endorsed by the Wilderness Society in Australia. In 2001, we received the National Travel Industry’s Environmental Achievement Award, presented by WWF Australia, for our responsible tourism policies.
In addition, we create excellent adventures! Our trips have featured in the world’s most prestigious magazines and newspapers including: OUTSIDE magazine, both National Geographic Adventure & National Geographic Traveler magazine, Wanderlust, The Sunday Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, The Age, The Sunday Telegraph (UK) plus much more. Visit www.worldexpeditions.com for details of all our adventures.
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