Timbuktu and the Sahara
Desert
13-day Private
Journey
Starts in Bamako on October 15,
2008
Visiting Bamako, Ségou, Djenne, Mopti, Timbuktu,
the Sahara Desert,
Sangha, Dogon Territory and the Bandiagara Escarpment
including three UNESCO
World Heritage Sites
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WEDNESDAY
OCT 15
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BAMAKO – GUEST ARRIVALS
Upon your arrival today
at
Bamako airport you'll be met by the TrailFinders' representative
and
transferred to the hotel where the tour leader will assist you
with the check in procedures.
Overnight at
the Grand Hotel.
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THURSDAY
OCT 16
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BAMAKO (B,L,D)
Breakfast at the hotel.
The early part
of the morning is free for you to have a leisurely breakfast
and familiarize yourself with the facilities of the hotel.
Around 9:30, we'll
depart for a full day of sightseeing in and around the city.
We'll
visit 'Point
G', one of the highest outlook
points in the area, offering a bird's-eye view of Bamako.
At appropriate
times during the day, we'll also visit the Bamako municipal
museum, the cathedral, the National Museum and one of the local
markets.
At an appropriate
time today, we'll stop for lunch at a local restaurant.
We may also
visit the local artisans village before returning to the hotel in the late afternoon.
Happy hour
this evening is held in the hotel bar and TrailFinders will pick
up the tab. This will be our first opportunity to share our
initial impressions of West Africa.
Dinner at the hotel whenever you feel hungry.
Overnight at
the Grand Hotel.
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FRIDAY
OCT 17
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BAMAKO
- SEGOU (B,L,D)
Breakfast at the hotel.
This morning
we depart around 9:00 from Bamako in our 4x4 vehicles for the 5-hour drive
to Ségou,
Mali's second-largest city.
On the way, we'll stop at Wolodo village to observe the
production of Shea Butter. We'll also stop at a local school and
have a chance to converse with the students and teachers.
After checking in at the hotel,
we'll have a late lunch and then head out to visit Sekoro
village. This interesting remnant of the capital
of the Bambara kingdom is
now a sleepy village on the banks of the Niger River.
We'll then
return to the hotel for happy
hour and a wonderful dinner
with traditional Malian music and dances.
Overnight at
the Independance Hotel.
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SATURDAY
OCT 18
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SEGOU - SAN
- DJENNE
(B,L,D)
Breakfast at the hotel.
This morning we visit a
workshop where traditional mudcloth is made. Mudcloth is a
Malian specialty, totally handmade from the raising and
harvesting of the cotton plants to spinning the thread to
weaving the cloth to the dyeing process which utilizes special
mud.
Afterwards,
we begin our
5-hour
drive to Djenné, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
On the way, we'll
stop in the town of San for lunch.
Upon arriving at the river, we'll cross by
small ferry and arrive at our hotel in the
centre of town.
Djenné, the oldest known city in sub-Saharan
Africa is situated on the floodlands of the
Niger and Bani rivers. Founded by merchants
around 800 AD (near the site of an older
city dating from around 250 BC), Djenné
flourished as a meeting place for traders
and by the 16th century was Mali's most
important trading center. Djenné is now an
agricultural trade center, of diminished
importance, with several beautiful examples
of Muslim architecture, including its Great
Mosque.
The Great Mosque is built on a raised plinth
platform of rectangular sun-dried mud bricks
that are held together by mud mortar and
plastered over with mud. The walls vary in
thickness between sixteen and twenty-four
inches, depending upon their height. These
massive walls are necessary in order to bear
the weight of the tall structure and also
provide insulation from the sun's heat.
During the day, the walls gradually warm up
from the outside; at night, they cool down
again. This helps the interior of the mosque
to stay cool all day long.
The rest of the afternoon is free to rest or
wander the streets of this fascinating town.
Happy hour and dinner at the hotel.
Overnight at the Campement hotel in
Djenné.
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SUNDAY
OCT 19 |
DJENNE -
MOPTI (B,L,D)
Breakfast at the
hotel.
After breakfast, we'll have a few
hours to visit the local market before departing for the port,
crossing the river by ferry and driving to Mopti, about 3-hours
away.
On the way, we'll make a short stop
at the Bead Museum in Sevaré.
Mopti is known as the
"Venice of Mali" for its unique geography in a location between
the Bani and the Niger rivers. It's
a main
commercial hub, the river terminus of the salt trade and is also
considered Mali's melting pot, since here, many local
tribes converge to buy and sell their produce. There are
representatives from the Bambara, Bobo, Bozo, Dogon, Fulani and
Songhay tribes, just to name a few.
Upon arrival, we'll
check into our hotel and have lunch.
This afternoon we'll
visit the Komoguel Mosque and a local market before heading for
the busy port and a drink at the
Bar Bozo, overlooking the port.
Dinner either at the Bar Bozo or the
hotel.
Overnight at
the Hotel Kanaga.
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MONDAY
OCT 20
|
MOPTI -
TIMBUKTU
(B,L,D)
Early breakfast at the hotel.
This morning
we depart
in our 4x4 vehicles and drive
to the town of Douentza where we prepare our vehicles for desert
travel. We then turn north-eastward, following a desert road to
Bambara-Maounde where we head out into the desert following a
simple track to the Niger River. Once we reach the river we'll
take a small ferry to the north shore and make the short drive
to Timbuktu, arriving sometime in the afternoon.
Lunch may be
difficult to find along the way today, so we'll have the staff
at the Kanaga Hotel pack some sandwiches for us before we leave
Mopti this morning.
After arriving
in Timbuktu we'll check into our hotel.
Happy hour at
the hotel. Free for dinner.
Overnight at
La Maison
Timbuktu
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TUESDAY
OCT 21
|
TIMBUKTU -
SAHARA DESERT
- TIMBUKTU
(B,L,D)
Breakfast at the hotel.
This morning
we'll embark on a walking tour of Timbuktu. We'll see the old mosques -
formerly universities - and the museum and its archives of
ancient Islamic manuscripts from the era when Timbuktu was a
great center of learning in the Muslim world. We'll come upon the
houses of the famous explorers - Gordon Laing, Rene Caillié and
Heinrich Barth. We'll visit the market and the artisans' center
where beautiful leatherwork and silver jewellery is being made.
We may also have an opportunity to visit a Koranic school and observe the children learning
the Koran.
In the afternoon
we'll embark on an excursion into the Sahara Desert by camel
to visit a Tuareg camp. Here we'll enjoy a
traditional meal of roasted lamb (méchoui) with our Tuareg hosts
who will celebrate our visit with a Takamba - a traditional
saber dance.
Later we'll return
back to Timbuktu.
Overnight at
La Maison
Timbuktu
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WEDNESDAY
OCT 22
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TIMBUKTU
AND THE SAHARA DESERT
(B,L,D)
Breakfast at the hotel.
Morning free
to wander around Timbuktu on your own.
Lunch at the
hotel.
If the
previous day's trip into the desert did not take us to the area
of the major sand dunes, we'll reserve the late afternoon today
for a drive out to the dunes surrounding Timbuktu.
Happy hour and
dinner at the hotel.
Overnight at
La Maison Timbuktu.
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THURSDAY
OCT 23 |
TIMBUKTU -
SANGHA, DOGON TERRITORY
(B,L,D)
Breakfast at the hotel.
Today we
depart Timbuktu early and drive southward, retracing our path
to the town of Douentza, where we'll stop for lunch.
From here we head
southward, across the desert toward Dogon
territory and the Bandiagara Escarpment. The drive will be rough
and dusty in spots and will take most of the day since we will
drive along almost the entire length of the escarpment to the
area near its southern end.
The sandstone cliffs
of the escarpment rise about 500 meters above the plain and stretch for
approximately 150 Km. The
area is inhabited today by the Dogons, a tribe
that pushed out the earlier Tellem people who used to live in
cave dwellings along the cliffs. Dozens of Dogon villages are
now located along the base of the cliffs just below the ancient
caves. Many of the inhabitants of these villages are traditional
animist while others have converted to Islam.
Early this
evening we will arrive at the Dogon village of Sangha on top
of the escarpment.
Happy hour and
dinner at the hotel.
Overnight at
the Campement Hotel in Sangha.
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FRIDAY
OCT 24
|
SANGHA AND DOGON
TERRITORY
(B,L,D)
Breakfast at the hotel.
A full day
exploring Dogon villages and the surrounding
countryside.
This morning we visit
the lookout at the top of the escarpment near the village of
Sangha from which we can see the lower village of Banani and the
desert stretching out toward Burkina Faso.
Then we'll descend to
the base of the cliff and visit one or more of the Dogon villages
situated there. Here we can visit with the Dogon people, see ancient Tellem cave dwellings in
the cliff face and also visit
the sacred crocodile sanctuary.
After lunch at the
hotel, we'll visit two
Dogon villages near the hotel - Hogol du haut and Hogol du Bas - the
upper and lower villages. Here we'll see traditional homes,
meeting places, wells and public areas. We'll also encounter the
Hogon, the spiritual leader of the Dogon people. Afterwards,
we'll witness the amazing Dogon Mask Dance.
Happy hour and dinner
at the hotel.
Overnight at
the Campement Hotel in Sangha.
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SATURDAY
OCT 25 |
SANGHA - MOPTI
(B,L,D)
Breakfast at the hotel.
Today we leave
Dogon territory early to begin the drive back to Mopti.
On the way, we
stop at
the
village of Songho, where we'll have the opportunity to photograph a
traditional Dogon village from a high vantage point. Songho is
well-known for its rock paintings and its circumcision
grotto, a location where circumcisions are still carried out on
a regular basis.
After our
arrival in Mopti, we'll check in to the hotel, have lunch and
enjoy a bit of free time to
catch up on our diaries or simply relax at the
pool.
Around 4 pm we'll climb aboard our riverboat for a leisurely
boat ride on the river, stopping at a traditional village and
observing the way of life of the fishermen and others living in
and around Mopti.
Happy hour and
dinner at the hotel.
Overnight at
the Hotel Kanaga.
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SUNDAY
OCT 26 |
MOPTI - SAN
- SEGOU
(B,L,D)
Breakfast at the hotel.
This morning
we depart on our drive southbound to Ségou where we stop for the
night on our way back to Bamako.
We'll have
lunch at a
local restaurant in San enroute.
Upon arrival
in Ségou, we'll check in
to our hotel in time for happy hour.
Dinner at the hotel.
Overnight at
the Independance Hotel.
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MONDAY
OCT 27 |
SEGOU - BAMAKO
(B,L,D)
Breakfast at the hotel.
This morning
we depart from Ségou for the return drive to Bamako.
Upon arrival
we check in to our hotel where we have arranged day rooms to
allow our guests to relax, have a nap and shower, and repack for the
long trip back to Canada.
Dinner at the hotel prior to departing for the airport to board
our flight.
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