day 1 – 29/1/2025 • Bamako

• Arrival at your convenience in Bamako, the warmth of Mali welcomes you!
• Upon arrival, you will be greeted by your guide and driver before your ride to the hotel, and a first tour around the streets of Bamako
• In the evening, we’ll join the local crowds to celebrate the annual Dogon Festival of Bamako, a perfect opportunity to see performers and partake traditional dances of the Dogon culture

Overnight in Bamako, Hotel Tamana, AC room

day 2 – 30/1/2025 • Bamako

• Once everyone is well rested after a first night of festivities, we will explore the capital and will adapt our schedule to fit the main activities and dances from the Dogon festival. Our guide will discuss with the group on preferred events to attend, and we will make sure to fill the rest of the day with surprises stops around Bamako, and meet its locals.
• We’ll have the chance to spend another lively evening in town, with many surprises on that day

Overnight in Bamako, Hotel Tamana, AC room

day 3 – 31/1/2025 • Bamako – Siby

• Today, our journey takes us to Siby, in Manding country. The region is home of the Mandinka people, an ethnic group descended from the 13th century Mali Empire
• We’ll visit Kamadjan Arch, a beautiful natural and historic stone arch that served as a meeting place for soldiers, war councils and people of great intelligence all the way back in the 13th century
• Around the site are other historic places to visit, including sacrificial caves and the ‘consultation cave’
• Dinner and overnight in Siby, perfect opportunity to mingle with the locals

Overnight in Siby, Campement de l’Arche, basic facilities

day 4 – 1/2/2025 • Siby – Koulikoro – Bamako

• This morning, we will head towards Koulikoro, to explore the town and its surroundings. We’ll pay a visit to the Squatted Camel first, before heading to the Faramissiri caves.
• Following on the visit we will have a nice local lunch in town and will take a look at the local market
• In the afternoon, we will climb the Nianan Hills for a scenic view on the region. • Ride back to Bamako, before wandering off another night of the Dogon Festival in Bamako, which promises to be an evening full of surprises!

Overnight in Bamako, Hotel Tamana, AC room

day 5 – 2/2/2025 • Bamako

• Today will be another exciting one as some of the biggest performances will happen on this last day of Dogon Festival.
• Some visits of Bamako will be arranged depending on the schedule
• Late afternoon, we will embark on a pinasse, the Malian boat of choice, for sunset cruise on the Niger river, the 3rd longest one in Africa
• We will stop on a small island where we will set up tents, enjoy a local homestyle dinner and camp on site for an evening among the Bozo fishermen.

Overnight on an island in the Niger River, camping tent and basic facilities

day 6 – 3/2/2025 • Bamako – San

• In the morning, we will depart for the town of San
• The ride will take us most of the day, and we will do a few stops along the way to stretch our legs and see how life goes in the local villages
• Lunch will be taken in Ségou
• Late afternoon arrival expected in San, where we will stroll around town to find a good place to eat. Time permits we will see the local mosque, a smaller and more local version of the one in Djenné

Overnight in San, Hotel Teriya, AC room

day 7 – 4/2/2025 • San – Djenné – Ségou

• We’ll start the day nice and early for the drive to Djenné
• Once we arrived, we will wander around the old town of this unique city, along Koranic schools and mud structures.
• We’ll visit the sacred well, Tapama’s tomb, climb a rooftop for a good view on the Great Mosque
• The regional dish Tion Tion – prepared by the wife of our guide – is served for lunch • Early afternoon departure for the drive back to Ségou.
• At last we’ll arrive in Ségou, depending on the time we might have the chance to partake to a Malian tea ceremony!
• We’ll get to attend our first night at the Festival Sur Le Niger, where various performances and concerts are awaiting us

Overnight in Ségou, Hotel Djoliba, AC room

day 8-9 – 5-6/2/2025 • Ségou

• Music, culture and music culture, it’s festival time! The Ségou river quay has been turned into a festival site with the crème de la crème of the Malian music scene climbing the stage. The evenings are filled with music, the days with culture, local groups and raging talents. A colorful market, bars and restaurants add to the festival atmosphere. Ségou is bustling! In between enjoying the performances you’re taken on side trips in Ségou and its surroundings. You’ll learn about mud-cloth making, visit a hamlet where the locals master the art of decorating calabashes, set out on a river trip to a nearby pottery village, where with a bit of luck the weekly baking will take place, do a donkey cart tour, taste of traditionally brew millet beer and stroll the ancient neighborhoods of Ségou. Above all you’re immersed in the vibrant atmosphere, drawing you to the festival site again and again.

Overnights in Ségou, Hotel Djoliba, AC room

day 10 – 7/2/2025 • Ségou – Bamako

• After breakfast, we’ll head back to Bamako where we are expected to reach for lunch time
• Along the way, we will stop at Segoukoro. This village, also known as Sekoro, was in times past the capital of the Bambara Kingdom. We’ll pay a visit to the village chief, a descendent of the Bambara Kings and will explore the village, where traces of the past – including the tomb of Biton Coulibaly and the mosque he had built for his mother – are still to be seen • We will then discover some local neighborhoods and backroads of Bamako, for a truly local experience. We will stop by the blacksmith market, where the locals are able to build anything new out of metal scraps.
• Another evening in town in the capital awaits us, and we might even get the chance to spot some local artists performing!
• For those flying out of Bamako on that day, your transfer to the airport will be arranged.

Overnight in Bamako, Hotel Tamana, AC room

day 11 – 8/2/2025 • Bamako – Timbuktu – Mopti – Bamako

• Morning departure from Bamako on private charter plane to the mysterious city of Timbuktu
• We will visit three adobe mosques, the explorer’s houses, the high library of manuscripts, the Ethnological museum where we will see the well of Buktu and will attend a traditional Touareg dance, together with a camel ride
• Lunch will be served at the Hotel du Desert before your flight to Mopti, the Venice of Mali
• In Mopti we will visit the fish market and adobe mosque followed by boat trip on the river
• Flight back to Bamako, transfer to your hotel for a shower and dinner before your evening transfer to the airport

Auberge Amassakoul, AC room (day use)