Location: Mali
Date: 08 Jan, 12 Feb, 26 Mar, 23 Apr, 18 Jun, 30 Jul, 6 & 13 Aug, 3 Sept, 1 & 29 Oct, 26 Nov, 17 & 24 Dec
Duration: 10 days
Group size: 2 - 11+ people
Price: From £1420 - £2730 (depending on the group size). Including full-board and transport in Mali. Excluding flights. Single supplement from £260.

On this 10 day holiday, you will be given the opportunity to discover the rich historical and cultural heritages of Mali, a once prosperous West African country thriving on the medieval Saharan trade routes. Visit the vibrant capital of Mali, Bamako, renowned for its entrancing music and interesting market places. Adventure into the mythological city of Timbuktu, with its ancient university and unique architecture, cruise down the Niger River, one of the longest in Africa. The company who operates this tour not only has more than 23 years experience in the area, but has also helped organisations such as National Geographic and The Discovery Channel with their local expertise.

Day 1: Bamako

Day 2: Timbuktu. Bamako - Timbuktu
We would like that our guests experience the “real” reality of the city of Bamako, rather than the mythological stories. After having a tour in town, and why not a camel ride, we spend the evening in a regular house, featured with traditional architecture. On the roof, taking a meal like every family. Sitting on a mat. Discussing about life. Looking at the sky (just the sky, in the Sahara, is worth a trip).

Day 3: River excursion. Timbuktu - Yovarou
You will encounter rounded Bella huts (former Tuareg slave) and open Tuareg tents appear as a dot on the horizon. The presence of various archaeological sites (small hills with big terraces, jars and tombs) stand as mysterious testimonials of populations that lived on this region in a remote past.

Day 4: Debo Lake. Yovarou – Kona – Mopti (cruise on the river)
Breakfast and continuing with cruise on the Niger River through the Debo Lake, lunch on board. Transfer to Mopti and beginning of city tour.

Day 5: Harbour tour. Mopti – Sangha
The town of Mopti is built on three islands where the Bani and Niger rivers converge. The town is alive with the different cultures in the region: Bozo fishermen, Dogon, Bambara and Bella farmers, Tuareg and Peul shepherds.The market and the harbor are saturated of all colours and smells.

Day 6: Dogon villages in the cliffs
We start our exploration of Dogon cliffs. A path across stones and some millet fields reaches a hidden village. A dozen people live in an open cave, some adobe dwellings, a spring in the middle, fresh water nourishing generations of lucky families.

Day 7: Fortified villages. Sangha - Bandiagara
On the “plateau” the main colour is the gray of the stones, broken by the green of the onions fields, along the ponds and rivers. Dogon are tough farmers: during the rainy season the farm millet, and during the dry season it is the turn of the onions. 

Day 8: Sudanese style. Bandiagara – Djenne
Djenne, the most beautiful and genuine example of Sudanese adobe architecture.  The story houses of rich traders families, the Koranic schools, and the mosque (which is also the biggest building out of clay in the world) make together one of the most unique inhabited centers of the world.

Day 9: White and red buildings. Djenne – Segou
Founded in 1852, Segou, keeper of one of the most ancient histories of West Africa, capital of the ancient Bambara kingdom, has an undeniable charm which is well worth discovering.

Day 10: Metropolis in the Sahel. Segou – Bamako
In Bamako, the administrative buildings have the marks of beautiful Neo-Sudanese style.  The museum is the most beautiful ethnographic museum in West Africa. Its great collection, displaying African shapes, contains ancient art objects of astonishing beauty. We will admire masks, ritual sculptures, archeological terracotta’s, textiles, musical instruments, tools, and traditional weapons.

Travellers experience
The tour team is used to travel with children, and guarantee that the experience is enjoyable for any age.

The populations the guests get in touch with whilst travelling in the different countries - Mali or Togo, Benin or Ghana etc. – are mostly friendly and the long experience in Africa of the team has created many relationships and friendships to guarantee true and emotional experiences for travellers, even in the most secluded villages.

The operator considers tourism as a professional activity and they are very responsible in order to guarantee the safety of our customers such as convenient transportation, adequate food preparation, security, etc.

The guides are either bilingual or trilingual, and are extremely knowledgeable of the destinations culture, rites and social values so as to make your trip as informative and smooth as possible.

Environmental responsibility
When camping, in order to not have an impact on the local environment, gas is used instead of wood for fires and for heating.

A policy has been set up which trains staff to make sure that the guests do not leave any rubbish or ‘alien material’ behind when leaving the camp, but also great attention is paid to leaving the least traces possible when visiting the places on the itineraries.

Water use is limited to the bare essentials. Water from wells is used for washing and cooking, and mineral water  for the guests.

Cultural responsibility
The traditional festivals of the countries in which journeys are organised are true and not "for tourists". This is the tour operators specific "quality trademark": to offer to the travellers the occasion for a contact still genuine with the daily reality of the populations they get in touch with, and with the several traditional ceremonies, that have remained almost unaltered.

The tour operator is commited to the conservation of the cultural heritage of the local populations destinations visited during the tours. Measures are taken to minimise the negative effects of tourism, and respect is always shown during the visit.

Economic responsibility
All of the operators sub directors, guides, drivers, mechanics, cooks and administrative staff are locally employed and they have set up various training schemes in order to benefit them with useful skills.

Most of the ingredients used for cooking are locally produced and sourced so as to benefit the local producers and offer an authentic experience to our guests.

On occasions money has been donated to villages in order to answer to their requests for community development projects such as financing a village school in the north of Togo (helping in fixing the roof, paying the teacher, providing them with school material), financing the construction of a water pump in south Burkina-Faso and building a school for 300 children in Benin.

Many other community development projects have gone ahead because of good will of our travellers such as one guest who financed facilities in a school in Accra.

Social responsibility
Often people are tempted to give money to children... since they see them in trouble and it is often the first thing they ask for. But giving money directly can have serious consequences because the amount a Westerner can give is often much more then what the father earns, and this can create serious imbalances.

It is advised to guests to give pencils and pens, exercise-books and paper as these will be useful at school. If anyone wants to donate money, better to give it to parents or to the chief of the village. Also sweets, biscuits, and other foods are not recommended, because even if children love them, when the tourists are gone they become needs that cannot be satisfied.