Fifteen Days Burkina Faso and Mali Adventure
Day One: Arrival in Bamako
Upon arrival at the airport in Bamako, the guide from Afrikan Wildlife Safaris will welcome you and then transfer you to the hotel. Dinner and overnight at the hotel Tamana.
Day Two: Bamako to Djenne
After breakfast, you will depart Bamako to Djenné. We will pass beautiful mud villages and meet with villagers who will explain the tradition of millet and the traditional costumes made from bazin. Have lunch en route. Dinner and overnight at an encampment hotel. You will enjoy breakfast in the lovely shaded terraces.
Day Three: Djennee
Go for the Djenné city tour and its rich history, with the largest and most beautiful mud mosque in Africa and the world. Monday is the day of the colorful weekly market, where you can find lovely traditional fabrics. You will walk through the narrow alleys to explore the majestic Sudanese-style mud buildings. Djenné is the ideal setting to enjoy the great variety of ethnic groups that inhabit the Niger River Valley and the inland delta. Have lunch in a local restaurant. In the afternoon is free to enjoy the market. Dinner and overnight at an encampment hotel.
Day Four to Seven: Dogon
For this day, we will depart for Dogon country via the Bandiagara cliffs. Have lunch en route. Hike along the cliffs to meet the villagers and ancient dwellings of “Tellems.” You will discover the Dogon traditions of weaving cotton to make bogolan (mud cloth) as well as carving wooden masks and fertility statues. Each village hosts its Tougouna, a place of exchange that welcomes all village elders, called the “house of words.” Discover Dogon cliffs, plateaus and plains through trekking. Nights are spent in safe, comfortable encampments in the village. The trekking on the Dogon will take us in Songho, Bandiagara, Kani Kombole, Telli, End, Wabatalou and Begne Matou, On the seventh day, we return to the vehicle and depart for Mopti. We will have a guided tour after lunch on the crossroads of trade on the Niger River . Observe dugout canoes and pinasses being built. You will be surprised by the elegance and unique colors of each pinasse. This is how the city of Mopti gained the prestigious name “the Venice of Mali. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day Eight: Mopti to Sikasso
After breakfast we drive to Sikasso. Sikasso is considered to be the green belt of Mali. The city portrays the remnants of the Tata, an ancient palisade that encircled the city and for a time held off the French colonial army, the Mamelon, residence of the kings of Sikasso and sacred site that housed the city’s protector spirits. Later we visit the Missirikoro Mosque, some 15 km from Sikasso, the Mansa Daoula Tomb (founder of Kenedougou Kingdom) and the Farako Falls . Dinner and overnight at Hotel Zanga in Sikasso.
Day Nine: Sikasso to Bobo Dioulasso
This morning we leave Sikasso and cross the border from Mali to Burkina Faso. We arrive to Bobo and check in the hotel first, then have a brief tour of Bobo. The city of Bobo Dioulasso is a very relaxed place and a pleasure to spend a day. It has boulevards and interesting market places with a chilled-out feel and very little hassle even in the Grand Marché. You can visit the Musée Provincial du Houet and the Grande Mosquée (the old great mosque). Dinner and overnight at Hotel Auberge in Bobo.
Day Ten: Bobo to Gaoua
Today we complete our tour of Bobo Dioulasso, (“house of the Bobo merchants”), Burkina Faso’s second largest city and visit the old mosque and visit the old Kibidwe artisans district. The old Kibidwé district is a great area to stroll around and it’s well worth the experience to see how this side of the city lives, and if we are lucky we may be treated to a performance by some of the musicians who live in the part of the town. In the afternoon we leave Bobo and drive to Gaoua. En route we stop in Banforo to visit the Karfiguela waterfalls and Lac Tengrela. We also stop at the mysterious stone ruins of Loropeni whose origins are unknown, but the local Gan people call them the “house of refusal”. Arrive in the evening at Gaoua for an overnight stay. Dinner and overnight at Hala Hotel in Gaoua.
Day Eleven: Gaoua to Ouagadougou
After breakfast, we will drive to explore Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s capital city. Ouagadougou is generally known as the home to the Mossi, the largest ethnic group in the nation. All the sights can be easily reached on foot. The city’s atmosphere is relaxed and the Burkinabe are known to be very hospitable and friendly people. We wll visit the Grand Market and the National Museum , with its interesting collection of regional clothing, masks, household utensils and ancestral statues. also visit the crafts markets at the Artisans Centre, where we will find basketry, batik fabrics, wooden statues and masks, jewelery, leather-work and bronze castings. Dinner and overnight at the Hotel Relax Ouaga or a Similar.
Day Twelve: Ouagadougou to San Mali
On this day, you will depart from Ouagadougou for a drive to San. We will pass beautiful mud villages and meet with villagers, stop for visit and picture, You will marvel at the giant, luxurious baobab trees lining the roads, as well as Bambara and Bobo villages. We will stop briefly to admire the mosque in San of overnight at hotel Teriya.
Day Thirteen: San to Segou
For this morning, we will depart to Segou about 2h30 our drive we arrive in Segou. You will have the opportunity to discover the pottery made by a cooperative of women in the market, and the dye house where everyone can paint a bogolan. Dinner and overnight at the hotel Esplanade.
Day Fourteen: Segou to Bamako
Today, you will depart to Bamako and enjoy the afternoon at leisure. Dinner is at a local restaurant. Overnight at the hotel Tamana.
Day Fifteen: Bamako
After breakfast, you will go for the morning city tour, the home of artisans, the market with fruit and spices, the National Museum. Lunch is at a restaurant, then in the afternoon is at leisure. Later transfer to the airport to catch your flight back home.