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Mali
Mali sits at the very soul of West Africa, a land with a history so extraordinary it once captured the imagination of the entire world. Before colonisation, Mali was home to a succession of legendary empires — the Ghana, Mali and Songhai empires — that controlled the trans-Saharan gold and salt trade for centuries and made the region fabulously wealthy. At its peak, the Mali Empire's ruler Mansa Musa was reputedly the richest person who ever lived, and his famous pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 — during which he distributed so much gold he devalued the Egyptian currency — is the stuff of history books.
The ancient city of Timbuktu remains Mali's most iconic destination — a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was once the intellectual and spiritual capital of the Islamic world, home to great mosques, scholars and libraries. Equally stunning is the city of Djenné, whose Great Mosque is the largest mud-brick building on earth and one of the most photographed structures in Africa. Out in the countryside, the Dogon people of the Bandiagara Escarpment have preserved one of the oldest living cultures on the continent, with cliff-side villages, extraordinary mask ceremonies and a cosmology unlike anything else in the world.
Mali also punches well above its weight musically — artists like Ali Farka Touré, Salif Keita, Toumani Diabaté, Tinariwen and Oumou Sangaré to name a few have brought Malian sound to stages worldwide, and the country's deep musical traditions are woven into daily life.
It would be dishonest not to mention that Mali has experienced political instability and security challenges in recent years, particularly in the north. We work closely with local partners to operate tours responsibly and safely, and will always keep you fully informed before travel.
If our group tour dates don't work, then we can also arrange private tours for you and your friends.
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Tours
West Africa Sahel Tour: Mali, Burkina Faso & Niger
Come and experience the heart of the Sahel across Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. If you've wanted to visit the Sahel and get a quick snapshot, then this tour is for you!