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• Mali in Brief

9. Where should I go and what should I do?

Great Destinations
Bamako
Segou
Mopti and Sevare
Djenne
Dogon Country
Timbuktu
What to See and Do
Top 10 Destinations

GREAT DESTINATIONS

Most visitors to Mali plan their trip around six major destinations:

Bamako
Segou
Mopti/Sévaré
Djenne
Dogon country
Timbuktu

Central Mali, especially along the Niger river and delta, draws the largest number of tourists because of its many compelling sites and intriguing peoples - Djenne, Mopti, Sévaré, Dogon country, and Timbuktu.

Bamako and Segou to the west also are very special destinations well worth a few extra days in Mali.

BAMAKO

Bamako is the capital of Mali. It's the center for government, commerce, education, art, culture, entertainment, health care, and NGOs.

A sprawling, chaotic, dusty, worn, and makeshift city of over 1 million inhabitants, with a combination of paved and unpaved littered streets in various stages of disrepair, Bamako also is one of Africa’s fastest growing cities.

It’s a huge melting pot of different ethnic groups, cultures, languages, and economic classes. While the city exhibits a great deal of poverty, it's also a relatively expensive city for visitors.

Beyond all its visual negatives lies some very interesting places to see and things to do, including sleuthing for some unique shopping treasures that often seem hidden in neighbors and homes.

Straddling both sides of the Niger River, which are connected by two frequently congested bridges, Bamako's major attractions for visitors are located on the north side of the river. Here you'll find the best hotels, restaurants, shops, markets, banks, museums, mosques, cafes, bars, nightclubs, travel agencies, and tour companies.

Many visitors dismiss Bamako after only a few hours. Often arriving at the airport in the middle of the night, they stay overnight and then head directly to other areas in Mali. This is unfortunate.

At least for travel-shoppers, Bamako has a great deal to offer those who spend a few days here sleuthing for its many hidden treasures and pleasures. And sleuthing is exactly what you need to do since it's not obvious where to go to find the "good stuff."

Bamako initially can be an intimidating city, from the moment you're approached by aggressive hustlers at the international airport to when you navigate the busy streets that overflow with commerce, pedestrians, and street hustlers.

This is the type of city that does not lend itself to just wandering the streets with a good map. In fact, you will probably have difficulty finding a basic map for locating Bamako's major attractions. Accordingly, you'll need some local assistance to sleuth this city right.

Our recommendations:

1. Hire a guide and/or car and driver who knows the city well. Doing so will save you a great deal of time and help you avoid some of the inevitable hassles that await visitors who are unfamiliar with this challenging city. Since good maps are nonexistent, street signage is unpredictable, and communication with locals may be difficult, such assistance will be most welcome.

2. Initially spend at least two days in Bamako where you should do the following:
   • Visit the exceptional National Museum (Musée National), which is open 9 AM to 6 PM, Tuesday through Sunday (closed Monday).

   • Explore the various markets in the central commercial district, especially the Grand Marché (also known as the main market or pink market), Artisanat Market, and fetish (traditional medicine) market. All three of these markets are located adjacent to one another and can be covered on foot within 2-3 hours.

   • Focus on the shops and restaurants in the Hippodrome area, especially near the Bla Bla Bar.

3. Spend a half-day exploring other museums and shops spread throughout the city.

SEGOU

Located 235 kilometers (146 miles) northeast of Bamako along the Niger River, this charming and laid-back old city of some 200,000 inhabitants, with its many distinctive balanzan trees and unique colonial architecture, is well worth exploring.

While it looks and feels like a small town in disrepair, or constant repair, Ségou has its own special character and attractions, which may or may not impress you, depending on where you have been thus far in Mali.

One thing is certain: this place quickly turns into a small town once you head toward its main tourist attractions, which are few in number and concentrated on or near the riverfront.

Ségou is more than just another Malian city with a veneer of charming chaos. In fact, you may want to stop overnight here, especially if you have been driving a long distance for the day. Or at least stop here for three or four hours to explore Ségou's many shops, markets, and restaurants as well as take in the riverfront and famous nearby village of Ségoukoro.

The Ségou area is noted for its rich history and colonial architecture. During the 16th to 18th centuries, it was the center for several kingdoms and dynasties of the Bambara people. Near the end of the 18th century the area came under the control of colonial France, which established the famous Office du Niger in Ségou.

Through this office France attempted to build extensive irrigation works for exploiting high levels of cotton and rice production. While it was unsuccessful in achieving its production and export goals, the Office du Niger continues to operate from Ségou with more modest agricultural achievements.

Like many other Malian cities, Ségou is chaotic, worn, and makeshift, but it's also very picturesque, especially along the waterfront. Indeed, Ségou is a photographer's delight.

The best way to explore this city is to head north of the main highway toward the river. Look for one of the best hotels and restaurants in the city, the Lebanese-run Hotel L'Auberge, which is just south of the wharf. Here you'll be in the center of the city's many galleries, shops, stalls, and street vendors that offer a wide range of tempting arts, crafts, textiles, jewelry, and souvenirs.

Walk one block north of the hotel and you'll see the wharf directly in front of you. To both the left and right you'll see many boats (pinasses) and their passengers who stop here or embark here on their way to Mopti and beyond - another three- to six-day journey along the Niger River. Turn left and you’ll be on the unpaved esplanade, which also serves as the grounds for the annual arts festival.

Here you'll see the colorful river traffic, watch women doing laundry in the river, and observe children playing along the waterfront. Walk east along the dirt riverfront road and you'll pass the tourist office and Hotel Jacana before coming to the extensive outdoor pottery market alongside the river.

There's not much else to see and do here except head west along the main road to the large village of Ségoukoro, which is also known as Old Ségou - home of the Bambara people who, along with the Dogon of Bandiagara, produce much sought-after ethnographic art. This is a very interesting old village run by a chief who permits visitors to enter, wander around, and take photos for a fee.

Segou transforms itself from a sleepy town to a musical stage during the annual arts festival (Festival on the Niger), which is held at the end of January and first of February. At that time hotels and restaurants are full and the esplanade along the riverfront is packed with musicians, artists, and spectators who come here to celebrate their passion for music, arts, and crafts.

Several tour groups, including Saga Tours (www.sagatours.com), offer special tours to this lively event.

MOPTI AND SEVARE

Located within 20 minutes of each other by paved road, Mopti and Sévaré are important commercial and NGO centers in the heartland of Mali. Together they offer visitors some unique sights and shopping opportunities to justify an overnight stay in Mopti.

If you're making a long day's drive from Bamako, Ségou, Gao, or Timbuktu, or even coming out of nearby Dogon country or Djenne, Mopti is the perfect place to stop overnight. In fact, its central location is one of its major attractions.

A crowded yet sprawling city of 90,000 inhabitants, Mopti is sometimes referred to as the "Venice of Mali," because of its waterfront location and boating character. It's where the Niger and Bani rivers meet and where a tremendous amount of river commerce and tourist traffic congregates.

As you'll see along Mopti's crowded commercial streets, this city is a crossroads for many different cultures and ethnic groups (Bambara, Malinke, Fulani, Bobo, Bozo, Dogon, Songhai, Tuareg, and Hausa) who come here to buy, sell, and make a livelihood.

Indeed, Mopti is an energetic beehive of colorful activity where long wooden pinasses constantly ply the waters with cargo, passengers, and tourists. Charming chaos is perhaps the best way to characterize this noisy, energetic, and working city that is largely defined by its impressive yet chaotic river front commerce, numerous aging pinasses, and large mud-baked mosque.

For visitors, the human show is centered along the waterfront where you will encounter many laborers, entrepreneurs, and hustlers.

Mopti is an old river port and trading city where time often seems to stand still. The city's busy commercial center is situated on three islands, which are connected by land-filled dikes and linked by a causeway that joins the road that goes to the main highway at Sévaré, which is located 15 kilometers east of Mopti.

Everyone here seems to be an entrepreneur who is trying to sell something for local consumption. If you stay at one of the city's major hotels (try the Hotel Kanaga along the riverbank), you'll most likely be pestered by friendly but persistent street touts who want to sell you everything from boat rides and tours to wood carvings, metal sculptures, textiles, and hats.

If you don’t go shopping, shopping will come to you! The city does boast a very large arts and crafts market where you can get some good buys, but only if you bargain very hard!

Above all, Mopti is a very busy market town that also draws many tourists who come here to experience its interesting waterfront culture, explore its fascinating markets, and view its impressive mud mosque. Some adventuresome visitors come here to catch a slow boat to Timbuktu while others hesitate when seeing the potential realities of river travel.

A fascinating amount of human activity takes place along the river as traders from all over Mali deal in everything from fish, salt, rice, live animals, and firewood to fruits, vegetables, arts, crafts, and used clothes.

This is a very lively working city where you'll see:

• the constant loading and unloading of pinasses and trucks by hand
• makeshift trading stalls displaying numerous wares
• street vendors offering piles of used clothes imported from abroad
• crowds of curious consumers roaming the streets

In fact, it's a regional center for USAID, U.S. Peace Corps, and several UN agencies and nonprofit organizations that are tucked along the town's many unpaved and dusty potholed streets. Small Enterprise Development Peace Corps volunteers here play an important role in promoting the arts and crafts in this region: www.moptiartisans.com.

Similar work is being done by a Tourism Peace Corps volunteer in Segou: www.tourisme-segou.com. If you check out these websites, you'll be able to locate some talented artists and craftspeople associated with NGO projects. Locating these people may add a couple of hours to your visit, but the adventure will be well worth the time!

Sévaré has a few noteworthy shops offering interesting selections of arts and crafts. Plan to spend an hour or two exploring (shopping) this small town before heading southwest to Djenne or northeast to Dogon country and beyond.

Bustling Mopti and laid-back Sévaré may surprise you with their offerings as well as confirm a little known secret about travel-shopping in Mali - never pass through a place just because it doesn't look interesting or appears too chaotic for your sense of order.

Some of Mali's most intimidating and nondescript places often become special experiences for curious travelers who make an effort to learn more about communities and their peoples. You just need to be pointed in the right direction so you can do some serious sleuthing for discovering the unique treasures and pleasures of Mopti and Sévaré.

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