Fest Desert

From Bamako

The Festival in the Desert

See photos of this year’s trip

The World Heritage Ancient City of Djenne

3 days en pinasse (long boat) up the River Niger to Timbuktu

3 days of The Festival In The Desert, Essakane

4 days of Dogon Country trekking

Dec 26 All to have arrived in Bamako

Dec 27 Bamako to Djenne (7 hrs), a beautiful World Heritage town on an island between two tributaries to the Niger River, with its World Heritage mosque, the largest mud building in the world. We stay 2 nights in a hotel.

Dec 28 One of the largest market days in west Africa - Djenne.

Dec 29 Leave Djenne and transfer to the Dogon Country. The 200km Dogon escarpment and the villages of the animist Dogon have, again, World Heritage status. A strange and other-worldly landscape is home to a fascinating people. Each day we trek between the villages and there is some escarpment climbing requiring reasonable fitness. We camp in gite-type accommodation in the villages.

Dec 30 Dogon trek.

Dec 31 Dogon trek.

Jan 1 Dogon, transfer to Mopti.

Jan 2 Day in Mopti, the “Venice of the Niger” and gateway to the Inland River Niger Delta

Jan 3 1 hour drive to Konna to begin the pinasse boat trip up the Niger River and across the Inland River Niger Delta, a region of outstanding natural beauty and great historical and cultural significance to west African and Saharan civilisations over the ages. We stop in the Peul and Bozo villages and camp out in the open after crossing Lake Debo.

Jan 4 Pinasse: from Lake Debo we continue to Niafunke, home and inspiration to Ali Farka Toure, the Godfather of Malian blues. We camp on the sand dunes which mark the changing landscape as we approach the desert.

Jan 5 Pinasse: Niafunke to Dire for the weekly market and on to Timbuktu.

Jan 6 Day in Timbuktu - I leave to the imagination!

Jan 7 Am: travel to Essakane, site of the Festival Au Desert. At the festival we have our own camp.

Jan 8 Festival au Desert.

Jan 9 Festival au Desert.

Jan 10 Transfer to Timbuktu.

Option to a) fly back to Bamako (+€150)

Or b) rest day in Timbuktu for 2 day drive to Bamako.

Jan 11 Drive to Mopti.

Jan 12 Drive to Bamako.

Jan 13 End of tour.