Mali – Living Together Festival Tour (10 Days) 2025

Arrival in Bamako

Airport reception and transfer to hotel, Tamana Hotel or similar, for overnight stay.

Situated in Bamako, 6 km from Bamako National Museum, Hotel Tamana features accommodation with a restaurant, free private parking, an outdoor swimming pool and a bar.

Breakfast and departure to Siby, the capital of the Pays Mande.
Siby is a small town 50km south Bamako, popular for its strange rock formations, unspoiled villages and mango plantations.

This day we will discover the Mandinka country, visit the Camanjía and Sacrifice Arch with a hunter, and visit the Dula Fondo village (picnic).

The Kamadjan Arch site is in Siby, Kati commune, located about fifty kilometers south-west of Bamako. This cultural landscape, which houses the cave of lions, the place of divination, the cave of sacrifices, the shelters under the rocks and the Telikourou site, served as a protective wall to the village of Siby. At the time of Soundiata Keita, meetings of troops, councils of war, demonstrations of knowledge took place there

In the afternoon, we will organize a Yuguba dance.

We will return to Siby and spend the night at the camp.

After breakfast, we will depart for Banantoumou, a town located 130 km from Bamako. Banatumou is a village with three neighborhoods: Dogo, Mendiga, and Senufo. Due to the armed conflict affecting Dogon Country, part of the community has moved to Banantoumou, along with their sacred masks.

Upon arrival, we will visit the village, which offers an interesting blend of Dogon and Bambara culture. We will welcome the tribal chiefs and chat with them about their cultures.

In the afternoon, near sunset, we will organize a Dogon mask dance, and we will spend the night in the bell tents.

Very early breakfast. Transfer to Bamako, to the airport for your domestic flight to Timbuktu (1:45 minutes).

Arrival in Timbuktu.

Visit the legendary city on the cultural and economic routes between the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Guinea, and a center for caravans crossing the desert.

We will several days exploring the city and visiting each of its neighborhoods.

Timbuktu – A UNESCO World Heritage site.

A mythical cultural and economic city between the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Guinea.

We will dedicate one day to explore this city and the whole day to visit each of the neighbourhoods of this decadent and fantastic city. We will visit the tombs of the Muslim holy men, the Sudanese style mosque and some Tuareg communities to learn more about the lifestyle of this Saharan people.

Home of the prestigious Koranic Sankore University and other madrasas, Timbuktu was an intellectual and spiritual capital and a centre for the propagation of islam throughout Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries. Its three great mosques, Djingareyber, Sankore and Sidi Yahia, recall

Timbuktu’s golden age. Although continuously restored, these monuments are today under threat from desertification.

Overnight at the Colombo Hotel.

Following breakfast, we visit the Saharan village and organize a traditional Tuareg dance.

In the afternoon, we will have tea with them after the visit.

Breakfast. We will spend a day exploring this city, exploring each of the neighborhoods of this decadent and fantastic city. We will visit the tombs of Muslim holy men, the Sudanese-style mosque, and some Tuareg communities to learn about the life of this Saharan people
Overnight at the Colombo Hotel.

Breakfast. Transfer to the airport for the return flight to Niamey.
Reception and transfer to the hotel for showers.
Niamey city tour for those with a later return flight.

End of the day, late evening, following dinner, you will be taken to the airport for your return flight.

The tour ends at the airport for check-in and security formalities and to board the flight home.

END

Register here for the trip and further details will be sent https://forms.gle/3AkTSZBDDWe2gFhd8 Travel@hodophileexperience.com

Group minimum 04

Solo Traveller – on request
02 pax EUR1590 per person
03-04 pax EUR1325 per person
05-10 pax EUR1050 per person
11-15 pax EUR950 per person

Accommodation shared

Single supplement: EUR100

50% payment required on booking

Remaining payments can be done in 2 instalments with the final payment, 2 weeks before departure.

Cancellation fees apply – for further details see:
https://hodophileexperience.com/index.php/about-our-trips/

Festival activities: Tuareg music concerts day and night until dawn.
In the morning, we rest, sipping African tea with the nomadic audience and learning about African culture.

Breakfast. Festival activities: Music concerts, more music this day, camel riding courses, and more festival activities.

This is the last night of the festival, until dawn.

Breakfast. We will dedicate a day to exploring this city, touring each of the neighbourhoods of this decadent and fantastic city.

Breakfast and transfer to the airport for a domestic flight from Timbuktu to Bamako (1 hour 45 minutes). Arrival in Bamako.
Transfer to accommodation at Hotel Tamana or similar.
Overnight

Breakfast and departure to Ségou.
Arrival in the capital Bambara, undoubtedly one of the most pleasant cities of Mali, with its tree-lined avenues, its colonial quarter, its Puerto fluvial and its neighbourhoods.

On the peaceful banks of the Niger River, 250 km from Bamako, lies the colonial town of Segou, with its beautiful tree-lined avenues and relaxed atmosphere, the heart of Bambara culture. The historic settlement of Segoukoro, the old Segou, remains preserved in its original ancestral appearance, 18 km away, while its shady administrative quarters, dating from the late 19th century, are an interesting blend of neo-Sudanese and colonial styles.

Clay has a very special significance in Segou and is used in many fields, from building construction and craftwork to the characteristic dyeing of textiles. It is in the Segou region that legend has it that the ancient technique of “bogolan” was born, the complex process of pigmenting cotton with clay ochre and macerated plants. Even today, these secrets, used in ancient times by the Bambara warrior and hunter caste, are still handed down by expert craftsmen, who make beautiful fabrics by hand, with their typical black and brown geometric patterns.

But Segou is also the home of puppets and masks. Among the theory of small ateliers and antique dealers, it is possible to find unique pieces of masks dating back to the Bambara tradition, or the characteristic “wooden fish” of the Bozo, a kind of brightly coloured aquatic puppet that was used during propitiatory ceremonies linked to the cyclical nature of fishing.

On the way we will be able to admire the huge baobabs, crossing a magnificent landscape and visiting some villages that we will find on the way.
Check-in at the Djoliba hotel.
In the afternoon, take a walk along the river to admire the sunset or visit the place where millet beer is brewed and feast with them.

Return to the hotel and overnight.

Breakfast and departure to Bamako. Transfer to the accommodation at the Tamana Hotel to prepare your bags.

At the agreed time, transfer to the airport, check-in, and boarding for home

The tour ends at the airport for check-in and security formalities and to board the flight home.

END

Mali is a dangerous region for Westerners to visit because of fighting with Islamist rebels. They have been responsible for several kidnappings of foreigners; most of whom were killed after being held for months in remote desert camps. Travellers cannot expect to get consular services in the event of an emergency. Many governments recommend against all travel to Mali outside of Bamako.

Register here for the trip and further details will be sent
https://forms.gle/3AkTSZBDDWe2gFhd8
Travel@hodophileexperience.com

Group minimum 06

Rates:
Solo Traveller – on request
02 pax EUR1690 per person
03-04 pax EUR1225 per person
05-08 pax EUR1175 per person
09-10 pax EUR1015 per person
11-15 pax EUR925 per person

Accommodation shared
Single supplement: EUR100

50% payment required on booking
Remaining payments can be done in 2 instalments with the final payment, 2 weeks before departure.

Cancellation fees apply – for further details see:
https://hodophileexperience.com/index.php/about-our-trips/