Explore Mali, Burkina Faso & Benin 19-Days

Day 1 Arrive In Bamako, Mali

International flight arrives in Bamako; airport-to-hotel transfer; overnight in Bamako

Meal(s) Included: No

Overnight at Azalai Grand Hotel or Similar

Day 2 Bamako

Bamako city tour: start at Point G and the panoramic overview of the city; visit the National Museum, the city market and the artisans' village, where you will see local craftsmen at work: silversmiths, woodcarvers, weavers, and leatherworkers; overnight in Bamako.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Azalai Grand Hotel or Similar

Day 3 Timbuktu

Early morning transfer to the airport for the flight to Timbuktu; check into your hotel, and visit this legendary city: see the ancient mosques (built in the XIVth century) and former universities, the museum, the explorers' houses, the city market which receives the azalaïs, the salt caravans from the desert; in the afternoon, excursion to the Sahara Desert by camel caravan to visit a Tuareg camp; enjoy tea on the dunes with your Tuareg hosts, the Princes of the Desert; return to and overnight in Timbuktu.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Hendrina Khan Hotel or Similar

Day 4 Mopti

Early morning transfer to the airport for flight to Mopti, the Venice of Mali, nestled between the Niger and the Bani rivers; Mopti city tour: see the beautiful mosque, the fishing port, and the bustling market where many of Mali's cultural groups can be seen: Bambara, Bobo, Bozo, Dogon, Fulani, Tuareg and Songhay; enjoy a sunset sail on the Niger River in a traditional pirogue; overnight in Mopti.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Hotel Kanaga or Similar

Day 5 Djenne

Day trip to Djenne on its weekly market day, when Djenne is at its colorful best; stroll around the market stalls, spread out before the magnificent Grand Mosque, the world's largest mud brick architecture and one of Unesco's World Heritage sites; return to and overnight in Mopti.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Hotel Kanaga or Similar

Day 6 Dogon Country

After breakfast, drive to Mali's fascinating Dogon country; visit the Dogon village Songo, renowned for its rock paintings and circumcision grotto; continue to Sangha, on the edge of the Bandiagara escarpment; overnight in Sangha.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Hotel Cheval Blanc or Similar

Day 7 Dogon Country

Descend the Bandiagara escarpment to visit the villages Banani (note the ancient Tellem cave dwellings in the cliff face), Ireli, Amani (visit the sacred crocodile sanctuary), and Tireli, where you may see a traditional Dogon mask dance; return to and overnight in Sangha.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Hotel La Falaise or Similar

Day 8 Segou

After breakfast drive to Segou, Mali's second largest city and former colonial administrative center; en route, visit Terekongo village, site of a sacred well inhabited by protector spirits of the Bobo people; overnight in Segou.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Hotel Independence or Similar

Day 9 Segou/Sikasso

Visit Segou and Sekoro village (the "old Segou"), capital of the Bambara kingdom; see the tomb of King Biton Coulibaly; after lunch, drive to Sikasso; overnight in Sikasso.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Hotel Zanga or Similar

Day 10 Sikasso & Bobo Dioulasso

Visit Sikasso, in Mali's green belt; see the remnants of the Tata, ancient palisade that encircled the city and for a time held off the French colonial army; visit the Mamelon, residence of the kings of Sikasso; in the afternoon, depart Mali and cross into Burkina Faso; overnight in Bobo Dioulasso.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Hotel Auberge or Similar

Day 11 Bobo Dioulasso

Tour Bobo Dioulasso, ("house of the Bobo merchants"), Burkina Faso's second largest city; see the old mosque and visit the old Kibidwe artisans' district, where you will see blacksmiths, potters, and dyers at work; in the afternoon drive to Banfora; visit the Karfiguela waterfalls and Lac Tengrela; overnight in Banfora.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Fara Hotel or Similar

Day 12 Banfora

Depart Banfora and visit the mysterious stone ruins of Loropeni, whose origins are unknown but the local Gan people call them the "house of refusal"; Loropeni is also the site of a large and diverse market held every five days; overnight in Gaoua.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Hala (Ala)Hotel or Similar

Day 13 Gaoua

After breakfast, visit the Poni Museum, dedicated to the Lobi culture; see the distinctive, fortress-like Lobi architecture; then drive to Ouagadougou; overnight in Ouagadougou.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Hotel Residence La Palmeraie or Similar

Day 14 Ouagadougou

Full day to explore Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital city; visit the Grand Market and the National Museum, with its interesting collection of regional clothing, masks, household utensils and ancestral statues; visit the craft market at the Artisans' Center, where you will find basketry, batik fabrics, wooden statues and masks, jewelry, leatherwork and bronze castings; overnight in Ouagadougou.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Hotel Residence La Palmeraie or Similar

Day 15 Natitingou

Depart Ouagadougou after breakfast and drive to Fada N'Gourma, cross the BF-Benin border and continue to Natitingou, in Somba country; overnight in Natitingou.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Hotel Tata Somba or Similar

Day 16 Natitingou

Visit the Natitingou Museum for an interesting overview of the Somba culture; then drive to Abomey, the birthlace of voodoo; visit Abomey's historical Daho-Donou Museum; overnight in Abomey

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Hotel Dako Ler Bohicon or Similar

Day 17 Abomey

Visit the ancient palaces of the twelve kings of Abomey, who reigned from 1620 through 1900; visit the artisans' center; then depart for Cotonou; overnight in Cotonou.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Hotel Du Lac or Similar

Day 18 Ouidah

Tour of Ouidah, an important traditional religious center and ancient slave depot, which sent thousands of African's into slavery into the new world; visit the Museum in the old Portuguese fort, the temple of pythons, the Cathedral of Notre Dame and the Kpasse sacred forest; trace the route of the famous "Slave Road" which leads to the slavery memorial of Zoungbodji; witness a traditional voodoo ceremony featuring the spirits of departed ancestors; return to and overnight in Cotonou.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Overnight at Hotel Du Lac or Similar

Day 19 Cotonou & Final Departure

In the morning visit Ganvie village, built on stilts over the lagoon; then continue with a tour of Cotonou, including the international Dantokpa market, with its fetish products and handcraft center; in the evening, transfer to the airport for your final departure.

Meal(s) Included: Breakfast

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