Kayes
The city of Kayes was in 1892 the first capital of Upper Senegal-Niger future French Sudan. To leave this place of capital in Bamako afterwards. The city is dotted with symbols of colonization.

A concentrate of all types of tourism, Kayes has many sites and curiosities which are among others: the Colonial Buildings, the Island of Modinkané located 12km from the town of Kayes, the Tata de Koniakary 75 km from Kayes, the Chutes du Felou at 17km, the Gouina Falls at 80km, the town of Toukoto at 250km, the town of Kita at 394km, the Kita kourou at kita, the Sacred Vestibule of the griots of Boudefo, the Statue of the Virgin Mary, the Reserve du Bafing, the Baoulé loop, the Senegal River which allows you to take a cruise.

over an area of ​​120,760 km², home to 1,438,261 inhabitants, made up of Khassonkés, Soninkés, Peuls, Bambara, Moors and Malinkés.

The city of Kayes was in 1892 the first capital of Upper Senegal-Niger future French Sudan. To leave this place of capital in Bamako afterwards. The city is dotted with symbols of colonization.

A concentrate of all types of tourism, Kayes has many sites and curiosities which are among others: the Colonial Buildings, the Island of Modinkané located 12km from the town of Kayes, the Tata de Koniakary 75 km from Kayes, the Chutes du Felou at 17km, the Gouina Falls at 80km, the town of Toukoto at 250km, the town of Kita at 394km, the Kita kourou at kita, the Sacred Vestibule of the griots of Boudefo, the Statue of the Virgin Mary, the Reserve du Bafing, the Baoulé loop, the Senegal River which allows you to take a cruise.

SOUTH MALI
BAMAKO, the caiman river: Bamako is located in a basin surrounded by five peaks of the Manding Mountains (Koulouba 404m, Farakoulou 463m, Kouloumagni Koulou 483m, Point G Koulou 493m and Lassa Koulou 504m). Founded in 1640 by the Niaré, Touré, Dravé and Somono families, the city of the three caimans is the political and administrative capital of the Republic of Mali. Built into a district, Bamako covers an area of ​​1,420 km² divided into six urban communes. The streets of the city of Bamako are lively, active and colorful. Bamako is charming, authentic and traditional at the same time. The city has modern and expanding tourist infrastructure.

 

SIKASSO, Nature, Greenery: The kingdom of Kénédougou of kings Tiéba and Babemba TRAORE and the empire of Wassoulou with Almamy Samori TOURE marked the history of the resistance of Sikasso against colonial penetration.

Cultural city, Sikasso is home to mask dances, the triangular balafon festival, traditional events and musical expressions of Wassoulou.

Sikasso, the verdant is the capital of the 3rd administrative region of Mali. Located in the south of the country, it borders with three countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Guinea Conakry.

The wettest area in Mali with an average annual temperature of 27 ° C, the region covers an area of ​​76,480 km². Its population is estimated at 1,800,000 inhabitants, made up of Sénoufo, Minianka, Bobo, Peuls, Bambara and Malinké etc. The region of Sikasso constitutes an ecotourism site par excellence.

CENTRAL MALI
KOULIKORO, a Millennial Civilization: With an area of ​​90,120 km2 and a population of 1,570,507 souls, the region of Koulikoro, very rich because of its glorious past, has as a whole five (05) very varied cultural areas which are:

Ouagadou in the North;Mandé in the South;Bélédougou in the west and in the center;Baninko in the EastThe Djitoumou in the South East. This region was the cradle of West African civilization with two (02) Great Empires: Ouagadou and Mali, whose influence has gone beyond African borders.

Koulikoro is known thanks to Nianan Kulu, an imposing site where Soundiata KEITA, founder of the Empire of Mali, distinguished himself during the battle against Soumangourou Kanté, the sorcerer king of Sosso who would have disappeared there.

Today, the second administrative region of Mali, Koulikoro is an industrial zone where several factories are located: the Huilerie Cotonnière du Malin (HUICOMA); the Naval Construction Industry of Mali (INACOM), the Grand Moulin du Mali (GMM), the Brasserie du Mali (BRAMALI), the Cotton Ginning Factory.

 

Segou: Welcome to Ségou, the land of shea butter, “four thousand four hundred and forty-four balanzans (acacia albida) and the only hunchbacked foot, the meaning of which even the locals don’t know”.

Segou was the heart of the powerful Bambara kingdom founded in 1712 by Mamary Biton COULIBALY and his Tonjons, relayed by the dynasty of DIARRA N’Golossi. Kingdom very warlike and very attached to the land, Ségou will be conquered in 1862 by Toucouleur El Hadj Omar TALL and occupied in 1891 by the French Archinard.

4th administrative region of Mali with an area of ​​60,947 km² and a population of 3,038,000 inhabitants made up of Bambara, Miniaka, Bwa, Soninké, Peuls, Moors, Somonos and Bozos whose pride is expressed through the nobility of the dances that are Bara, Bondialan, Sogola, Boron, Naminé. These dances are performed alone or accompanied by masks and puppets.

 

Djenné, the twin sister of Timbuktu: On the Niger River, two cities by their intellectual and political importance, by their wealth born of trade, the luster of their scholars, the beauty of their monuments that have come down to our generation, have conquered a celebrity that even today the visitor will not find spoofed. These two cities are Timbuktu and Djenné which it has been said in Mali that they are like two halves of the same city.

 

The learned Es Saadi said of Djenné: this city is large, flourishing and prosperous, it is rich, blessed from heaven and favored by God. He bestowed on this country all his favors as a natural and inborn thing. The inhabitants of Djenné are benevolent, kind and hospitable.

Listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988, Djenné is a religious city founded at the dawn of the 9th century which produced scholars in the Muslim world including Mohamed Bagayoko.

The city offers to the glances the splendid architecture of its two-storey houses built in mud and pediment, rare example in Africa of a site entirely preserved from the ravages of time and predatory modernism.

No impression is as strong as the one felt by the traveler who arrives on a Monday, market day in Djenné, around noon the merciless light blazes the colors of the boubous and the clamor of the crowd fills the space in front of the famous mosque of Djenné. It has a prayer space of 50 m by 26 m, an interior courtyard, 104 ventilation and ventilation holes and 99 pillars that support the roof, making this mosque the largest earthen building in the world. The great Mosque of Djenné is the subject of an annual plastering ceremony which brings together the whole city and its surroundings for two days.

 

The fascinating dogon universe: The Dogon country is undoubtedly the most picturesque region of Mali, beauty and diversity, the architectural style of the houses, the way of life of the inhabitants are all unforgettable attractions.
From Mopti, the entrance to the Dogon country evokes the entrance to a temple. The geography itself allows the comparison: rising chaotically from the lowlands of Macina to break into a peak which dominates the plain of the gondo -séno: it is the cliff of Bandiagara.

Listed as a world cultural and natural heritage of humanity by UNESCO since 1989, the Dogon country is like a temple which one can only enter if one has patiently initiated oneself to admit the radical strangeness of a universe cultural whose values ​​are based on an extraordinarily complex and rich philosophy and religion. Here, the natural universe is no less difficult to access than the cultural universe. Sangha is only the pre-style of the temple, whose most secret and beautiful chapels are nestled in the hollows of the cliff.

The mask dance in Dogon country is sacred. Originally, in African civilizations all dances are linked to religious rites. Among the Dogons, the dance of masks is exclusively a matter for men. The Dogon ballet, composed of a variable number of dancers, includes an immutably fixed number of kinds of masks among which, the kanaga “mask of the Gods” which even became the emblem of Mali at a given time.

The Dogons are a proud people whose culture is considered to be one of the richest and oldest in Africa.

 

Mopti: At the confluence of the Niger River and its tributary the Bani, Mopti, capital of the region with its 108,000 inhabitants, originates from Bozo camps dating from the 12th century. It quickly spread over islands linked by dikes. Crossroads of the ethnic groups of the river, the north, the central savannas and the Dogon cliffs, Mopti commonly called “Malian Venice” because of its insular situation is a prosperous city, full of movements and noise.

NORTH-EAST MALI
Timbuktu, the pearl of the desert: Gold comes from the South, salt comes from the North, silver from the country of the whites, but beautiful things, good stories are only found in Timbuktu ” announces the illustrious scholar writer Es-Saadi.

Timbuktu, which gave its name to Mali’s sixth administrative region, is a religious city founded in the 12th century and was a metropolis in medieval times.

According to the hypotheses, his birth is the fact either of a former camp of Berber nomads, or of the self-sacrifice of an old woman called “Buktu”, responsible for guarding the Tuareg well outside the transhumance seasons, or the origin from the Songhai populations, having named it for its geographical location in a basin.

Timbuktu, the pearl of the desert, the Athens of Africa acquired from the outset an indefinable mystery which makes some people say: Timbuktu cannot be told, we see it or we do not see it.

After a flawless influence of several centuries well beyond the limits of the Muslim world, Timbuktu retains the rich hours of its grandiose past.

Thousands of manuscripts, handed down from generation to generation, remain in the libraries of its Islamic university.

This unprecedented crossroads, five centuries ago when traders from the Sahara, savannas and forests exchanged metals, salt, spices, fabrics, food products, still remains today the rallying point of all enthusiasts and of a trade still active.

Timbuktu has been classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1988.

The country’s prestigious historical past (home of great kingdoms and empires), its culture and its privileged geographical position in the heart of West Africa have largely contributed to the richness and diversity of Malian tourism potential. It is today one of the most popular destinations had it not been for the security crisis in the Sahelo-Saharan region of West Africa.

The multitude of ethnicities and the historical heritage make it a rich and diversified culture, preserving at the same time its traditions such as orality with griots or crafts and opening, since its independence, to literature, to the theater. , cinema and photography. In Mali each ethnic group lives to the rhythm of its traditional music. Music is at the center of Malian life and Mali has managed to conserve the important elements of its culture.

Mali is full of enormous tourism potential which is attracting more and more the attention of tourism operators and developers.

Cultural Heritage
Most of the tourism potential is based on cultural heritage. Mali currently has twelve (12) entities classified as world heritage:
• the site of Djenné-Djeno,
• the Mosque of Djenné,
• the city of Timbuktu,
• Gao and the Tomb of Askia,
• the septennial rehabilitation of Kamablon de Kangaba,
• the crossing of the oxen of Diafarabé and Dialoubé,
• the dogon natural and cultural sanctuary,
• the collective fishing of San Sanké Mô,
• the Kouroukanfouga charter,
• the masks and puppets of Markala,
• the Korodouga society
• the cultural expressions linked to the balafon,
• the Imzad Tamashek.

The country has in particular natural sites, a dozen protected areas and a RAMSAR site(the Inner Delta of the Niger River). Among the areas, the Gourma nature reserve should be noted, with around 500 pachyderms, the largest in the tropical zone. These sites are conducive to the practice of various forms of tourism including eco-tourism. Mali is crossed by the two largest rivers in West Africa (Senegal and Niger), these rivers constitute as many assets for tourism. In view of these elements, it appears that Mali has as many cultural as natural attractions which testify to a real potential for tourist development. The aim will be to make this potential attractive, visible and competitive in the big cities. markets that generate tourists by overcoming all challenges.

The Architecture
The architecture of Mali is unique in Africa and in the world. It includes mud buildings such as the Great Mosque of Djenné built in the 13th century or the University of Timbuktu. It can be found all over the Sahel region of Africa. Malian architecture developed during the Empire of Ghana which founded most of the major cities in Mali.

In a large part of Mali, mud-brick architecture is a centuries-old mode of construction that is still in place and very much alive. It also offers a double attraction: a lower cost of construction and maintenance and important bioclimatic qualities in this Sudano region. Sahelian.

In addition to its exceptional landscapes of cliffs and sandstone plateau integrating very beautiful architecture (houses, attics, altars, sanctuaries and toguna – men’s shelters), Dogon architecture is specific.Most of the villages are located in the cliffs and accessible by steep paths that take the faults of the plateau or by quite accessible paths.

During the colonial era, French architects relied on Sudanese codes to create colonial buildings, thus giving birth to neo-Sudanese architecture.

Traditional Hairstyle
In Mali, ornaments and braids were used to differentiate between a woman, a girl or a widow. The braids in Mali illustrate cultural expression and most raffinée.Ce undeniable aesthetic artistic symbol is a social language by people.

Braids sometimes have ritual significance. In our country, women and their daughters wear original and specific braids which reflect the identity of loyal ethnic groups. The old generation regrets that these braids which were the pride of Mali, which symbolized a whole culture were left aside by the younger generation. As an example, we present the case of the Khassonké community of Kayes.

Thus the “Tonto or Karafé” stigmatize the excised girls. The Tonto is very simple. It is a braid of hair lengthened by the “Yossi” which starts from the forehead to the nape of the neck and whose central horn is tilted towards the nape. “We can adorn it with cowries”.

Malian braids were widely exported, even exceeding the limits of the African continent, they were scattered throughout the world at the same time as black slaves. The braid is quite an ART and an effective means of expression and social cohesion.

Fashion style
The marriage of tradition and modernism of fabrics produced or dyed by craftsmen such as bogolan, woven loincloth, bazin and wax, are tailor-made by local tailors.

Bazin not produced in Africa is finely reworked by dyers. The woven loincloth and jewelry regain all their glory. As for wax, inspired by Africa and produced for this market, it finds its place in the hands of couturiers and stylists of this continent. In Mali, tailors are outdoing themselves to create traditional clothes and outpace the competition.

Mali being a country enormously rich in culture, this richness is also felt in the traditional clothes because almost each ethnic group has a style and a particular and atypical dress code.Each cultural ceremony is also marked by a well-defined style from marriage to funeral in going through baptisms.

Dance
Traditional dance is an integral part of the artistic and cultural heritage of our country. The most famous are the masked dances. A real tool for social cohesion, dance occupies a prominent place in the traditional and customary ceremonies of our country.

There are several types of dance:
• the teguèrè dance organized on the occasion of collective fishing;
• the didadi, a popular dance derived from a dance originating from the wassoulou called “Djagoua bari”;
• the soumou (sarakolée dance) is a dance of joy performed to celebrate the end of the harvest;
• takamba in Sonrhaï environment;
• balani in the Senufo environment;
• the masked dances of the Dogons, a dance which is done with the movements of all the members.

The music
In Mali, music is also the culture of the griots, right holders of this art. Traditional music is still widely used and highly regarded. The diversity of Malian music highlights the richness and cultural diversity of Mali. This is how we can meet different musical styles such as hunter songs, wassoulou music, griots, etc.

The instruments used are mainly the n’goni, the kora, the balafon, the bara, the n’dounu, the tabalé, Flénkolon balani etc. The Imzad of the tamasheks and the balafon are classified as UNESCO intangible heritage.

THE FAUNA AND THE FLORA
Mali has classified forests and parks of wildlife reserves. Malian fauna is very rich, it is characterized by a diversity of species. There are more than 138 species of mammals, 143 species of fish, and at least 640 species of birds. Palaearctic migratory birds spend more than half of the year in the Central Niger Delta, where they come to protect themselves from the harsh winter and fatten up to face the journey to Europe.

On the subject of flora, there are currently nearly 1739 spontaneous woody species divided into 687 genera from 155 families.

The richness and diversity of natural resources offer an opportunity for the development of ecotourism, an alternative form of tourism for the preservation and conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity. Mali is distinguished by the presence of several global ecological zones.

Waterfalls: The regions of Kayes, Mandé and Sikasso are full of exuberant waterfalls and flora.

RIVER
Mali is crossed by two important rivers of West Africa, they are the Niger river 1700 km and the Senegal river 800 km. There are also lakes and very large ponds. Hence the existence of many wetlands, some of which are classified as Ramsar Sites. Mali is a signatory to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

Mali wishes to encourage river tourism on the Niger River, the Mali Tourism Promotion Agency, wants in the same direction to encourage the development of new products such as the discovery of Niger in a jet ski, the ride and cruises on the river. The rivers in Mali are a great opportunity for the promotion of domestic tourism, river tourism, local crafts and socio-cultural diversity.

DESERT
Mali, a continental country in the center of West Africa covers an area of ​​1,241,238 km2. The desert and its surroundings, an integral part of SAHARA, occupy 2/3 of the national territory in the north. This space is divided between the administrative regions of Timbuktu, Gao, Kidal, Ménéka and Taoudenit.

The Malian desert can be described as unique, complex, diverse for the original quality of the places (vastness, dunes, silence), the living production of culture (habitats, art and crafts, way of being and living), ‘state of the remains (engravings, paintings, ruins etc.

With the exception of the Adrar des Iforas “the mountain of the lords” (Kidal), a mountainous island of volcanic formation which culminates at 800 m, the rest of the territory is a flat country presenting in the basin of Taoudéni, Tanézrouft (Tombouctou ), the Tilemsi valley (Gao), the Azawak valley (Ménaka) grandiose landscapes, oceans of sand, vestiges of a very rich historical past.

Since time immemorial, the Sahara has been the caravanserai of all tracks. Mandatory point of passage for all those transiting from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic.

The Malian desert is a fantastic open-air museum. Thousands of years of human history are painted or carved in stone. Here, an anthropologist or a prehistorian could share with you his passion for these ancient traces and the questions they pose to humanity.

Malian gastronomy is rich in dishes, richness due to the cultural diversity of its different ethnicities, the mixing of races and civilizations, the extent of the country.

If the sharing of the common dish with the family remains a solemn moment which responds to very precise rules, in town, “the cuisine of desire” tempts us on every corner of the street, in the form of skewers, bean fritters, froufrou. , roasted peanuts or fresh berlingots with ginger, bissap or tamarind juice.

Malian cuisine is gourmet cuisine with concentrated and powerful flavors, that of a country where it is hot and dry most of the year, or small grains from arid areas such as millet, sorghum or fonio. , of fine and sandy texture, gives a couscous of an exquisite flavor, and where the fruits (lemon, banana, mango …) develop soft and sweet fragrances.

Two hundred and seventy-four (274) dishes were identified through 100 catering professionals and 200 housewives from the 17 main ethnic groups in Mali thanks to a study by ANPE (National Employment Agency).

Gouina Falls
The Gouina Falls are located on the Senegal River, 80 km from Kayes on the road to Bafoulabé. The river, 400 m wide at this point, falls from a height of about 25 m.

An exceptional natural site, it gives a superb view of the current of water flowing into the river basin. The site abounds in a very rich flora and fauna including hippos, antelopes, monkeys, birds.

The elephants of Gourma
The space called Gourma in Mali concerns three regions (Mopti, Timbuktu and Gao). The area covers approximately 83,000 km², in eastern Mali, between the Niger River and the border with Burkina Faso. The Gourma is limited to the north and east by the Niger river, to the west and south by the hills and cliffs of the Dogon country. The Gourma is a vast area that covers large rock formations, dunes, plains, ponds, lakes and elephants.

The Gourma elephant biodiversity reserve is classified among semi-arid and arid zones. Flora and fauna had to adapt to these harsh conditions, including the relict population of 350 elephants. It is the only place in the Sahel, where you can meet elephants. The annual migration of these enormous Gourma elephants follows the large pools of the area.

The Gourma elephant population is unique in Africa for three reasons: it is the most northerly population of the continent, it is in an exceptionally difficult arid environment.

Woroni Falls
Between mountains, fields, orchards and other cliffs, in a peaceful little village called Woroni, is located 65 km from Sikasso on the road to Côte d’Ivoire the Woroni falls.

The waters fall from a height of 20 to 25 m, flow over a bed of rocks and form pools like an impressive natural swimming pool at the foot of the rocks. There is a microclimate around and a pleasant view of the site.

Baoulé Loop National Park
The Baoulé Loop National Park is a vast protected area of ​​nearly 800,000 ha, which stretches from Siby to Kita, to the edge of the Mauritanian border. It includes several ecosystems: gallery forests, palm groves, bamboo forests, lakes. The most beautiful species of African antelope are present in the area, giraffes have been reintroduced, monkeys and warthogs abound. The best season to observe this fauna is between February and June. Archeology enthusiasts will also find a few sites, to their liking, in the reserve.

True green lung of 17 hectares in the heart of Bamako on the road to Koulouba, the National Park of Mali welcomes you all week for your moments of leisure. Open every day of the week, it is a place to relax with family or friends.

The National Park of Mali is also:
– Sports areas;
– Play areas;
– A Botanical garden. The plants will no longer have any secrets for you thanks to the botanical garden, the awareness circuit will explain everything in detail about local areas, medicinal plants and their benefits;
– Catering areas.

Ramsar sites in Mali
Mali joined the Ramsar convention in 1987, and had registered 5 wetlands of international importance in 2020.
• Inner Niger Delta, 2004
• Lake Magui, 2013
• Lake Wegnia, 2013
• Sourou Valley, transboundary site with the Burkina Faso 2019

INTERIOR DELTA OF THE NIGER RIVER: A WONDERFUL FOR ECOTOURISM IN MALI
The Inner Delta of the Niger River (DIN) is a vast flood zone with an area varying between 30,000 and 40,000 km ² depending on the level of floods. This vast area, the second in Africa by its size after the Okovango Delta in Botswana, extends into Mali over the regions of Ségou, Mopti and Timbuktu. An original space, the DIN contains ecological values ​​of great international importance and a very wide biodiversity in terms of aquatic fauna, terrestrial fauna, man, culture, breeding, aquatic habitat and terrestrial habitat.
Thanks to its ecological values, it is today, in its entirety, recognized as a RAMSAR site (International Convention of Wetlands).

– Lakes Debo and Walado-Débo;
– The villages of Akka, Gourao, Dentaga, Walado, Sendegué, Dogo, Dialloubé, Konza, Kouakourou etc;
– Water birds: pelicans, African cormorants, anhinga, herons (purple and bittern herons), egrets, storks, spoonbills, ibises, cranes, geese, ducks, lincoles, terns, raptors, passerines, birds of the savannah;
– Large herbivores: manatees, hippos;
– Savannah fauna: reptiles, green monkeys, striped-sided jackals, Nile monitor lizards, marsh mongooses;
– Fish: according to Daget in 1954 and according to Greenwood in 1976, more than 130 species of fish live in the DIN;
– Natural habitats and ecosystems: open water, sandy shallows, bourgoutières, flooded forests, cultivated rice fields, wild rice fields, rocks, sand banks, memphar ponds.

Farako Falls
Between mountains, fields, orchards and other cliffs, in a peaceful little village called Woroni, is located 65 km from Sikasso on the road to Côte d’Ivoire the Woroni falls.

The waters fall from a height of 20 to 25 m, flow over a bed of rocks and form pools like an impressive natural swimming pool at the foot of the rocks. There is a microclimate around and a pleasant view of the site.