heart of dogon's country, cultural tours Mali, Bandiagara cliff, Mopti, Djenne mosque, Niger river, animism, masks, cosmogony, Sangha, guides, sahel

The Dogon's country is a vast area 125 miles long, where 250,000, inhabitants are living in 700 villages, snuggled in the cliff of BANDIAGARA. Ten centuries ago, the Dogon people took refuge in that place to escape from the invasion of Islam, as they were animist. The Dogons always maintain the practice of a lot of ancestral myths and have a complex social organization. The beauty of the villages, their millet granaries, their talking huts (Togunas) and some of their necropolis will fascinate you. The best way to discover the Dogon's country is to walk along winding tracks.

DAY 1: arrival, welcome, diner and night in the Mercure**** Silmande.

DAY 2: departure from OUAGADOUGOU early in the morning, picnic at noon and arrival in the evening at SANGHA, by forgotten tracks. Diner and night in the encampment of Sangha.

DAY 3 : after the breakfast, you will go for a walk along the cliff. The visit of the town is planed after the picnic. Diner and night at the encampment of SANGHA.

DAY 4: now, as you are inured to walk, we will continue to discover dogons’ villages and meet these sympathetic people. After, back to the encampment of SANGHA.

DAY 5: thanks to the ferry boat of Bani, we will reach DJENNE and its famous mosque in banco (considered as the highest mud-made monument of the world). Diner and night at the encampment of Djenne.

DAY 6 : departure for MOPTI, considered as the Venice of the Mali. It is a port on the Bani, wich is a tributary of Niger river. Lunch on the port. Then, you will take a dugout canoe to meet Bozo people (fishermen). Night at the Ambedjele*** hotel.

DAY 7 : back to Ouagadougou . Diner and night at Mercure Silmande.

DAY 8 : town trip and visit of OUAGADOUGOU, lunch and transfer to the airport at the end of the afternoon.