Mali, once West Africa's greatest merchant empire, conjures up a spirit of adventure, of tiny villages and encounters with tribal peoples. First we shall take a look at Bamako, the capital and the head to the old trading port of Djenne. Its narrow alleyways and mud-brick Afro-Arab architecture make it a place of wonder. The Grand Mosque here is the tallest dried-earth building in the world. We ramble through Djenne's scenic market which sells everything from stylised wood carvings and gold jewellery to salt blocks and dried fish.

We then visit the Dogon country - a wilderness of rock, shrub and barren sandsset in the Bandiagara Escarpment, a site is an outstanding landscape of cliffs and sandy plateaux with some beautiful architecture (houses, granaries, altars, sanctuaries and Togu Na, or communal meeting-places). Several age-old social traditions live on in the region (masks, feasts, rituals, and ceremonies involving ancestor worship). The geological, archaeological and ethnological interest, together with the landscape, make the Bandiagara plateau one of West Africa's most impressive sites.

We then explore the shores of the Niger River in a pinasse (a canvas-roofed motorised boat) to cruise from Mopti to Timbuktu, cruising one of the world's greatest rivers. Finally, we arrive in Timbuktu and explore the winding alleys of this intriguing city, once a famous centre on the lucrative trans-Saharan caravan route, wealthy from trade in cargoes of gold and salt.

The show will showcase “Impressions of Mali” - a beautiful musical and visual journey produced by Peter Langer, followed by a slide presentation on Mali.

Excellent tours to Mali can be arranged by: Trek Holidays with offices across Canada.