trip details for sounds of the sahara (XFD)

We hope you enjoy this video of life on the road. This video may not be of this trip you are looking at but should give you an idea of what life is like on a Dragoman Overland journeys in this region of the world.

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is this trip for me?

Route: Bamako to Bamako

Length of Section: 21 Nights

Profile: This is an extraordinary cultural journey into the Sahara, with a choice of two contenders for the title of the ultimate world music festival: the Festival of the Desert in Essakane, and the Festival on the Niger in Segou. Mali is well known for its musicians, and for these festivals performers come from all over the world to play before a largely Tuareg audience (who tend to arrive by camel). There are other performances too - camel racing, sword fighting, puppet shows and more. In addition to the festivals, on this trip we'll take a tour of the mysterious Dogon region, see the incredible mud mosque of Djenne, and travel to a place that was for a long time a byword for remoteness and adventure: Timbuktu.

Adventure Rating: Challenging

Crew: 2 crew, local guides as necessary.

Vehicle: Classic Dragoman truck.

Accommodation: Mainly campsites, some wildcamps. (100% camping, )

what's included?

Nights 1-6: Mali's Niger River Valley

Day to acclimatise in Bamako and then short drive to Segou on the Niger River.
Drumming workshops & nightclubs of Bamako.
Visit to the Djenne Monday market and vast mud mosque.
Drumming performance and time to unwind in Sevare.

Nights 7-10: Bandiagara & the Dogons

3 day trek through the Dogon tribal region on the Bandiagara Escarpment.
Witness the masked dance and hear the rhythms of Dogon music.

Nights 11-15: Niger Delta & Timbuktu

3 day Niger River motorised canoe trip from Mopti to Timbuktu.
2 nights to explore the historic town of Timbuktu.

Nights 16-20: Festival of the Desert Departure

3 nights at the most extraordinary gig in the world, the Tuareg Music Festival of the Desert.
A Combination of African and International Artists playing in the middle of the Sahara.

Nights 16-20: Festival of the Niger Departure

3 day Festival on the Niger, the less-known but equally impressive alternative.
A medley of African cultures, music and artistry, on the banks of the River Niger.

Final Days:

Return to Bamako for a last blast of African sounds.

what can I do on the way?

(Activities available at extra costs)

Dugout trips up the Niger to ancient Bambara capital from Segou.
Visit to the late Ali Farka Toure's village of Niafounke.
Ride camels with Tuareg nomads in Timbuktu.

notes:

General notes: Because of the nature of this tour, the itinerary may well vary from that published. This trip will involve crossing remote areas with poor roads and there will be an element of discomfort. This is a tough but very rewarding trip.

Kitty does not cover food while staying in hotels and hostels.

This trip can be combined with our Discover the Moorish Sahara (XNN) trip. We can provide you with a half week transfer on our truck relocation between Nouakchott and Bamako. There will be a local payment of US$75 for this transfer paid to the tour leader.

Music holidays are not the first thing that springs to mind when you think of adventure travel. But think again, what could be more adventurous that tackling the sands of the Sahara to get to the sounds of the Sahara at the Festival of the Desert in Essakane, Mali or the Festival on the Niger at segou. Music Travel, the two words actually go together like peas in a pod. There is no better way to discover a culture than to hear the music of that culture first hand and if there is one area of the world whose culture is totally dominated by its music it is West Africa. This adventure holiday is a music holiday as we travel overland from nightclub to drumming workshop, to Dogon mask dance and onto the ultimate, a real live African music festival; Think Glastonbury in the sand or Womad by the river. Now is the time to take an adventure trip to some of the world's most bizarre and fun music festivals. This is where you should be in January and February, not in the office but in the Sahara Desert, surrounded by Tuaregs, listening to some of the world's greatest artists. Over the past few years local Malian and Tuareg musicians have been strutting their stuff along side such greats as Ali Farka Toure, Robert Plant and others at the Festival of the Desert. Artists, puppeteers and musicians stir it up on the Niger River at Segou in February. We travel by a massive motorized canoe up the Niger River to Timbuktu and trek through the lands of the Dogon's. Music and dance go hand and hand and the rhythmic experience of the Dogon mask dance is something you will never forget. But it doesn't end there, this is still overland travel and to travel Africa by truck is an experience once taken, never forgotten.