Introduction: This tour introduces you to a fascinating part of West Africa and showcases the vast diversity of this amazing region. From idyllic Atlantic beaches to the dry Sahel where West Africa blends into the Sahara Desert and enormous baobab trees and remote mud-built villages scatter the arid landscape. We will take you from bustling and cosmopolitan Dakar to the more laid-back & timeless city of Bamako, where donkeys roam the streets and the hypnotic sounds of the legendary Mali music scene provide a soundtrack for everyday life. Along the way we pass through some rarely visited regions far from the tourist trail, where you will see a truly authentic side of African life. From Bamako we will travel to some of the most recognisable attractions in West Africa from the peaceful and scenic boat trip on the Niger River to the ultimate in hiking in West Africa, the irrepressible Dogon Country.
We then leave Mali behind and enter ‘the land of upright people’, Burkina Faso. We overnight in Ouagadougou. After leaving the French influenced countries behind we enter Ghana where we will walk with some elephants, visit the great city of Kumasi and unwind on the tropical beaches of the Gold Coast. This is an epic journey that will give you a broad taste of the great diversity present in this unique corner of Africa.
Tour Details
Tour Style: Small Group Tour |
Start: Dakar |
Finish: Accra |
Duration: 21 days |
Cost: 1450 Euro’s |
Local Payment: 250 Euro's (Payable at predeparture meeting) |
Countries Visited & Visa Requirements: Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana. (The visa for Senegal is your responsibility and differs for various nationalities. We will attain visas for Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana on route) |
Maximum Group Size: 14 |
Transport: Air-conditioned safari vehicle, boat, pirogue, donkey cart. |
Accommodation: 18 Nights Campsite. 1 night Hotel. 1 night bush camp. |
Age Guide: Young at heart and physically fit. |
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| Start |
Finish |
Availabilty |
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28/02/2010 |
20/03/2010 |
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28/03/2010 |
17/04/2010 |
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25/04/2010 |
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23/05/2010 |
12/06/2010 |
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20/06/2010 |
10/07/2010 |
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18/07/2010 |
07/08/2010 |
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15/08/2010 |
04/09/2010 |
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12/09/2010 |
02/10/2010 |
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10/10/2010 |
30/10/2010 |
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07/11/2010 |
27/11/2010 |
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05/12/2010 |
25/12/2010 |
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02/01/2011 |
22/01/2011 |
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30/01/2011 |
19/02/2011 |
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27/02/2011 |
19/03/2011 |
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27/03/2011 |
16/03/2011 |
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Itinerary:
Day 1 Excursion to Ile de Goree; depart Dakar - to Toubab Dialao
Day 2 Toubab Dialao - Reserve de Bandia; drive north to St Louis
Day 3 Parc National de la Langue de Barbarie & St Louis
Day 4 Drive to Kaolack
Day 5 Kaolack - Tambacounda
Day 6 Depart Tambacounda, cross border to Mali, continue to Kayes
Day 7 Kayes - Bamako
Day 8 Bamako - Free day in Bamako to explore town. Live music.
Day 9 Djenné - Tour the city and visit the famous mosque.
Day 10 Niger River - Overnight river trip on Niger River
Day 11 Sevaré - Reach Mopti and explore town before transfer to Sevaré for night.
Day 12 Sangha - Start our hike in Dogon Country.
Day 13 Douro - Continue hike.
Day 14 Bandiagara - Finish hike in Dogon Country and overnight in Bandiagara.
Day 15 Ouagadougou – Sample the vibrant cultural scene of the Burkina Faso capital
Day 16 Tamale
Day 17 Mole N.P. – Walk with Elephants in Ghana’s best wildlife experience.
Day 18 Kumasi
Day 19 Elmina – Explore Kumasi in the morning and depart for Elmina in the Afternoon.
Day 20 Elmina – Big day of exploration taking in the slaving castles and Kakum N.P.
Day 21 Accra – Arrive in Accra in the late afternoon.
Highlights:
Ile de Goree historic slave trading centre & UNESCO World Heritage Site; Toubab Dialao beach & fishing village; Reserve de Bandia wildlife viewing & historic tombs; Pirogue trip in Parc National de la Langue de Barbarie; historic town of St Louis; remote landscapes and traditional villages of western Mali; Bamako night-life & music scene; Segou; famous mud mosque of Djenné; Niger River trip; Mali’s largest post, Mopti; Hike in Dogon Country; Mask Dance of the Dogon; Nightlife in Ouagadougou; wildlife viewing in Mole National Park; Kumasi; Cape Coast Castle; Elmina Castle; Kakum National Park; beaches of Ghana; give something back by volunteering; Accra.
In-Depth Itinerary:
Please note that there will be a pre-departure meeting at 6pm on the day before the trip starts giving you the chance to meet your fellow travellers and discuss the itinerary in more depth with your guide.
DAY 1 : Dakar - Toubab Dialao. We will meet at 7.30am to transfer to the port where we will take the short ferry ride to the Ile de Goree. This tiny island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where you can visit museums commemorating its slave trading history, or just wander the quiet lanes soaking up the atmosphere. If you would prefer relaxation to history, there is also a small sheltered beach backed by restaurants/bars.
After lunch we will take the ferry back to the mainland, where the minibus will meet us to drive to the relaxed fishing village of Toubab Dialao. After settling into our camp, you will be free to enjoy the beach or to wander around the village, where an excellent range of local handicrafts are available. There is also the possibility to go horse-riding, or for those with a good head for heights there is the nearby Acrobaobab, where you can climb & zipline around a series of huge baobab trees.
DAY 2 : Toubab Dialao - Saint Louis. Departing Toubab Dialao after breakfast, we will drive to the nearby Reserve de Bandia for a game-drive in this small but beautiful reserve, where as well as wildlife we can also see historic Griot tombs, including a tomb inside a huge baobab tree. We then drive north towards St Louis, setting up camp at the very popular Zebra Bar, close to the Parc National de la Langue de Barbarie.
DAY 3 - Parc National de la Langue de Barbarie/ St Louis. In the morning we will take a pirogue trip into the Parc National de la Langue de Barbarie. The park is composed of estuarine islands and small waterways at the mouth of the Senegal River, and offers a wealth of bird life, including pelicans, flamingos and cormorants, as well as the chance of seeing turtles. A tranquil pirogue trip among the islands is the best way to appreciate its unique landscape. There are many other optional activities available to do here, including kayaking, sail boarding, fishing trips, and some excellent beaches for swimming.
In the afternoon we will drive into nearby St Louis to explore this historic town, which was the first French settlement in West Africa and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is the option of a guided tour of the town with a local English-speaking guide, to learn more about the history of its picturesque crumbling colonial architecture. Later, you can either return to Zebra Bar for dinner, or you could choose to stay on in St Louis for the evening to sample its nightlife. The town is famous for its jazz scene, and a number of bars feature regular live music.
DAY 4 : Zebra Bar - Kaolack. We depart Zebra Bar after breakfast to drive to Kaolack. This bustling town is the home of one of the largest markets in West Africa, but one rarely visited by tourists, which may explain its lack of hassle compared to the markets in Dakar.
DAY 5 - Kaolack - Tambacounda. We drive eastwards to Tambacounda where we will spend the night.
DAY 6 : Tambacounda – Kayes. Departing Tambacounda, we drive to the border with Mali. After crossing the border we continue on to the town of Kayes, on the banks of the Senegal River. Depending on the time taken to complete the border formalities, we should have time to visit nearby attractions such as the 19th Century Fort de Medine, which can be visited by taking a pirogue down the river, or the Chutes de Felou waterfalls.
DAY 7 : Kayes – Bamako. We depart Kayes and drive through the impressive scenery of Western Mali; the landscape dotted with the huge baobab trees that are so iconic & evocative of West Africa, traditional villages and wandering Fula herders with their animals. The first leg of our journey ends in Bamako where we will enjoy a night out together sampling some tasty Malian food in one of Bamako’s excellent restaurants, and maybe then exploring the vibrant nightlife of this city. Bamako boasts a thriving music scene and is the home to some of Africa’s top recording artists. We may be lucky enough to catch a performance by local legends like Salif Keita or Habib Koita.
Day 8 : Bamako. This is a free day to explore the Malian capital or to relax and catch up on your journals.
Day 9 : Bamako – Djenné. We depart Bamako in the early morning on route for Djenné. Our drive takes us through the town of Segou where we will stop to take a look at some of the famous crafts produced here and then we will catch the ferry across the Bani River to enter Djenné town in the afternoon. Djenné is one of the most picturesque towns in West Africa and in the grand old days of the Trans Saharan salt and gold trade it rivaled Timbuktu in importance. Monday’s are always busy in Djenné as traders from all over the region converge on Djenné for the Monday market. We utilise the services of a local guide to get us closer to the action.
Day 10 : Niger River Trip. After a leisurely breakfast we will meet the captain of our river boat that will take us on our overnight river trip to Mali's largest port, Mopti. Today is spent lazing away on our river journey as we watch the world go by where little has changed for centuries. We stop and visit a few local villages where the Fulani herdsmen live peacefully alongside the Bozo fisherman. In the late afternoon our captain will find us a suitable bank to park our boat on and we will set up our bush camp and watch the sun setting over Africa’s third largest river.
Day 11 – Niger River – Sevare. We continue our river trip and will arrive in Mopti at mid day. We will have a few hours to explore Mopti before transferring to our campsite in Sevare for the night.
Day 12 : Sevare – Dogon Country. It is a short drive to the Bandiagara in Dogon Country before we head off into the rough terrain of Dogon escarpment. We will commence our hike in the afternoon and descend the escarpment to our accommodation for the night.
Day 13 : Dogon Country. We walk from village to village with an experienced guide whilst we will learn about the mythology, mask dances and spiritual beliefs of these unique people. We break for lunch at the village of Terelli and after a hearty lunch and some time to relax we will get to see the Mask dance of the Dogon.
Day 14 : Bandiagara. Our trek will come to a conclusion on top of the escarpment at the village of Dourou. After taking lunch here we will transfer back to Bandiagara in time for a shower, some great food and some cool drinks whilst we reflect on our past few days of adventure.
Day 15 : Ouagadougou. After an early morning departure we will make our way to Burkina Faso and the capital city, Ouagadougou. ‘Ouaga’ is the cultural Mecca of West Africa and home to a vibrant film industry as well as boasting a multitude of awesome venues for viewing live music. We will hopefully get the chance to see a cultural drumming performance tonight.
Day 16 : Tamale. We leave French Africa behind and it’s time to start speaking English again as we make our way in to Ghana. Ghana is famed for its generous and friendly people.
Day 17 : Mole National Park. Mole N.P. is the biggest attraction in the north of the Ghana and one of the biggest in Ghana as a whole. And the biggest attraction in Mole is without a doubt the Elephant population. We utilise the services of an armed ranger who will take us on a game walk to get up close and personal to these giants of the African savannah.
Day 18 : Kumasi. The drive from Mole to Kumasi is a long one and takes us into the heart of the Ashanti people’s capital.
Day 19 : Elmina. We have a free morning to explore the 'Garden City' as it is known to the local people. Kumasi features some excellent museums and one of the largest markets in West Africa. After lunch we will depart for Elmina and our campsite on the beach next to the Atlantic Ocean.
Day 20 : Elmina. In the morning we will make our way to Kakum National Park. Kakum National Park is a park containing 350 square kilometres of tropical rain forest. We will take time to walk along the 330m long canopy walk that gives you a bird’s eye view of the forest and its multitude of plant and animal species. We will then proceed to Cape Coast and do a tour of the Cape Coast castle.
Day 21 : Accra. We will use the morning to volunteer with a local women’s charity or relax on the beach. After a lunch time seafood buffet we will make the drive to Accra where we will finish at the Paloma Hotel in the heart of Accra.
'Congratulations for completing an epic journey through West Africa'
