• Breakfast at hotel
• First thing in the morning we’ll take our PCR test before departing Mauritania
• Head straight to the lively Atlantic fish market. Every evening hundreds of fishermen bring in the day’s catch on their distinct sea canoes recognized by their colourful hand-painted hulls. The catch is then brought by donkey cart to the city’s markets
• Visit the National Museum where artefacts of the history of Mauritania and its ancient cities are on view

• Breakfast at hotel
• Tour concludes for those not continuing – YPT is able to arrange post-tour accommodation or advice for flights out.
• Group members apart of our Mali and Burkina Faso Tour will visit the Malian embassy to receive your visas the quickest and cheapest way!
• Flight into Bamako. Price of flights not included.
• Overnight at hotel

Saturday 29th January – Bamako

• Arrive in Bamako – the largest and capital city of Mali which is well connected from many countries within Africa and most of Europe. Boasting bustling markets, beautiful Mosque’s and an enormous national museum, it’s a perfect place to kick things off.
• Pre-tour meeting will be held at the lobby of our hotel at 8:30am to discuss tour itinerary and to meet your fellow travellers and YPT guide.
• We’ll start things off by visiting the bustling ‘Rose Market’ of Bamako, a massive open air market where you can haggle furiously with the locals and pick up a wide variety of local goods to bring home!
• Explore the National Museum of Mali – With a collection of items 10,000 strong, ranging from traditional masks and costumes to textiles, old photos and many videos, this is a great place to dip your toes in Malian culture before getting stuck in for the rest of the tour.
• Visit the Tower of Africa – The tallest structure in Mali at 80m (262ft) in height, this is no drab grey city skyscraper. Built to evoke traditional banco (mud-brick) style, the highly decorative building takes inspiration from some of Mali’s greatest treasures, like its UNESCO world heritage Mosque’s. It’s as much a piece of art as an important place of business.
• See the grand, marble Malian Independence Monument and the capital’s railway station!
• Lunch at Bating Restaurant providing incredible local dishes such as Poulet Yassa, a spicy marinated chicken or fish dish with lemon, mustard or onions.
• Ascend to the top of Point G Hill – a French military hospital was built on top of this hill between 1906 and 1913 offering fantastic views over Bamako.
• If we have time, we may even be able to check out a puppet-makers workshop!
• Dinner at a popular local restaurant, giving us the chance to mingle with some of the locals!
• Bamako being the largest city in Mali has its own vibrant and exciting night-life. No need for serious planning here, we’ll go out and see what we can find, it won’t take long to find something great!
• Overnight at hotel in Bamako

Sunday 30th January – Bamako – Segoukoro – Segou

• Breakfast at hotel and begin drive to Segou (4 hours) – a town built on the banks of River Niger.
• Before arriving at Segou we’ll stop at the town of Segoukoro – the former capital of the Bambara Kingdom, all the way back in the 18th century and still holding the tomb of its old king.
• We have an appointment with none other than the village chief, a direct descendent of the very king who ruled all those years ago. You’ll have tea with him and he’ll help answer all of our questions about the history of Segou and its royalty.
• The King’s descendants will show us the rebuilt vestibule, where the king used to receive his guests.
• Explore the village, home to four mosques, the most famous being the waterfront one which the famous King Biton Coulibaly built for his mother.
• We’ll head onwards in a pinasse – the Malian boat of choice. We’ll be cruising along the Niger River, the third largest river of Africa. We’ll get to see the locals living along the river banks, many of which are nomadic tribesmen who live off this very river.
• We’ll take a few stops at a local fishing village to get a closer look at the lives of the locals.

• Take in the natural beauty of west Africa as we cruise down the river, having a meal on the boat and chatting about events thus far.
• On our way to Segou, we’ll be stopping off at the Soroblé bogolan (mud-cloth) center. This traditional cotton fabric is dyed with fermented mud and represents one of Mali’s most influential cultural practices, proudly seen as an expression of national identity as well as becoming popular in the western fashion industry.
• Arrive into Segou and explore an old colonial era neighbourhood, meeting a local family who’ll be cooking us our meal, giving us a delicious taste of Malian hospitality and some insight to how many of the people live their daily lives.
• We’ll visit a local cathedral, then make our way to a traditional millet beer brewery and sample the local product to see in the evening.
• Head to the centre of the town and seek out what kind of food Segou has in store for us, stopping by a local restaurant and later checking out some of Segou’s nightlife.
• Overnight at the Résidence Djiguibombo

Monday 31st January – Segou – San

• Have breakfast

• Further explore a Somono neighbourhood – a place filled with adobe (mud-brick) buildings, a traditional architectural style house found mostly in Segou that help keep the family inside cool during intense summers. Here we may also be able to take part in a traditional Malian tea ceremony.
• Visit the local week market, checking out the produce and seeing the bustling, vibrant life of the town.
• For lunch, a traditional peanut sauce dish will be made for us at the compound of a local family, giving us some insight to their daily lives and just what home-cooked Malian food is like.
• For Group B members visiting Burkina Faso – We’ll be stopping off at the consulate early to sort out visas, getting them processed during our stay in Segou.
• Visit the Monument to the Kings located at the entrance of the city
• Depart for the town of San, where we’ll visit a stunning adobe (mud-brick) mosque. Unfortunately the interior can only be visited by Muslims, but at least everyone can admire the sheer style and artistry of the building itself!
• Find ourselves a nice place to have dinner, then maybe see what the nightlife in San has to offer us.
• Overnight in San at the Hotel Teriya.

Tuesday 1st February – San – Djenne – Segou

• Early breakfast and then at around 6am begin a long drive to Djenne – known as the ‘capital of mud’. The local architecture, from the streets to the buildings is made from mud brick, often resulting in fascinating, unique architecture.
• A centre of Islamic scholarship, we’ll check out some Quranic schools and drop by the Museum of Djenne’s manuscripts – here a single man protects these ancient, irreplaceable artefacts.
• Get up nice and high for a grand view of Djenne’s Great Mosque – the world’s largest mud building and a UNESCO world heritage site. The inside of the Mosque can only be visited by Muslims.
• Lunch is served by none other than the wife of our esteemed guide, the regional specialty ‘Tion Tion’, a delicious fish fried rice dish.
• We’ll see a sacred well – according to local legend, the ancestors of the town used the well to consult the spirits before making big decisions.
• Explore the Shrine of Tapama, where a young virgin was once ritually sacrificed to appease ‘bad spirits’ in the town.
• At last, we’ll head back to Segou once more for another shot at whatever fun there is when the sun goes down.
• Overnight in Segou at the Résidence Djiguibombo.

Wednesday 2nd February – Segou – Bamako

• Breakfast in Segou
• Morning drive to the capital of Bamako once more, but don’t think we’re wrapping things up just yet!
• We’ll be visiting local sand fishermen. A great deal of construction in Mali is done using sand, making it a readily available commodity for locals to earn some money with. Loose sand in shallow water is gathered up and transported to be sold to local construction companies. This practice has gone on practically unchanged for hundreds, if not thousands of years.
• We’ll be taking a trip along the river for a real highlight. Arriving on an island, we’ll be setting up camp in the great outdoors, naturally with tents and mattresses provided.
• While on the island, we can enjoy the solitude of nature and perhaps prepare ourselves a delicious, rustic bushmeal.
• Overnight on the island.

Thursday 3rd February – Bamako

• Morning breakfast on the island, taking the time to savour such a unique experience before finally heading back to shore and returning to Bamako.
• In preparation for our later departure, we’ll visit the National Institute of Health for a PCR test (coronavirus test).
• We’ll then visit the statue of Samori Ture, the founder of the Wassoulou Empire that stretched widely throughout West Africa in the 19^th century. He was known a fighter against French colonial rule, which led to his capture in 1898. He remains an iconic figure and his great-grandson later became the first president of independent Guinea.
• We’ll head out to the pristine Dandan waterfalls, a stunning and little-known beauty spot where we’ll be having our lunch and perhaps a refreshing dip in the crystal clear waters.
• Returning to Bamako, we’ll explore more of the great Malian capital, with places to see like the Monument of the 22^nd of March, commemorating an awful incident in 1991 where a large protest was brutally suppressed, killing up to 300 civilians. In response, a coup unseated the government just four days later.
• Finding another local restaurant, we’ll have our dinner and, what else, explore the nightlife! The atmosphere of any city can completely change and take on a new life of its own when the sun goes down and Bamako is no exception.
• Overnight at The Sleeping Camel hotel/Hotel les Colibris.

Friday 4th February – Bamako – Manding Country – Bamako

• Morning departure to Manding country, home of the Mandinka people who are an ethnic group descended from the 13^th century Mali Empire. They are the largest ethnic group in Mali, though even this is less than 10% of the population.
• Visit Kamadjan Arch, a beautiful natural and historic stone arch that served as a meeting place for soldiers, war councils and people of great intelligence all the way back in the 13^th century. Even more importantly, this was the place where Sundiata Keita, founder of the Mali Empire was enthroned as its ruler in 1235.
• Around the site are other historic places to visit, including sacrificial caves and the ‘consultation cave’ where the spirits of ancestors were (and are) consulted for advice.
• Trip highlight – We’ve got a very special treat: A Dogon mask ceremony. This is where the elders of the village chant in order to chase bad spirits while the very sacred Dogon masks are taken out of their traditional homes to be worn for the dance.
• Return to Bamako to pick up our PCR test certificates.
• Those heading onwards may be dropped off at the airport.

Saturday 5^th February – Bamako (Mali) – Koudougou (Burkina Faso)

• Fly into Ougadougou airport via Air Burkina (expected at 11:20) for pick up by guide and driver. (Those arriving the day before can be picked up in Ougadougou)
• Kick things off with a short road trip to Koudougou, Burkina Faso’s third most populous city.
• Check out the Rayimi Museum, home to many old artefacts and photos, including an old national flag that went on the moon!
• Visit a brass workshop to see how local Burkinabe people work and what kind of crafts they produce.
• As the sun sets, it’s time to head out and explore the local nightlife.
• Overnight in Koudougou at the Hotel Dima.

Sunday 6th February – Banfora

• Breakfast in town
• Morning departure to Banfora via Dedougou and Bobo Dioulasso, complete with some stops at local roadside villages. We’ll be checking out granaries, a village potter, the pottery market of Tcheriba and their beautiful adobe (mud-brick) mosque.
• Visit the Fabedougou Domes to watch the sunset. These stunning rock formations are over 2 billion years old, yet they’ve hardly weathered at all in millennia. Looking closely, one can see the signs of ancient ocean erosion, from eons ago when the land was covered in water. This area was historically used by locals to hide from neighbouring tribes.

• Dinner in town with plenty of options from local maquis to nice and cosy French restaurants.
• Overnight in Banfora at the Hotel Calypso

Monday 7th February – Sindou – Bobo Dioulasso

• Early sunrise boat trip on the Tengrela Lake where we can watch hippos up close and personal! (But not too close and personal… Though according to local legend, the hippos are sacred and would never attack humans.)
• Lakeside breakfast
• Travel onwards to the village of Sindou.
• Hike 1.5km to the Karfiguela Falls, a series of waterfalls that marks one of Burkina Faso’s most popular tourist sites.
• Picnic lunch by the falls and a dip in the refreshing water to cool off from the hot Burkinabe sun.

• Explore the village and the impressive rock formations for which it is renowned for, the ‘Peaks of Sindou’. Reaching a grand 415 meters above sea level, it’s the highest point in Burkina Faso. Historically, the peaks were a popular place for many to live as it offered excellent natural defence against invaders. Each rock formation has a story and our local guides can tell us all about them while we enjoy the stunning views of Burkina Faso.
• Drive out of Sindou and visit Kawara – a village of potters known for performing a traditional pottery dance.
• Continue onwards to Bobo Dioulasso, the second largest city in the country and home to beautiful neo-Sudanic architecture for dinner.
• Visit the maquis, typical Burkinabe open-air bars which turn into nightclubs. A good opportunity to mingle with the locals and have a fun time!
• Overnight in Bobo Dioulasso at the Hotel Villa Rose annex

Tuesday 8th February – Bobo Dioulasso – Ouagadougou

• Breakfast in town

• Explore the old neighbourhood and grasp the feeling of what life was like in old Burkina Faso, or as it was known during the colonial times – the Upper Volta. Burkina Faso, the name given by Thomas Sankara, can be translated as “The land of the upright men.”
• Visit the Grand Mosque, built in traditional Sudanic architecture from the late 1900s, when this area was part of the ‘Kingdom of Sia’.
• Time allowing, followed by a short drive and a 1km hike to Dafra – known for the famous pilgrimage site in Burkina Faso where people come from far to sacrifice animals to the local catfish. Things get very real as we get up close to those animist rituals. Please note that it is taboo to wear red clothes and take photos on this site.
• Road-trip to Ouagadougou. We’ll make scenic stops and have a lunch break along the way to stretch our legs including a last stop in Bazoule – a sacred crocodile pond. Much like with the hippos earlier, the locals respect and co-exist with the crocodiles. The crocodiles are never hunted, harmed or killed. In exchange, the crocs do not eat the locals. Believe it or not, it’s even possible to play with the crocodiles, some of which are believed to be over a hundred years old, with the oldest dubbed the ‘old man of the lake’.
• Arrival in Ouagadougou, where we’ll find a restaurant to eat at and then go enjoy some night-life!
• Overnight in Ouagadougou at the Auberge du Grand Calao hotel.

Wednesday 9th February  – Ouagadougou – Tiébélé – Ouagadougou

• Early breakfast and 7am pickup for another long road-trip to Tiébélé via the city of Pô. It’s in this city where the military first rebelled in 1983 to overthrow the president and bring pan-African revolutionary Captain Thomas Sankara to power.
• Arrival in Tiébélé, where every house is a work of art! The traditional Gourounsi architecture is met with elaborate decorations to the walls of home, turning what could have been simple brown mud-brick to vibrant, intricate exhibitions of the local artistry of the Kassena people. Sometimes the paintings are purely decorative, other times they are an expression of local religion or commentary on life, much like western graffiti art.
• After a long look around, including visiting the local Royal compound, we’ll have lunch in a local encampment or in Pô.
• If possible, we may get to attend a traditional Kassena dancing ceremony!
• At around 3pm, we’ll make our way back to Ouagadougou for dinner and more nightlife exploration.
• Overnight in Ouagadougou at the hotel.

Thursday 10th February – Ouagadougou

• Morning breakfast and an early trip to Laongo granite park. Here, over 2000 sculptures carved into stone greet visitors, expressing the history, culture, spiritual practices or even just the basic raw creativity of local Burkinabe artists.
• Return to Ouagadougou in the early afternoon to take in its sights properly.
• Explore Ouaga 2000 – the futuristic city project where you’ll visit two monuments of great importance: the Monument to National Heroes and the Monument to the Martyrs. If you’ve visited North Korea, you’d feel that these monuments would fit right into Pyongyang.
• Visit the roundabout of the Second of October – commemorating the day Sankara announced the Burkinabe revolution.
• See the local railway station, a pride of Sankara’s revolution where the Burkinabe people built the rail with their own hands, without foreign aid.
• Visit the statue of Thomas Sankara, where we’ll learn about Sankara’s role as ‘Africa’s Che Guevara’, a socialist revolutionary who continues to enjoy immense popularity among the Burkinabe population.
• Check out local bronze workshops to see some of the artisanal crafts the capital has to offer, following up by buying some crafts ourselves at the village markets!
• One last ‘Farewell’ dinner in Ouagadougou and a little more exciting nightlife before retiring to the hotel one last time.
• Tour concludes with airport drop-off arranged according to your flight details – YPT is also able to arrange post-tour accommodation or advice for flights. For those departing later, YPT can arrange visits to the National Museum, Music Museum and handicraft market of Ouagadougou.

Friday 11th February – Ouagadougou

• Group members apart of our Togo and Benin tour board flight to Lomé, the capital of Togo – flight not included in tour price