Trip Report: Mali
Visited in November 2024
When I landed in Bamako, the capital of Mali, I expected a more or less similar picture to Ouagadougou, where I had just come from. Burkina Faso and Mali are often described as similar countries, or at least that’s how I imagined them. But I was completely wrong.
The area in front of the arrivals hall prepared me for what I was about to experience over the next 30 hours: Chaos and bustle. The airport was teeming with people and it felt like I was arriving in a kind of Delhi in Africa.
Although I knew that Mali is a Muslim country, I was surprised by the large number of women wearing a hijab. Burkina Faso is also a country where Islam is the predominant religion. Compared to Mali, however, this was not at all noticeable. I don’t think I saw a single woman with a head covering in all of Burkina Faso. As I said, it felt completely different here from the very first second.
Mali, my second-last country in West Africa
Mali, was my country number 177/197, and in many ways probably one of the most difficult of all. Why? I’ll tell you in a minute. At least entering the country was pretty easy. The immigration lady spoke English and asked me three questions before I had my stamp in my passport.
I once read that in Mali you should check that the stamp is actually in your passport and not on a piece of paper that the immigration officer will keep. The corrupt police used to use this trick to accuse you of illegal entry once you want to leave the country again because you didn’t have an entry stamp in your passport. The fee charged for this was a nice perk for the police.
When I left the airport, it took me about half an hour to check into my hotel, The Sleeping Camel. Unfortunately, the airport is a bit out of town, and the 25-minute ride via the hotel cost 12,500 CFA, or about 20 Euros. Compared to Ouagadougou, where the airport transfer cost 3,000 CFA, it was much more expensive.
The Sleeping Camel is a popular guesthouse, restaurant, and social hub located in Bamako. It is widely known among travelers, expatriates, and locals for its relaxed atmosphere, budget-friendly accommodations, and central location. When I arrived on Friday evening, there were certainly a lot of foreigners there.
Does that sound like a top address? Yes, probably… But perhaps also one of the most obvious places for a terrorist attack. Because there are always some in Mali. Let’s take a look at Mali’s recent history and why the country is so dangerous today.
Just over a decade ago, Mali was the most visited country in West Africa, largely due to its rich history, impressive cultural sites and unique geography. Places like Timbuktu, Djenné, or the Dogon Country attracted thousands of tourists to the Sahel country every year.
In 2012, however, a civil war broke out in the north of the country. Tuareg rebels, a nomadic people in the north, launched an armed insurgency to create an independent state in northern Mali. At the same time, Islamist groups such as al-Qaeda gained influence and began to join the rebellion. Unlike the Tuareg, however, they wanted to impose Sharia law in Mali.
From that point on, tourism collapsed and the north, where Timbuktu is located, was off limits. However, there were still enough exciting places in Mali to visit for travelers. But the security situation got worse every year. The Dogon country was the next place to be closed to tourists.
Mali quickly became one of the most dangerous countries in Africa. Nevertheless, it was still possible for travelers to visit Mali and see places like Ségou, San, Djenné and Mopti, albeit under the highest security precautions provided by tour operators.
I was already organizing a trip to Mali in 2021, but then decided on a different destination. I wish I had gone back then, because Djenné with its unique mud mosque has been closed to tourists since last year. Not because it is too dangerous, but because the government wants it that way. This means that the places accessible to tourists have shrunk to Bamako, Siby, Ségou, San and Mopti.
In November 2024, I finally made it to Mali. Mali was the end of a trip to West Africa during which I should have visited Niger and Burkina Faso earlier. The emphasis is on “should have” because I didn’t make it to Niger. I recommend that you read the articles on Niger and Burkina Faso before you continue reading here, so that you understand the full context.
When I was planning this trip, I had to decide which country I wanted to spend how much time in. One option was to spend most of the trip in Burkina Faso and make a short visit to Mali. Or I could spend 1-2 days in Burkina and visit Bamako, Ségou, San and Mopti in Mali.
In the end, I chose the first option for one reason: Djenné. Djenné has always been my top priority when traveling to Mali. But to be honest, if I had traveled east from Bamako to see Ségou, San, and Mopti on that trip, I doubted I would have ever come back to Mali just to see Djenné. For this reason, I decided to do a quick trip to Bamako and Siby this time.
Day-trip: Bamako & Siby
My guide Amadou picked me up from the Sleeping Camel at 8.30 am. Amadou is in his early 30s and from Djenné. In Mali, people often pronounce the place of birth together with the name of the person. Amadou from Djenné, Ibrahim from Ségou, and so on.
We began our tour in Bamako. The capital of Mali is not considered a magnificent city and doesn’t have many sights. And certainly none that I would call outstanding. Our first stop was the Monument de l’Independance, which someone on TripAdvisor described as “the closest thing Bamako has to a significant landmark”.
I was struck by the chaotic traffic. Cars, motorcycles, everywhere. There was also a thick fog over the city, but it wasn’t caused by smog, it was Saharan dust. It was harmattan season, something I had noticed in Burkina Faso and Morocco.
The distances in Bamako were also large and it took some time to get from one point to the other. The Niger River flows through the capital of Mali and there was something to see in both halves of the city. The city seemed bigger than Ouagadougou, and it is.
Nearly 5 million people live in Bamako. The high birth rate in Mali, one of the highest in the world with about 6 births per woman, as well as the terrorism in the north and the lack of prospects in the rural areas, have contributed to the fact that this number has grown steadily in recent times.
We spent no more than an hour in Bamako before heading to Siby. In the late afternoon we should have a little more time to see more of the city. But first, we went to Suby, a rural area about an hour’s drive from Bamako. And it felt like another world. Just before arriving, we saw beautiful green landscapes and the sky looked blue, unlike Bamako.
Why do tourists go to Siby? To be honest, I only knew of a beautiful arch located in this area. However, there are a few other things to see and experience, such as the weekend market if you are there on a Saturday. The market is one I have seen dozens of times in Africa with many stalls selling mainly vegetables, spices or pots. There were lots of people, of course, but this was just a taste of what I would experience later in Bamako.
However, I found the people and the looks they gave me interesting. I realized that strangers obviously rarely pass by here. The people didn’t look at me in a hostile way, but at least skeptically.
After a short visit to the village of Siby (6,000 people live here) and a lunch break in an auberge that, according to Amadou, used to have even more guests, we went on an excursion to the Arch. A local guide took me there on a motorcycle. The ride took about 20 minutes, followed by a mini-hike of about the same length.
The Arch of Kamandjan is definitely an impressive natural structure and therefore an attraction worth a visit. From the arch you have a great view over the whole area while sitting on stones that shake with the slightest movement (and the front is about 30 meters downhill…).
By the way, at the arch there are some more viewpoints and caves you can visit. So, you can easily spend two hours or more here. All in all, it’s definitely a cool place to visit.
We drove back to Bamako around 3 pm. Amadou said that he usually likes to visit Siby as a full day or even two day trip with tourists, as he usually visits other villages too. For me, however, this quick trip was just fine and it is absolutely possible to see Siby and Bamako in one day.
Back in Bamako, we had two places left we wanted to see. The first was the Grand Marché, the big market. And what a market it was. I have rarely seen such an overwhelming place. It was comparable to the markets I had seen in Lagos. You had to be careful not to be run over by a person or hit by a car. Amadou also told me to watch my bags because there are a lot of pickpockets. A terrible place.
The last place was a highlight, though. In Bamako, there are sandminers, people who go on boats on the Niger River and bring sand up from the bottom of the river. Although about 2/3 of Mali is desert, it is apparently cheaper to get the sand directly from the river than to transport it from the desert to the capital.
To get to the place where the sand miners work, you have to drive about half an hour from the city center to Kalabancoro. There you can see the people at work and take pictures of the whole thing (although some of them didn’t like it so much).
I also saw Russian flags on the boats, just like in Burkina Faso. In Mali, as in the other Sahel countries, there is an anti-Western sentiment, with the French, the former colonial power, being the main enemy. It certainly didn’t help that Amadou introduced me to a local security guard as a Frenchman… (but nothing happened).
Seeing the Sandminers at sunset is definitely an exciting thing to do and a very cool attraction that Bamako has to offer.
See you another time, Mali
I later ate my dinner at the Sleeping Camel before heading back to the airport. My time in Mali was already over. In hindsight, I’m happy with my decision to have only seen Bamako and Siby for the time being. I can save the east of the country for another time.
Provided it is still possible then. As you know, there are fewer and fewer places that travelers can visit as time goes on. But traveling to Mali is no longer as easy as it used to be. Some Malian embassies in Europe have stopped issuing tourist visas. At other embassies, it takes several weeks. There used to be the hack of getting a visa in Ouagadougou within a day, because many people combine Burkina Faso and Mali in the same trip. At the time of writing, however, this option is no longer possible.
I was all the more surprised to receive my visa from the embassy in Switzerland within a week. I only had to submit a letter of invitation, which I received from my guide. As tourists were also recently arrested in Bamako for taking photos in the city, I think it’s wise to use a guide (without my trip to Siby, this would not have been necessary for Bamako alone).
I had originally booked my tour with Ibrahim (+22376021543) , another well-known guide from Mali. However, Ibrahim was unable to come that day at short notice and organized Amadou, with whom I was also in contact, as my guide. Amadou (Whatsapp: +22378869073) turned out to be an excellent guide. The problem with him is that he charges astronomical prices that can be negotiated down. Since not everyone likes to haggle, he probably misses out on a lot of customers…
What can I say about Mali? Bamako was an overwhelming city where you certainly see a lot of action, but it is also tiring. Siby, on the other hand, is a beautiful and idyllic place that is definitely worth a visit. By the way, I never felt unsafe in Mali, although that doesn’t mean anything. It always feels safe until it’s not.
Finally, Mali should actually have been my last country in West Africa but was not. That leaves Niger, which I unfortunately missed on this trip. And after that, I’ve seen all the countries in one of the most difficult regions in the world.
Click here to find the trip reports of the 170+ other countries I have visited so far!
