Mali Experience Tours: About Mali

VISA REQUIREMENTS:

Visas are required for all visitors except citizens of some West African and North African countries.

An international yellow fever certificate is required; other vaccinations may be recommended.

U.S. citizens may obtain more information and download a visa application online at:

Embassy of Mali
2130 R Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.
202-332-2249
http://www.maliembassy.u s

Canadian citizens:
www.ambamalicanada.org

EU citizens may contact their nearest Malian Embassy.

MALI TRAVEL LINKS:

Read about Mali Experience Tours
& Mikael Djiguiba:

"Trekking in a Land of Vertical Villages," New York Times

Mali Travel Blog, by Mark Moxon

Travel Author, Ada Rosman (Netherlands)

Photography from Mali, by Patricia Lanza

Mali Experience Tours welcomes you to the beautiful West African country of Mali - a country bursting with authentic history, a safe and politically stable country whose varied landscape is matched by the diversity of its many ethnic groups who show tolerance and respect for each other and a warm hospitality for strangers: their smiles are the music in their souls that washes away their daily preoccupations and struggles.

Mali's founding father is Soundiata Keita. Its history recounts grand empires such as the Empire of Mali from the 12th to the 14th century; the Songhai Empire and the founding of the great cities of Gao, Timbuktu and Djenne in the 15th and 16th centuries; and the epoch of the Bambara Kingdom of Segou which stretched from the 17th century to the late 19th century. Mali gained independence from French rule on September 22, 1960. Today, Mali is a multi-party democracy and an increasingly popular tourist destination.

In addition to the many tourist spots in Mali, with Mali Experience Tours you will be able to take advantage of unique opportunities, such as learning African arts, meeting local villagers and village chiefs or being initiated into a family of an ethnic group of your choice through a special ceremony.

During your vacation with Mali Experience Tours, you may also volunteer to plant a tree to help preserve cultivable land against the advancing desert and give a precious gift to Mali's environmental future, or join one of our special tree-planting programs.

So, dear friends, we await your visit and invite you to soak up the Malian traditions and culture!

CAPITAL: Bamako

POPULATION: 14 million

LAND SIZE: 1.24 million sq. km

BORDERS: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal

LANGUAGES:
Official: French
National: Bambara

CURRENCY: West African CFA
1 euro = 655.957 CFA (stable)
1 US dollar = 400 CFA (variable)

SEASONS:
Cool (Oct - Feb)
Hot (April - June)
Wet (July - Sept)

UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES:
Bandiagara Escarpment, Djenne, Timbuktu

BEST KNOWN ARTISTS:
Music:
Ali Farka Toure, Oumou Sangare, Salif Keita, Amadou & Mariam, Habib Koite, Rokia Traore, Toumani Diabate, Tinariwen, ... (too many to list!)
Film:
Souleymane Cisse, Yeelen (1987), Assane Kouyate, Kabala (2002), Abderrahmane Sissako, Bamako (2006), October (1993)