While Timbuktu is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, visitors are drawn by the city's reputation for mystery and remoteness, rather than its modern day attractions. It is, however, home to three impressively restored adobe mosques as well as Tuareg camps but the whole city is threatened by desertification. Timbuktu is 20 hours by bus from Mali's capital city Bamoko and also has an international airport.
Djenne once rivaled Timbuktu as a trading center but is now a small town of multi-story mud buildings on an island in the Bani River. Its Great Mosque is the largest structure built of mud in the world and the town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Djenne can be reached from Bamoko or Mopti by bus or taxi. (Monday is market day and the best day to arrange transport.)
Mopti is a convenient base for river trips to Timbuktu and visits to Djenne and Dogon Country as well as a fascinating river port in its own right. Close by is Hombori, with its rock-cut houses, and the Needles of Gami rock formations, as well as Mali's highest mountain, Mount Hombori (3,782 feet). Mopti has an international airport as well as local bus links to other important towns in the country.
Dogon Country in south central Mali is home to the Dogon people who have lived in the area for 1,000 years. The Dogon are animists and produce attractive sculptures and face masks. They live in remote villages along the Bandiagara escarpment and the surrounding plains. The escarpment has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1989 and the Lonely Planet website describes Dogon Country as utterly unforgettable. Most visitors choose to hire a local guide and trek between villages.
Bamoko is Mali's capital city and one of the fastest growing cities in the world. It is a popular jumping off point for visitors to the country because of its international bus and airline links. Bamoko is also the center of Mali's diverse music scene made famous by such musicians as Salif Keita.
