SENEGAL, MALI, TOGO, BURKINA FASO & GHANA.

PARTICIPATION CAMPING Safari

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDED IN THE PRICE

· Boat trip to historic Goree Island
· Visit the National Museum in Bamako
· Boat trip on the Niger River
· Visit the mysterious city of Timbuctoo
· 3 day trek to Dogon villages along Bandiagara Escarpment
· Historic Djenne
· Visit Elmina, ancient coastal trade fort
· Visit Kumasi Cultural Center and market
· Kakum Rainforest Nature Park, Ghana

Week 1 - Our expedition starts in Dakar, the capital of Senegal. The modern buildings contrast with the lively African markets, a source of fine souvenirs such as batiks and Moorish jewellery. We take a boat to Goree Island, which was visited by the Portuguese in 1444 and later became a slave-trading center. Driving inland we visit many interesting towns before returning to the coast at St. Louis. Our route then takes us inland following the River Senegal until we reach Mali.

Week 2/3/4 - Of all the countries in West Africa, Mali is the richest in spirit and history. It has known great empires that stretched from Lake Chad to the Atlantic and has always been the center of trade between the desert to the north and forests to the south.

We make our way via Djenne to Mopti, an important market town standing at the confluence of the Bani and Niger Rivers. Here we may se Peul women with large gold earrings as they mix with Songhai fishermen, Hausa traders and Fulani cattlemen. We explore the local villages by pirogue, the elegant local canoes. Two days drive through harsh country then takes us to the enigmatic town of Timbuctoo on the edge of the Sahara Desert. This historic town, which once supported a refined civilization, was unvisited by Europeans until the early 19 th century. Now, although much declined, a hint of its old importance can still be seen in its mosques and houses.

Returning south we trek along the Bandiagara Escarpment, where the Dogon people live in a barren, beautiful and unspoilt environment, very much isolated from the outside world.

Week 5/6/7 - After this exciting experience we head south into Burkina Faso where a number of different tribes live in harmony amongst the scenic splendor of this arid land. The coastline of Ghana has fine beaches and old forts built by the early European traders, one of the finest being Elmina. We visit Kumasi the cultural center of the Ashanti people and in the great market we will see many fine handicrafts from the 'Kingdom of Gold'. To experience the rainforest of West Africa we visit the Kakum Nature Park where the dense vegetation supports many animals, including forest elephants. A short drive takes us to Accra and on to Lome where we visit the voodoo market and have time to relax on the beach.

The total cost of the safari including land transportation, local air flights which are mentioned in the itinerary, local accommodations in twin rooms are all included.

End of the SAFARI.

High Season : 1st July - 20th December and 5th January - 31st March of every year.
Low Season : 1st April - 30th June of every year.

Christmas Season: 21st December - 04 January of every year
Organized Group Rates : Special Group travel rates are available on request

Your Safari Includes:

Meet and Greet Services with assistance
All airport/Airstrip transfers with assistance
Complimentary baggage handling of two pieces per person
Direct check-in with assistance in your West Africa Hotels
Bed & Full Breakfast accommodation in city Hotels
Transport in a comfortable custom-built safari vehicle with a window seat guarantee
All park entry fees
Full board accommodation whilst on Safari
Two full Game-viewing drives per day whilst on safari
Services of an English-Speaking and professional safari driver/guide
All Government taxes and levies where applicable

Your Safari Price Excludes:

International Airfares
Tourist entry VISA where required
International airport(s) departures taxes
Optional excursions not mentioned in the inclusions and /or quoted separately
Expenditures of personal nature such as telephone calls, faxes, Internet access, laundry etc.
All alcoholic drinks, wines and spirits.
Tips and gratuities to driver /guides/lodge porters/hotel staff
All other extras not mentioned in the 'what's included.

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Burkina Faso, Mali & Niger

Witness crises, hope, traditional power and democratization on this tour, "in a class of it's own." It truly enables you to meet the African people and see firsthand how their communities operate. Among the tour's highlights are visits to farms and small agricultural projects, where 90% of the farmers are women. You'll visit their fields, homes, and food storage areas for a first hand experience of their daily lives. Also, visit African education institutions and have discussions with local academicians on their politics, health delivery systems and various ethnic beliefs.

Day 1 - ABIDJAN - OUAGADOUGOU

Your Burkina Faso tour escort will meet you at the airport, Abidjan, Cote du Ivoire. Transfer to Air Burkina for Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. You have arrived in the land of the "dignified people." Ouagadougou is the capital of Burkina Faso and the ancient capital of the Mossi Kingdom. You will be assisted through customs and transferred to your hotel.

Ok Inn

Day 2 - OUAGADOUGOU

Breakfast at your hotel. Visit a training center for women - making quality items out of suede. Also, meet with the director of the center for the handicapped - where people make pottery. Special dinner at poolside.

Ok Inn

Day 3 - OUAGADOUGOU - NIAMEY

Travel east to Niamey, the capital of Niger sitting astride the Niger River. You will visit rice crop areas irrigated by the Niger and tour the Museum of West Africa - a complete assemblage of culture, history, crafts, flora and fauna.

Grand Hotel

Day 4 - NIAMEY - GOROM-GOROM

After breakfast visit the Grand Market where you may bargain for goods or just walk along the rows of attractive displays of fresh produce, cloth, and crafts. Each West African market is a replica of its area. In some, you will find dried fish from the Niger artistically arranged, of large salt slabs from the Sahara trade and always the locally grown produce. Visit an experimental area for various grasses, bushes and trees to stabilize sand dunes. Travel along the Niger to the southern edge of the Sahara. Ferry the Niger. Stay at "campement" patterned after an African village.

Gorom-Gorom

Day 5 - GOROM-GOROM - OUAHIGOUYA

Cross the pasturelands of the nomadic Fulani, Songhai, Tuareg and Bella. Make a stop at one of the nomadic villages and observe the integration of the nomads and agricultural mossi villages. Arrive in Ouahigouya in the afternoon.

Hotel L'Amitie

Day 6 - OUAHIGOUYA - OUAGADOUGOU

Continue across the northern part of Burkina Faso to a Burkinabe development agency, 6S; the society to support the flight against the Sahel drought. Its director was chosen as "man of the year" by the United Nations in 1991. Observe a gold mining camp using traditional technologies over 2,000 years old. Visit a village market and observe how an entire village works together farming and marketing products. Evening return to Ouagadougou.

Ok Inn

Day 7 - OUGADOUGOU - BOBO-DIOULASSO

Visit the lake of the sacred crocodiles at Sabou, revered by the ancient religion of the Sahel. Continue on to an agricultural research station where you will see experiments with cow peas, millet, peanuts and sorghum. The town of Bobo-Dioulasso with its wide tree shaded streets is the favorite spot for many West Africa travelers - you may visit a famous mosque and the exciting grand market.

Ran Hotel

Day 8 - BOBO-DIOULASSO AREA

You may attend a Christian liturgy with ethnic music played on balafons. Drive to Banfora escarpment to visit the ancient villages; now a sugar cane growing area. Visit ONCHO a word health organization project aimed at eradicating river blindness. In some areas 50% of the men over 50 may be blinded due to this disease. The project has been increasingly successful.

Ran Hotel

Day 9 - BOBO-DIOULASSO - DJENNE - MOPTI

Depart for Mali and the ancient and fascinating town of Djenne, on an island in the Niger River, founded in the 9 th century. In its prime, the 14 th and 15 th centuries, like Timbuktu, Djenne profited from the trans Saharan trade. It hasn't changed much: the houses are of mud and a great mosque stands in the center of town. Walking its streets takes you back hundreds of years. Continue on to Mopti, the Venice of the Sahel and a major distribution center for trade by water, road and camel caravans. Your hotel faces the Bani River and the sleek river pirogues move quietly in front of you.

Hotel Kanaga

Day 10 - MOPTI - DOGON COUNTRY - FATOMA - MOPTI

Drive to the Bandiagara area to visit the remarkable Dogon villages, grinding out a livelihood along a rocky escarpment, with ingenious methods for optimizing scarce soil and water to produce high quality farm products marketed to cities up to 2,000 kilometers away. Then, visit a fishing village where the Bozo is engaged in catching and processing a variety of fish from the vast interior delta of the Niger. On the return to Mopti you visit a cattle market where herdsmen and traders come from hundred of miles around to deal in cattle, goats, sheep, donkeys and camels.

Hotel Kanaga

Day 11 - MOPTI - SEGOU

This day takes you to Segou, former capital of Mali, before the French colonial administration built Bamako. In Segou you will visit the Office of the Niger, involved with a large rice-growing project. You will also visit a village of Mossi who emigrated here in the 1930s to work on the rice dams. Your hotel is a short walk from the edge of the Niger River where you may observe people fishing, and boats being loaded and unloaded.

Hotel L'auberge

Day 12 - SEGOU - BAMAKO

Visit the artists center this morning before departing Segou. Lunch at your hotel. Depart for Bamako, a city of almost 2 million. Have dinner by the Niger River, which by now you have experienced in different capacities.

Grand Hotel

Day 13 - Departure

Visit the Grand Market. Farewell lunch and a visit to a fruit and vegetable growing area. Transfer to the airport for you return home. Depart Bamako in the late evening.

The total cost of the safari including land transportation, local air flights which are mentioned in the itinerary, local accommodations in twin rooms are all included.

End of the SAFARI.

High Season : 1st July - 20th December and 5th January - 31st March of every year.
Low Season : 1st April - 30th June of every year.

Christmas Season: 21st December - 04 January of every year
Organized Group Rates : Special Group travel rates are available on request

Your Safari Includes:

Meet and Greet Services with assistance
All airport/Airstrip transfers with assistance
Complimentary baggage handling of two pieces per person
Direct check-in with assistance in your West Africa Hotels
Bed & Full Breakfast accommodation in city Hotels
Transport in a comfortable custom-built safari vehicle with a window seat guarantee
All park entry fees
Full board accommodation whilst on Safari
Two full Game-viewing drives per day whilst on safari
Services of an English-Speaking and professional safari driver/guide
All Government taxes and levies where applicable.

Your Safari Price Excludes:

International Airfares
Tourist entry VISA where required
International airport(s) departures taxes
Optional excursions not mentioned in the inclusions and /or quoted separately
Expenditures of personal nature such as telephone calls, faxes, Internet access, laundry etc.
All alcoholic drinks, wines and spirits.
Tips and gratuities to driver /guides/lodge porters/hotel staff
All other extras not mentioned in the 'what's included.

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