Attractions of Mali

Attractions of Mali

Mopti Mosque
The Mopti Mosque is situated in Mopti, 635 kilometres from Bamako, Mali’s capital city. The mosque is built in Sudanese style with mostly symmetrical and vertical designs featuring a covered building, three meters high wall and a courtyard. The present structure of the mosque was built in between the years 1936-1943 on the same site of a mosque that was built in the year 1908.

Hand of Fatima
The Hand of Fatima is found in Mopti which is 635 kilometres from Bamako. It is one of most impressive rock formations in the world resembling a giant hands rising from the desert. It is also known as Kaga Tondo.

Mount Hombori
Mount Hombori, 945 kilometres from Bamako is the tallest mountain in Mali at 1153 meters located in Mopti. It is a huge rock butte and distinctive shape rising from the plains with caves that have been inhabited for about 2000 years.

The great mosque of Djenne
This sacred destination for many muslims is found in the Djenne, Mali 553 kilometres from Bamako. The mosque is built in a Sahelian architectural style and it is the world’s largest building to be constructed with mud brick. The first mosque on this site was built in the 13th century and the present building was built in the year 1907.

Tomb of Askia
Located 1194 kilometres from Bamako is the Tomb of Askia built in 1495 by Askia Mohamed, the Emperor of Songhai. It consists of the pyramidal tomb, two flat-roofed mosque buildings, the mosque cemetery and the open-air assembly ground. The Tomb of Askia is a fine example of the monumental mud-building traditions of the West African Sahel.

Timbuktu City
Timbuktu City is located in the Tombouctou Region 1013 kilometres from Bamako. It was founded in the 10th century and became rich as an important trading town and once had one of the largest universities of the world, Koranic Sankore University.  The city’s attractions include the three great mosques, Djingareyber, Sankore and Sidi Yahia, together with the old houses of European explorers.

Musee National de Bamako (National museum of Mali)
The Musée National du Mali is an archaeological and anthropological museum located in Bamako. It was first opened in 1953 as the Sudanese Museum but the independence of the Republic of Mali in 1960, it became the national museum of Mali.

La Dune Rose
Locally as Koïma, La Dune Rose (The Pink Dune) is located 1195 kilometres from Bamako on the right bank of the Niger River. The sand dune turns pink with dawn and the setting sun. It was once believed by locals to be the home of magicians.

Gouina Falls
Also called the “Niagara falls of Mali”, Gouina Falls Magnificent falls on Senegal River, approximately 500 metres wide and 16 metres tall. It is also called the “Niagara falls of Mali” and is about 520 kilometres from Bamako.

Boucle du Baoule National Park

Boucle du Baoule National Park is located in the western Mali 253 kilometres from Bamako. This park of 2,533,000 hectares is largely covered in West African savanna and a dense rain forest thrives on the banks of Baoule River. Saheran gazelles, giant eland, pristine rock art and ancient tombs make this Park an attractive place.

Bandiagara Escarpment
The Bandiagara Escarpment is an escarpment in the Dogon country of Mali, 717 kilometres from Bamako. The sandstone cliff rises about 500 meters above the lower sandy flats to the south. It has a length of approximately 150 kilometers. The area of the escarpment is inhabited today by the Dogon people.

Sélingué Dam
The Sélingué Dam located 142 kilometres from Bamako is a single purpose hydroelectric dam located in the Koulikoro Region on the Sankarani River, an affluent of Niger River. The dam’s retaining basin forms artificial Lake Sélingué of 409 square kilometers allowing fishing and agriculture on nearby irrigated perimeters.

Bafing Biosphere Reserve

The Bafing Biosphere Reserve, in southern Mali about 600 kilometres from Bamako, is composed of three components; the Kouroufing and Wongo National Parks and the Bafing Chimpanzee Sanctuary. It is largely savanna woodland, home to a diverse array of flora, and it supports one of the last populations of Western Derby’s eland.

Kamablon
Kamablon is a circular brick building with a conical roof located in Koulikoro about 58 kilometres from Bamako. The building is reroofed every 7 years and the outer and inner walls are painted with interesting pictographs predicting what will happen in the coming seven years.

Cliff of Bandiagara
The Cliff of Bandiagara, land of the Dogon people of Mali covering 400,000 hectares is found about 715 kilometres from Bamako. It is a vast cultural landscape consisting of 289 villages scattered between the three natural regions covering sandstone plateau, escarpment and plains

Djinguereber Mosque
Established in 1327, Djinguereber Mosque is found in Timbuktu, 1013 kilometres from Bamako. It is a magnificent ancient piece of architecture, built using only organic materials such as mud, straw, limestone and fiber.

Sankoré Madrasah
Sankoré Madrasah is one of three ancient centers of learning that make the famous University of Timbuktu. The other two are; Djinguereber Mosque and Sidi Yahya. Sankoré Madrasah is located in Timbuktu which is about 1013 kilometres from Bamako. Madrasah means school/university in Arabic.

Additional reading

Mali Famous Landmarks

Attractions of Mali

About The Author

John Muhaise-Bikalemesa (JMB), is the founder of Muhaise.com blog and bigdrumassociates.com company. Learn more about him here and connect with him on his social medias below

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