| ATTRACTIONS
BAMAKO:
The capital is a modern
city. It is the educational and cultural centre of Mali. The
main places of interest are the Markets, the Botanical Gardens,
the Musée National, the zoo and the craft centre at the Maison
des Artisans.
DJENNÉ:
Djenne is on the old
trans sharan trade route. Well known as a
trading center from olden days, it has one of the most beautiful
Mosques. With in 5 km distance lies
the Old city of Djenne which is one of the oldest cities of
Africa. Its history dates back to 250 BC. It was famous for its gold trade in the
trans-saharan route. Later, it became an
Islamic cultural center in the 15th and 16trh centuries.
Old Djenné is
today listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
MOPTI
The centre of Mali’s
tourist industry, Mopti is located at the confluence of the Bani and
the River Niger and is built on three
islands joined by dykes. There is another fine mosque here. The market
is in the town centre, Marché des
Souvenirs, and the area surrounding the port are also worth
visiting.
Ferry service for tourist
is available here round the year.
BANDIAGARA:
Bandiagara
and its people have great cultural significance in the history of Mali. Dogons, the inhabitants of the region are
supposed to be the original settlers in the Niger river valley 
The
old customs and traditions were kept by the people even when the
Islamic faith conquered other parts of Mali empire.
The villages cut into the cliffs
of the 200-km long Bandiagara escarpment are
declared as World Heritage site by UNESCO.
TIMBUKTU:
Timbuktu
is wrongly used to mean as some place
unknown, inaccessible or remote. This old
city was a beehive of activity in its heydays in the past.
The main distribution
center of products including salt from the shores for the saheli region
is Timbuktu. Thousands of camel loads
arrive here every year. By the 15th
century, Timbuktu was a major trading center for salt and gold in the
treans Saharan trade route. Later on it
assumed the status of a great Islamic learning
center.
Ther are several beautiful mosques
and tombs dating back to the 14th century mosques which are
a tourist attraction in Timbuktu.
Gao
Gao
is another memorable city from the yester years. It
was in its glory in the 15th century. Gao houses the mosque of
Kankan Moussa and the tombs of the Askia Dynasty. There
are some good markets as well .
The city has undergone
modification lately. La Boucle de
Baoule national park in Gao has some special species of wild life.
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