TRAVEL EXPERIENCE IN TIMBUKTU

In Middle-Africa we are experts in Mali. Our team of Anthropologists and African historians has known this country since the 1990s when it was just beginning to become popular among travel agencies from Europe and the USA. The tours we organize around Mali and neighboring countries visit the ‘must’ places, but also try to avoid the tourist crowds by going to remote rural areas where the essence of Mali can still be found intact.

Mali is an African destination that has all the right ingredients. The country occupies the heart of a territory that once supported Africa’s greatest empires and is rich with historical resonance. This history bequeathed to Mali some of its most dramatic attractions

– the legendary city of Timbuktu (Tombouctou), whose name has never lost its allure for travelers. The popular statement, ‘From here to Timbuktu’ conjures up images of remote, isolated and distant parts of this earth. Until the present day Timbuktu is one of Africa’s most rhythmical names, and is still synonymous with the Black Continent’s mysterious inaccessibility, with and end-of-the-earth allure that some travelers just have to reach.

The historic town of Timbuktu is located at the precise point where the Niger flows northward into the southern edge of the desert. As a result of its unique geographical position, Timbuktu has been a natural meeting point of Songhai, Wangara, Fulani, Tuareg and Arabs. According to the inhabitants of Timbuku, gold came from the south, the salt from the north and the Divine knowledge, from Timbuktu. Timbuktu is also the cross-road where "the camel met the canoe." It is to this privilege position that the city owes much of its historical dynamism. From the 11th century and onward, Timbuktu became an important port where goods from West Africa and North Africa were traded.

In 1988, Timbuktu was designated a United Nations World Heritage Site and efforts are underway to preserve and protect the city and especially its centuries-old mosques.

Timbuktu is now an administrative centre of Mali. Small salt caravans from Taoudenni still arrive in winter, but there is no gold to offer in exchange, and trans-Saharan commerce no longer exists. Although there is air service, the city remains most easily accessible by camel and boat. Islamic learning survives among a handful of aging scholars.

Despite the changes Timbuktu has suffered since its decline, colonization, and assimilation to the Mali modern state, it is still a place worth visiting. You can either get to Timbuktu by road (long, tough and dusty), by motor boat (romantic, adventurous, but very tough), or by plane (practical, less adventurous). In Middle-Africa we organize excursions to Timbuktu from Mopti (550kms /365km unpaved in 1-2 days by boat or by land).



ORGANISING YOUR TRIP TO TIMBUKTU

Middle-Africa organises travel tours to every corner of and Timbuktu all year around. Please feel free to contact us at any time.