"The Niger River Inland Delta is Mali's... " a Mali Travel Page by atufft

I visited these three cities that are within the huge seasonal wetland of the upper Niger River. During the rainy season a region the size of some European nations becomes flooded and transportation in the region dependent upon the perogue. Segou and Mopti are right on the Niger River itself and are each quite interesting venues for approaching this scenic river. Djenne an island town on a tributary of the Niger is a town not to be missed. The marketplace at Djenne is much older than the mosque--the world's largest mud building. Spend a day wandering the alley ways and market. It's important to arrive on market day to experience the tribal effect. During the dry season, it's possible to rent a motor scooter and visit the outlying villages.

Relatively sleepy compared to Djenne or Mopti, Segue is nevertheless situated on the Niger River in a pleasant spot. Watch the women wash their clothes, the piroges loaded with vegetables sail up and down the river, or cross the river and visit some villages. It was at this place where my best landscape images of the GREAT Niger River were found. The river itself is quite wide, but surprisingly shallow. Although the color of the water is alternately blue or muddy, depending upon the light, the boats loaded with green produce and the green shoreline frame the beauty of this unique river.

Several hours away from the Niger River, the Dogon country represents another much see place in Mali. Wait until you arrive in Dogon country before you seek out a guide. It's pretty hard to appreciate the place unless you have one, but there are good guides and not so good guides. Unfortunately ours wasn't so good and I got sick from the breakfast he served us at the encampment. The best place to start your tour is at Bandiagara. Despite our misfortune with the guide, we still have wonderful memories from this region which combines a rocky escarpment, box canyons, abandoned cliff dwellings, and the unique spiritually oriented culture of the Dogon people.